Prediction of subsurface settlement induced by shield tunnelling in sandy cobble stratum

This study focuses on the analytical prediction of subsurface settlement induced by shield tunnelling in sandy cobble stratum considering the volumetric deformation modes of the soil above the tunnel crown.A series of numerical analyses is performed to examine the effects of cover depth ratio(C/D),tunnel volume loss rate(h t)and volumetric block proportion(VBP)on the characteristics of subsurface settle-ment trough and soil volume loss.Considering the ground loss variation with depth,three modes are deduced from the volumetric deformation responses of the soil above the tunnel crown.Then,analytical solutions to predict subsurface settlement for each mode are presented using stochastic medium theory.The influences of C/D,h t and VBP on the key parameters(i.e.B and N)in the analytical expressions are discussed to determine the fitting formulae of B and N.Finally,the proposed analytical solutions are validated by the comparisons with the results of model test and numerical simulation.Results show that the fitting formulae provide a convenient and reliable way to evaluate the key parameters.Besides,the analytical solutions are reasonable and available in predicting the subsurface settlement induced by shield tunnelling in sandy cobble stratum.

Ground settlement and tunnel response due to twin-curved shield tunnelling in soft ground with small clear distance

Twin curved tunnels are often encountered in shield tunnelling,where significant complexities in densely exploited underground space are observed.In this study,the ground settlement and tunnel deformation due to twin-curved shield tunnelling in soft ground were investigated using numerical simulation and field monitoring.Different curvature radii of twin curved tunnels and subsequent effects of tunnel construction were considered to reveal the tunnelling effect on ground surface settlement and tunnel deformation.The results show that the settlement trough yields one offset towards inside of curved shield tunnelling.The location of settlement trough and maximum settlement were affected by curvature radius but except for the shape and width of settlement trough.Adjacent parallel twin-curved shield tunnelling could increase the offset of existing settlement trough and maximum settlement.Then,an empirical prediction of surface settlement trough due to twin-curved shield tunnelling with same tunnel diameters in soft clay was proposed,which was applicable to curvature radius less than 800 m.Finally,a minimum radius of 600 m of curvature tunnel was proposed in terms of allowable convergence deformation of tunnel.The result could provide guidance on safety evaluation for twin curved shield tunnelling construction.

An improved analytical solution for solving the shield tunnel uplift problem

The problem of shield tunnel uplift is a common issue in tunnel construction.Due to the decrease in shear stiffness at the joints between the rings,uplift is typically observed as bending and dislocation deformation at these joints.Existing modeling methods typically rely on the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory,only considering the bending effect while disregarding shear deformation.Furthermore,the constraints on the shield tail are often neglected in existing models.In this study,an improved theoretical model of tunnel floating is proposed.The constraint effect of the shield machine shell on the tunnel structure is considered using the structural forms of two finite long beams and one semi-infinite long beam.Furthermore,the Timoshenko beam theory is adopted,providing a more accurate description of tunnel deformation,including both the bending effect and shear deformation,than existing models.Meanwhile,the buoyancy force and stratum resistance are calculated in a nonlinear manner.A reliable method for calculating the shear stiffness correction factor is proposed to better determination of the calculation parameters.The proposed theoretical model is validated through five cases using sitemonitored data.Its applicability and effectiveness are demonstrated.Furthermore,the influences of soil type,buried depth,and buoyancy force on the three key indicators of tunnel floating(i.e.the maximum uplift magnitude,the ring position with the fastest uplift race,and the ring position with the maximum uplift magnitude)are analyzed.The results indicate that the proposed model can provide a better understanding of the floating characteristics of the tunnel structure during construction.

Three-dimensional pseudo-dynamic reliability analysis of seismic shield tunnel faces combined with sparse polynomial chaos expansion

To address the seismic face stability challenges encountered in urban and subsea tunnel construction,an efficient probabilistic analysis framework for shield tunnel faces under seismic conditions is proposed.Based on the upper-bound theory of limit analysis,an improved three-dimensional discrete deterministic mechanism,accounting for the heterogeneous nature of soil media,is formulated to evaluate seismic face stability.The metamodel of failure probabilistic assessments for seismic tunnel faces is constructed by integrating the sparse polynomial chaos expansion method(SPCE)with the modified pseudo-dynamic approach(MPD).The improved deterministic model is validated by comparing with published literature and numerical simulations results,and the SPCE-MPD metamodel is examined with the traditional MCS method.Based on the SPCE-MPD metamodels,the seismic effects on face failure probability and reliability index are presented and the global sensitivity analysis(GSA)is involved to reflect the influence order of seismic action parameters.Finally,the proposed approach is tested to be effective by a engineering case of the Chengdu outer ring tunnel.The results show that higher uncertainty of seismic response on face stability should be noticed in areas with intense earthquakes and variation of seismic wave velocity has the most profound influence on tunnel face stability.

Mechanical behavior of segment rebar of shield tunnel in construction stage

In this paper, a 3D finite element （FE） program ADINA was applied to analyzing a tunnel with 9 segment tings. The loads acting on these segment tings included the squeezing action of tail brush of shield machine under attitude deflection, the jacking forces, the grouting pressure and the soil pressure. The analyses focused on the rebar stress in two statuses： （1） normal construction status without shield machine squeezing; （2） squeezing action induced by shield machine under attitude deflection. The analyses indicated that the rebar stress was evidently affected by the construction loads. In different construction status, the rebar stress ranges from -80 MPa to 50 MPa, and the rebar is in elastic status. Even some cracks appear on segments, the stress of segment rebar is still at a low level. It is helpful to incorporate a certain quantity of steel fiber to improve the anti-crack and shock resistance performance.

Three-dimensional displacement characteristics of adjacent pile induced by shield tunneling under influence of multiple factors

Shield tunneling inevitably passes through a large number of pile foundations in urban areas.Thus,an accurate assessment of tunneling-induced pile displacement and potential damage becomes a critical part of shield construction.This study presents a mechanism research of pile-soil-tunnel interaction through Pasternak-based two-stage analysis method.In the first stage,based on Mindlin’s solution,the soil displacement fields induced by shield thrust force,cutterhead frictions,shield shell frictions and grouting pressure are derived.The analytical solution of threedimensional soil displacement field is established by introducing Pinto’s three-dimensional volume loss formula,which solves the problems that shield construction factors are not taken into account in Loganathan’s formula and only twodimensional soil displacement field can be obtained.In the second stage,based on Pasternak’s two-parameter foundation model,the analytical solution of pile displacement induced by shield tunneling in layered soil is derived.A case was found in the project of interval tunnels from Wanjiali Square to Furong District Government of Changsha Metro Line 5,where the shield tunnels were constructed near viaduct piles.The reliability of the analytical solution proposed in this study is verified by comparing with the field measured data and the results of finite element method(FEM).In addition,the comparisons of longitudinal,horizontal and vertical displacements of soil and pile foundation analyzed by the analytical solution and FEM provide corresponding theoretical basis,which has significant engineering guidance for similar projects.

Prediction of Disc Cutter Life During Shield Tunneling with AI via the Incorporation of a Genetic Algorithm into a GMDH-Type Neural Network

Disc cutter consumption is a critical problem that influences work performance during shield tunneling processes and directly affects the cutter change decision.This study proposes a new model to estimate the disc cutter life(Hf)by integrating a group method of data handling(GMDH)-type neural network(NN)with a genetic algorithm(GA).The efficiency and effectiveness of the GMDH network structure are optimized by the GA,which enables each neuron to search for its optimum connections set from the previous layer.With the proposed model,monitoring data including the shield performance database,disc cutter consumption,geological conditions,and operational parameters can be analyzed.To verify the performance of the proposed model,a case study in China is presented and a database is adopted to illustrate the excellence of the hybrid model.The results indicate that the hybrid model predicts disc cutter life with high accuracy.The sensitivity analysis reveals that the penetration rate(PR)has a significant influence on disc cutter life.The results of this study can be beneficial in both the planning and construction stages of shield tunneling.

Comprehensive health assessment of shield tunnel structure based on prototype experiment

Health state of shield tunnels is one of the most important parameters for structure maintenance.Usually,the shield tunnel is extremely long in longitude direction and composed by many segments.It is difficult to quantify the relationship between the structure damage state and shield tunnel structure deformation by the model test because of unpredictable effects of different scales between model test and prototype tunnel structure.Here,an in-situ monitoring project was conducted to study the excavation induced shield tunnel structure damage,which could be considered a prototype test on the tunnel deformation.The disaster performance of tunnel leakage,segment crack,segment dislocation and segment block drop-off during longitude deformation and cross-section ovality developments was analyzed.The results indicate that instead of the longitude deformation,the ovality value has the strongest correlation to the rest disease performance,which could be used as the assessment index of the tunnel health.For this tunnel,it is in health state when the ovality is less than 0.5%,and the serious damage could be found when the ovality value is higher than 0.77%.The research results provide valuable reference to shield tunnel health assessment and help complete the standard of shield tunnel construction.

Influence of water-rich tunnel by shield tunneling on existing bridge pile foundation in layered soils

At present,shield tunneling often needs to pass through a large number of bridge pile foundations.However,there are few studies on the influence of shield tunneling on adjacent pile foundations by combining with groundwater seepage.Based on Winkler model,the calculation equations of shield tunneling on vertical and horizontal displacement of adjacent bridge pile are derived.Meanwhile,full and part three-dimensional finite element models are established to analyze the trend of bridge pier settlement,ground surface settlement trough,vertical and horizontal displacement of the pile and pile stress under three calculation conditions,i.e.,not considering groundwater effect,considering stable groundwater effect and fluid-soil interaction.The results show that the calculated value is small when the effect of groundwater is not considered;the seepage velocity of the soil above the excavation face is faster than that of the surrounding soil under fluid-soil interaction,and after the shield passing,the groundwater on both sides shows a flow trend of“U”shape on the ground surface supplying to the upper part of the tunnel;the vertical displacement of the pile body is bounded by the horizontal position of the top of the tunnel,the upper pile body settles,and the lower pile body deforms upward.The horizontal displacement of pile body presents a continuous“S”shape distribution,causing stress concentration near the tunnel.The calculated results of fluid-soil interaction are in good agreement with the field measured data and accord with the actual situation.

Study on effect of segments erection tolerance and wedge-shaped segment on segment ring in shield tunnel

Deformation and dislocations of segments of shield tunnel in construction stage have apparent effect on tunnel structure stress and even cause local cracks and breakage in tunnel. 3D finite element method was used to analyze two segment ring models under uniform injected pressure: (1) segment ring without wedge-shaped segment, which has 16 types of preinstall erection tolerance; (2) segment ring with wedge-shaped segment, which has no preinstall erection tolerance. The analysis results indicate that different erection tolerances can cause irregular deformation in segment ring under uniform injected pressure, and that the tolerance values are enlarged further. Wedge-shaped segment apparently affects the overall deformation of segment ring without erection tolerances. The uniform injected pressure can cause deformation of ring with wedge-shaped segment irregular, and dislocations also appear in this situation. The stress of segment with erection tolerances is much larger than that of segment without erection tolerances. Enlarging the central angle of wedge-shaped segment can make the irregular deformation and dis- locations of segments smaller. The analysis results also provide basis for erection tolerance control and improvement of segment constitution.

Failure mechanism of large-diameter shield tunnels and its effects on ground surface settlements

A new technique for the analysis of the three-dimensional collapse failure mechanism and the ground surface settlements for the large-diameter shield tunnels were presented.The technique is based on a velocity field model using more different truncated solid conical blocks to clarify the multiblock failure mechanism.Furthermore,the shape of blocks between the failure surface and the tunnel face was considered as an entire circle,and the supporting pressure was assumed as non-uniform distribution on the tunnel face and increased with the tunnel embedded depth.The ground surface settlements and failure mechanism above large-diameter shield tunnels were also investigated under different supporting pressures by the finite difference method.

Impact of shield tunneling on adjacent spread foundation on sandy cobble strata

The section of shield tunnel of the Chengdu Metro line passes primarily through sandy cobble strata. There are many buildings with spread foundations along the lines. Shield tunnel construction will disturb the ground, causing displacement or stress to adjacent spread foundations. Based on the similarity theory, a laboratory model test of shield tunnel driving was carried out to study the influence of shield tunnel excavation on the displace ment of adjacent spread foundation. The results show that foundation closer to the tunnel has greater displacement or settlement than that further away. The horizontal dis placement is small and is influenced greatly by the cutting face. The displacement along the machine driving direction is bigger and is significantly affected by the thrust force. Settlement occurs primarily when shield machine passes close to the foundation and is the greatest at that time. Uneven settlement at the bottom of the spread foundation reaches a maximum after the excavation ends. In a numerical simulation, a particle flow model was con structed to study the impact of shield tunnel excavation on the stresses in the ground. The model showed stress con centration at the bottom of the spread foundation. With the increasing ground loss ratio, a loose area appears in the tunnel dome where the contact force dropped. Above the loose area, the contact force increases, forming an arch shaped soil area which prevents the loose area from expanding to the ground surface. The excavation also changed the pressure distribution around spread foundation.

Parameter identification and pressure control of dynamic system in shield tunneling using least squares method

An estimation approach using least squares method was presented for identificationof model parameters of pressure control in shield tunneling.The state equation ofthe pressure control system for shield tunneling was analytically derived based on themass equilibrium principle that the entry mass of the pressure chamber from cutting headwas equal to excluding mass from the screw conveyor.The randomly observed noise wasnumerically simulated and mixed to simulated observation values of system responses.The numerical simulation shows that the state equation of the pressure control system forshield tunneling is reasonable and the proposed estimation approach is effective even ifthe random observation noise exists.The robustness of the controlling procedure is validatedby numerical simulation results.

Analysis of the Dynamic Response of a Shield Tunnel in Soft Soil Under a Metro-Train Vibrating Load

This paper concerns the impact of an operating metro train on the structure of a shield tunnel lining and its soft foundation. An elastoplastic 3D dynamic finite difference model was established by using the FLAC3D numerical soft- ware. By fully considering the joints, the A-B-K segments and the soft stratum, the dynamic response of the shield tunnel buried in thick, soft soil under the vibrating load induced by a metro train was numerically simulated. The simulation result, for which the joint was considered, was compared with the result when the joint was not considered. The results show that an operating metro train induces a significant dynamic response in the structure of the lining of the shield tunnel and its soft foundation. The severe dynamic response zones of the lining structure are largely distributed in the range of the lower half of the segment-ring and the nearer to the bottom of the segment-ring, the more severe the response. Of two horizontally symmetric, corresponding places on the segment lining, the one near the joint is more severe in its dynamic response than that of the one far from the joint; the nearer the zone of the foundation soil to the lower half of the seg- ment-ring, the more severe the dynamic response. The maximum shear strain of the foundation soil takes place near the joint between two normal segments at the bottom. The dynamic response influenced by joints is more severe than the response not influenced by joints, showing that the non-joint assumption is somewhat impractical.

Optimal Control of Slurry Pressure during Shield Tunnelling Based on Random Forest and Particle Swarm Optimization

The control of slurry pressure aiming to be consistent with the external water and earth pressure during shield tunnelling has great significance for face stability,especially in urban areas or underwater where the surrounding environment is very sensitive to the fluctuation of slurry pressure.In this study,an optimal control method for slurry pressure during shield tunnelling is developed,which is composed of an identifier and a controller.The established identifier based on the random forest(RF)can describe the complex non-linear relationship between slurry pressure and its influencing factors.The proposed controller based on particle swarm optimization(PSO)can optimize the key factor to precisely control the slurry pressure at the normal state of advancement.A data set from Tsinghua Yuan Tunnel in China was used to train the RF model and several performance measures like R2,RMSE,etc.,were employed to evaluate.Then,the hybrid RF-PSO control method is adopted to optimize the control of slurry pressure.The good agreement between optimized slurry pressure and expected values demonstrates a high identifying and control precision.

On the critical particle size of soil with clogging potential in shield tunneling

Shield tunneling is easily obstructed by clogging in clayey strata with small soil particles.However,soil clogging rarely occurs in strata with coarse-grained soils.Theoretically,a critical particle size of soils should exist,below which there is a high risk of soil clogging in shield tunneling.To determine the critical particle size,a series of laboratory tests was carried out with a large-scale rotary shear apparatus to measure the tangential adhesion strength of soils with different particle sizes and water contents.It was found that the tangential adhesion strength at the soilesteel interface gradually increased linearly with applied normal pressure.When the particle size of the soil specimen was less than 0.15 mm,the interfacial adhesion force first increased and then decreased as the water content gradually increased;otherwise,the soil specimens did not manifest any interfacial adhesion force.The amount of soil mass adhering to the steel disc was positively correlated with the interfacial adhesion force,thus the interfacial adhesion force was adopted to characterize the soil clogging risk in shield tunneling.The critical particle size of soils causing clogging was determined to be 0.15 mm.Finally,the generation mechanism of interfacial adhesion force was explored for soils with different particle sizes to explain the critical particle size of soil with clogging risk in shield tunneling.

Risk identification and risk mitigation during metro station construction by enlarging shield tunnel combined with cut-and-cover method

Constructing a metro station by enlarging shield tunnels combined with a mining/cut-and-cover method provides a new method to solve the contradictions of construction time limits of shield tunnels and stations. As a new-style construction method, there are several specific risks involved in the construction process. Based on the test section of Sanyuanqiao station on Beijing metro line 10, and combined with the existing methods of risk identification at present, including a review of world-wide operational experience of similar projects, the study of generic guidance on hazards associated with the type of work being undertaken, and discussions with qualified and experienced staff from the project team, etc., the specific risks during the construction process of the metro station constructed by enlarging shield tunnels combined with the cut-and-cover method are identified. The results show that the specific risks mainly come from three construction processes which include constructing upper enclosure structures, excavating the soil between shield tunnels and demolishing shield segments. Then relevant risk mitigation measures are put forward. The results can provide references for scheme improvement and a comprehensive risk assessment of the new-style construction method.

Determination of minimum overburden depth for underwater shield tunnel in sands:Comparison between circular and rectangular tunnels

With the development of global urbanization,the utilization of underground space is more critical and attractive for civil purposes.Various shapes of shield tunnels have been gradually proposed to cope with different geological conditions and service purposes of underground structures.Generally,reducing the burial depth of shield tunnel is conducive to construction and cost saving.However,extremely small overburden depth cannot provide sufficient uplift resistance to maintain the stability and serviceability of the tunnel.To this end,this paper firstly reviewed the status of deriving the minimum sand over-burden depth of circular shield tunnel using mechanical equilibrium(ME)method.It revealed that the estimated depth is rather conservative.Then,the uplift resistance mechanism of both circular and rectangular tunnels was deduced theoretically and verified with the model tests.The theoretical uplift resistance is consistent with the experimental values,indicating the feasibility of the proposed equations.Furthermore,the determination of the minimum soil overburden depth of rectangular shield tunnel under various working conditions was presented through integrated ME method,which can provide more reasonable estimations of suggested tunnel burial depth for practical construction.Additionally,optimizations were made for calculating the uplift resistance,and the soil thickness providing uplift resistance is suggested to be adjusted according to the testing results.The results can provide reference for the design and construction of various shapes of shield tunnels in urban underground space exploitation.

Seismic reliability analysis of shield tunnel faces under multiple failure modes by pseudo-dynamic method and response surface method

In order to investigate the stability problem of shield tunnel faces subjected to seismic loading,the pseudodynamic method(P-DM)was employed to analyze the seismic effect on the face.Two kinds of failure mechanisms of active collapse and passive extrusion were considered,and a seismic reliability model of shield tunnel faces under multifailure mode was established.The limit analysis method and the response surface method(RSM)were used together to solve the reliability of shield tunnel faces subjected to seismic action.Comparing with existing results,the results of this work are effective.The effects of seismic load and rock mass strength on the collapse pressure,extrusion pressure and reliability index were discussed,and reasonable ranges of support pressure of shield tunnel faces under seismic action were presented.This method can provide a new idea for solving the shield thrust parameter under the seismic loading.

Pressure Regulation for Earth Pressure Balance Control on Shield Tunneling Machine by Using Adaptive Robust Control

Most current studies about shield tunneling machine focus on the construction safety and tunnel structure stability during the excavation. Behaviors of the machine itself are also studied, like some tracking control of the machine. Yet, few works concern about the hydraulic components, especially the pressure and flow rate regulation components. This research focuses on pressure control strategies by using proportional pressure relief valve, which is widely applied on typical shield tunneling machines. Modeling of a commercial pressure relief valve is done. The modeling centers on the main valve, because the dynamic performance is determined by the main valve. To validate such modeling, a frequency-experiment result of the pressure relief valve, whose bandwidth is about 3 Hz, is presented as comparison. The modeling and the frequency experimental result show that it is reasonable to regard the pressure relief valve as a second-order system with two low corner frequencies. PID control, dead band compensation control and adaptive robust control（ARC） are proposed and simulation results are presented. For the ARC, implements by using first order approximation and second order approximation are presented. The simulation results show that the second order approximation implement with ARC can track 4 Hz sine signal very well, and the two ARC simulation errors are within 0.2 MPa. Finally, experiment results of dead band compensation control and adaptive robust control are given. The results show that dead band compensation had about 30° phase lag and about 20% off of the amplitude attenuation. ARC is tracking with little phase lag and almost no amplitude attenuation. In this research, ARC has been tested on a pressure relief valve. It is able to improve the valve＇s dynamic performances greatly, and it is capable of the pressure control of shield machine excavation.