Determination of Deformation Mechanism and Countermeasures in Silty Clay Tunnel
Publication: Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 34, Issue 1
Abstract
Deformation control and stability analysis are very important for tunnel construction. Large deformations of the constructed primary support accompanied by lining cracking and spalling occurred in the Dongxishan Tunnel located in Chaozhou City, northeastern Guangdong Province, China, posing a serious damage to the tunnel safety. In order to determine the causes of large deformations, comprehensive investigations have been performed by combining field monitoring, laboratory tests, and mechanism analyses. The results show that there have been three main factors resulting in the occurrence of large deformations in the Dongxishan Tunnel: the plastic flow of surrounding rock due to low strength of silty clay, obvious creep behavior, and water-weakening effect of silty clay. Besides, based on the preceding mechanism analyses of large deformations, many countermeasures were proposed during construction, including double row pipe pregrouting reinforcement, strengthening primary support, and timely closing of temporary support. These countermeasures can effectively deal with large deformation problems in the Dongxishan Tunnel from the in situ feedbacks. This paper can provide useful guidance for avoiding the similar anomalies in the following excavation and support of Dongxishan Tunnel.
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Acknowledgments
This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 11872287), the Foundation of Shaanxi Science & Technology Co-ordination & Innovation Project (No. 2015TZC-G-8-9).
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Published In
Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 34 • Issue 1 • February 2020
Copyright
©2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 2, 2019
Accepted: Jun 12, 2019
Published online: Nov 13, 2019
Published in print: Feb 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Apr 13, 2020
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