Active Earth Pressure on the Rigid Support Structures of Excavations Parallel to Tunnel Construction
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 24, Issue 8
Abstract
The failure mode of the soil behind the rigid support structure of excavations parallel to tunneling was simulated using the adaptive finite-element limit analysis method. This study showed the effects of tunnel diameter, tunnel construction clear spacing, excavation insertion ratio, and soil strength on the failure mode of the soil. Based on the simulated results obtained from finite-element software, a stress field was constructed for the portion above the horizontal plane at the bottom of the excavation support structure. Three types of boundary value problems were solved based on different regional divisions. Eventually, the stress state at any point within the plastic zone was calculated, providing the active earth pressure on the support structure adjacent to the tunnel during its construction. A comparison between the stress characteristic method calculation results and the finite-element simulation results showed consistency, confirming the efficiency and accuracy of the stress characteristic method in calculating the earth pressure on the support structure of excavations parallel to tunneling.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, or codes that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Fujian Transportation Science and Technology Project (Grant No. 202228).
Notation
The following symbols are used in this paper:
- B
- excavation width;
- c
- cohesion of the soil;
- D
- tunnel diameter;
- d
- tunnel burial depth;
- H
- excavation depth;
- h
- embedment depth of the support structure;
- m
- height of the support structure;
- N
- excavation insertion ratio;
- q
- distributed load;
- S
- tunnel construction clear spacing;
- X
- body force in the x-direction;
- Z
- body force in the z-direction;
- α
- angle between the coordinate x-axis of the soil element and the horizontal line;
- γ
- unit weight of the soil;
- θ
- angle made by major principal stress in a counterclockwise sense with the x-axis;
- ζ
- relaxation coefficient;
- σ
- distance on the Mohr stress diagram between the center of the Mohr circle and a point where Coulomb’s linear failure envelope intersects the σ-axis; and
- φ
- friction angle of the soil.
References
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 24 • Issue 8 • August 2024
Copyright
© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 15, 2023
Accepted: Feb 13, 2024
Published online: Jun 13, 2024
Published in print: Aug 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Nov 13, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Analysis (by type)
- Construction engineering
- Construction methods
- Engineering fundamentals
- Excavation
- Failure analysis
- Finite element method
- Geomechanics
- Geotechnical engineering
- Methodology (by type)
- Numerical methods
- Soil dynamics
- Soil mechanics
- Soil pressure
- Structural engineering
- Structural systems
- Support structures
- Tunnels
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