Underground Construction-

Tunneling
BITS Pilani
Pilani Campus
Importance of Underground
Construction

Underground Structures- lifeline in Urban as well as Mountainous

region

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Challenges in Tunnel
Construction
Tunnels- basic difference from surface structures
Case Studies: KMRCL, JMRCL, DMRC

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Tunnelling Mechanics

• Action
• Reaction
• Types of response
• Factors affecting response

Medium (Soil) plays an important role in determining many properties

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Action

• The action is that whole set of operations performed to excavate the ground.
• A dynamic phenomenon
• Disturbance and the ‘Arch Effect’

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Reaction

• The reaction is the deformation response of the medium to the action of

excavation.
• Depends upon- Medium, stress rates and action
• Three basic conditions may arise due to this. They are as follows:

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Types of ground response

Elastic condition:
• The area that is freed by excavation (the face) remains stable with limited and
absolutely negligible deformation.
• Arch Effect is produced by natural means close to the profile of the excavation.
• Most safe condition

Plastic condition:
• The excavated area deforms in an elasto plastic manner towards the interior
of the cavity
• This gives rise to short term stability
• In this case, a reactive force is helpful to nullify the shift of the Arch Effect

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Collapse condition:
• The deformation response is unacceptable and a condition of instability exists
• The excavated area is unstable and results in failure.
• Artificial production of “arch effect” is necessary

Collapse of the cavity

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Desired Response

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Desired Response

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus