Monitoring and Data Analyses of Pressure Changes and Ground Settlements Induced by Slurry TBM Tunneling in a Semiconfined Aquifer: Case Study in the Netherlands
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 150, Issue 12
Abstract
This paper presents the field monitoring during construction of the Green Heart Tunnel driven by a slurry tunnel boring machine (TBM) in a semiconfined aquifer in which a sand layer was overlaid by a peat layer. Data analyses of the pore-water pressures, slurry pressures, tail-void grout pressures, and ground movements surrounding the tunnel are presented. It was found that the slurry infiltration controls the variation of pore-water pressure only close to the tunnel face. The excess pore-water pressure far from the tunnel face was induced by the elastic storage of the aquifer. It was found that the grouting had little influence on the pore-pressure distribution. Furthermore, because the excess pore-water pressure generated by slurry infiltration might contribute to the grout pressure, the measured value of grout pressure can be smaller than the actual value. Consequently, to obtain the actual value of grout pressure, grout-pressure gauges combined with the pore-pressure transducers should be installed. In the semiconfined aquifer, suction in the overlying peat layer could be induced when the TBM passed through the sand layer. For this condition, the ground movement proportionally increased with the decreasing water pressure.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The funds supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. 4021002310) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52022001) are gratefully acknowledged.
References
Anagnostou, G., and K. Kovári. 1994. “The face stability of slurry-shield-driven tunnels.” Tunnelling Underground Space Technol. 9 (2): 165–174. https://doi.org/10.1016/0886-7798(94)90028-0.
Autuori, P., and S. Minec. 2006. “Large diameter tunnelling under polders.” In Proc., 5th Int. Symp. of Geotechnical Aspects of Underground Construction in Soft Ground, edited by Bakker, Bezuijen, Broere, and Kwast, 181–186. London: Taylor and Francis.
Avgerinos, V., D. M. Potts, J. R. Standing, and M. S. P. Wan. 2018. “Predicting tunnelling-induced ground movements and interpreting field measurements using numerical analysis: Crossrail case study at Hyde Park.” Géotechnique 68 (1): 31–49. https://doi.org/10.1680/jgeot.16.P.219.
Bernat, S., B. Cambou, and P. Dubois. 1999. “Assessing a soft soil tunnelling numerical model using field data.” Géotechnique 49 (4): 427–452. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.1999.49.4.427.
Bezuijen, A., J. P. Pruiksma, and H. H. van Meerten. 2006. “Pore pressures in front of tunnel, measurements, calculations and consequences for stability of tunnel face.” In Tunnelling. A decade of progress. GeoDelft 1995–2005, A. Bezuijen and H. van Lottum, 35–41. Boca Raton, FL: ICRC Press.
Bezuijen, A., A. M. Talmon, F. J. Kaalberg, and R. Plugge. 2004. “Field measurements of grout pressures during tunnelling of the Sophia rail tunnel.” Soils Found. 44 (1): 39–48. https://doi.org/10.3208/sandf.44.39.
Bezuijen, A., and T. Xu. 2018. “Excess pore water pressures in front of a tunnel face when drilling in a semiconfined aquifer.” In Proc., ITA-AITES World Tunnel Congress, 2–10. Geneva: International Tunneling and Underground Space Association.
Bouygues and Koop. 2003. Second instrumented plot presentation of measurements. Delft, Netherlands: Bouygues and Koop.
Chen, K. H., and F. L. Peng. 2018. “An improved method to calculate the vertical earth pressure for deep shield tunnel in Shanghai soil layers.” Tunnelling Underground Space Technol. 75 (May): 43–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2018.01.027.
Chen, R. P., J. Zhu, W. Liu, and X. W. Tang. 2011. “Ground movement induced by parallel EPB tunnels in silty soils.” Tunnelling Underground Space Technol. 26 (1): 163–171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2010.09.004.
Clough, W. G., B. P. Sweeney, and R. J. Finno. 1983. “Measured soil response to EPB shield tunnelling.” J. Geotech. Eng. 109 (2): 131–149. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9410(1983)109:2(131).
COB (Centre for Underground Construction). 1999. Effecten van boortunnel HSL-Zuid op de verzillingssituatie. [In Dutch.]. Delft, Netherlands: COB.
COB (Centre for Underground Construction). 2000. Second Heinenoord tunnel evaluation report. Delft, Netherlands: COB.
Cording, E. 2018. “Monitoring and controlling ground behavior at the source recent applications to pressurized tunnelling.” In Proc., ITA-AITES World Tunnel Congress 2018. Geneva: International Tunneling and Underground Space Association.
Islam, M. S., and M. Iskander. 2021. “Twin tunnelling induced ground settlements: A review.” Tunnelling Underground Space Technol. 110 (Apr): 103614. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2020.103614.
Iv-Infra. 2003. Experimental set-up to determine the deformation and rise of the tunnel construction directly behind the TBM in the Groene Hart Tunnel. Noordhoek, Netherlands: Iv-Infra.
Kaalberg, F. J., J. A. T. Ruigrok, and R. De Nijs. 2014. “TBM face stability & excess pore pressures in close proximity of piled bridge foundations controlled with 3D FEM.” In Proc., 8th Int. Symp. on Geotechnical Aspects of Underground Construction in Soft Ground, IS-Seoul 14. London: CRC Press.
Kastner, R., and C. Ollier. 1996. “In situ monitoring of the Lyons Metro D line extension.” In Proc., Int. Symp. of Technical Committee TC 28, Underground Construction in Soft Ground, 701–706. Rotterdam, Netherlands: A. A. Balkema.
Lee, K. M., H. W. Ji, C. K. Shen, J. H. Liu, and T. H. Bai. 1999. “Ground response to the construction of Shanghai Metro Tunnel-Line 2.” Soils Found. 39 (3): 113–134. https://doi.org/10.3208/sandf.39.3_113.
Liu, C., J. Cui, Z. X. Zhang, H. Liu, X. Huang, and C. Q. Zhang. 2021. “The role of TBM asymmetric tail-grouting on surface settlement in coarse-grained soils of urban area: Field tests and FEA modelling.” Tunnelling Underground Space Technol. 111 (May): 103857. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2021.103857.
Oh, J. Y., and M. Ziegler. 2014. “Investigation on influence of tail void grouting on the surface settlements during shield tunneling using a stress–pore pressure coupled analysis.” KSCE J. Civ. Eng. 18 (Apr): 803–811. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12205-014-1383-8.
Rijkswaterstaat. 2004. Pre-evaluatie meetdata COB-onderzoek Groene Harttunnel (eds van der Vliet, C. & Naaktgeboren, N. M.), verslag en resultaten. [In Dutch.]. Utrecht, Netherlands: Rijkswaterstaat.
Shen, Y. M., D. M. Zhang, R. L. Wang, J. P. Li, and Z. K. Huang. 2023. “SBD-K-medoids-based long-term settlement analysis of shield tunnel.” Transp. Geotech. 42 (Sep): 101053. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trgeo.2023.101053.
Standing, J. R., and D. M. Potts. 2008. “Contributions to Géotechnique 1948–2008: Tunnelling.” Géotechnique 58 (5): 391–398. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.2008.58.5.391.
Standing, J. R., and D. Selemetas. 2013. “Greenfield ground response to EPBM tunnelling in London Clay.” Géotechnique 63 (12): 989–1007. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.12.P.154.
Talmon, A. M., and A. Bezuijen. 2009. “Simulating the consolidation of TBM grout at Noordplaspolder.” Tunnelling Underground Space Technol. 24 (5): 493–499. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2008.12.004.
Talmon, A. M., and A. Bezuijen. 2013. “Calculation of longitudinal bending moment and shear force for Shanghai Yangtze River Tunnel: Application of lessons from Dutch research.” Tunnelling Underground Space Technol. 35 (Apr): 161–171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2013.01.001.
Tang, L. B., and S. H. Na. 2021. “Comparison of machine learning methods for ground settlement prediction with different tunneling datasets.” J. Rock Mech. Geotech. Eng. 13 (6): 1274–1289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrmge.2021.08.006.
Wan, M. S. P., J. R. Standing, D. M. Potts, and J. B. Burland. 2019. “Pore water pressure and total horizontal stress response to EPBM tunnelling in London clay.” Géotechnique 69 (5): 434–457. https://doi.org/10.1680/jgeot.17.P.309.
Wan, M. S. P., J. R. Standing, D. M. Potts, J. B. Burland, S. Parker, and I. Thomas. 2021. “Pore water pressure and total horizontal stress response to EPBM tunnelling in London.” Géotechnique 71 (4): 368–372. https://doi.org/10.1680/jgeot.19.D.007.
Xu, T., and A. Bezuijen. 2018. “Analytical methods in predicting excess pore water pressure in front of slurry shield in saturated sandy ground.” Tunnelling Underground Space Technol. 73 (Mar): 203–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2017.12.011.
Xu, T., and A. Bezuijen. 2019. “Bentonite slurry infiltration into sand: Filter cake formation under various conditions.” Géotechnique 69 (12): 1095–1106. https://doi.org/10.1680/jgeot.18.P.094.
Xu, T., A. Bezuijen, and W. Broere. 2021. “Analytical solutions for excess pore water pressures generated by TBM tunnelling in a semi-confined aquifer.” Tunnelling Underground Space Technol. 118 (Dec): 104162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2021.104162.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 150 • Issue 12 • December 2024
Copyright
© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 1, 2023
Accepted: Jun 24, 2024
Published online: Oct 7, 2024
Published in print: Dec 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Mar 7, 2025
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.