Evaluation of the Active Limit Support Pressure for Shield Tunnel Face in Clay–Sand Interface Mixed Ground
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 22, Issue 7
Abstract
Although many calculation methods for tunnel face support pressure have been proposed, they are difficult to use in practical applications. In tunneling, the tunnel support pressure is currently being determined by empirical methods. In this study, five special geological sections were selected based on the shield tunnel project between Wangfujing and Qianmen Stations of Beijing Metro Line 8 to evaluate the different support pressure ratios λ by using the particle flow code (PFC). Both the stress distribution in the ground and the settlement under different support states were analyzed. A simplified limit-equilibrium method was developed in combination with the limit state in the PFC model. The present method was compared with the classical limit-equilibrium calculation methods to predict the active limit support pressure in the tunnel face. The values of the minimum limit support pressure ratio λmin of the tunnel face were suggested. The results showed that such ratio should be set to 0.6–0.7, which implies that the change in the support pressure cannot be less than 0.6 times of the true strata stress before excavation. The present calculation method of the limit support pressure is simple and effective and can be used in the design and construction of shield tunnel engineering.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No. U1261212. The authors thank Dr. Li Xiao, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, for his help and support on PFC software. The authors are grateful to Sun Wei of China Railway 14th Bureau Group Co for his guidance on the engineering site. The authors also thank Editage Company for the English language editing.
Notation
The following symbols are used in this paper:
- c
- cohesion;
- D
- diameter of the tunnel face;
- E
- effective modulus;
- Fx-tp, Fy-tp, Fz-tp
- component forces from the upper blocks;
- Fx-tc, Fy-tc, and Fz-tc
- component forces from the upper blocks;
- fCSI
- composite ratio;
- Gc
- wedge weight;
- Gp
- vertical downward self-weight;
- Gt
- self-weight;
- h1
- height of clay;
- h2
- height of sand;
- k
- stiffness ratio;
- kn
- normal stiffness;
- ks
- shear stiffness;
- L
- sample size;
- P
- support pressure;
- Pa
- active limit support pressure;
- Pc
- filter cake formation pressure;
- Pf
- slurry seepage failure pressure;
- Pp
- passive limit support pressure;
- Pw
- hydrostatic pressure;
- Ps
- slurry seepage pressure;
- P0
- support pressure at rest;
- R
- particle size;
- γs
- specific gravity of the slurry in the excavation chamber;
- λ
- support pressure ratio;
- λmin
- minimum limit support pressure ratio;
- ρ
- density;
- σa
- additional pressure on mud for the formation of filter cake;
- σc
- tunnel surface support pressure;
- σs
- servo stress applied to the tunnel face;
- σv
- uniform load from the upper strata;
- σ0
- true stratum stress in the y-direction of the initial model; and
- τp
- sliding resistance load.
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Published In
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 22 • Issue 7 • July 2022
Copyright
© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 10, 2021
Accepted: Jan 23, 2022
Published online: May 4, 2022
Published in print: Jul 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Oct 4, 2022
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