Stability Analysis of the Pressurized 3D Tunnel Face in Anisotropic and Nonhomogeneous Soils
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 20, Issue 4
Abstract
This paper investigates the effect of the anisotropy and nonhomogeneity of soil on the three-dimensional stability of a pressurized tunnel face. A three-dimensional horn failure mechanism was constructed. The energy dissipation of the ultimate limit state was analyzed, and the upper bound solution of collapse pressure was obtained according to the limit analysis theory. The validity of the proposed method was demonstrated by comparing its results with those from other researchers. The difference in collapse pressures at linear variation cohesion and average equivalent cohesion was analyzed in detail. It was found that the anisotropy and nonhomogeneity of soil cohesion have a great impact on the collapse pressure and failure scope of a pressurized tunnel face and thus should be properly considered in the support design of pressurized tunnels. In addition, an approximate solution for the collapse pressure of a tunnel face in nonhomogeneous soils is proposed based on Terzaghi’s method, which provides a simple method to quickly and effectively assess the stability of a pressurized tunnel face.
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Data Availability Statement
Some data, models, or code generated or used during the study are available from the corresponding author by request.
Acknowledgments
The preparation of the paper has received financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51674115 and 51804113) and Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province (2019JJ40082). The financial support is greatly appreciated.
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Published In
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 20 • Issue 4 • April 2020
Copyright
©2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 13, 2019
Accepted: Sep 20, 2019
Published online: Jan 22, 2020
Published in print: Apr 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Jun 22, 2020
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