Analytical solutions of limit support pressure and vertical earth pressure on cutting face for tunnels

This paper focuses on theoretical analytical models to calculate the limit support pressure and vertical earth pressure on the cutting face for tunnels.The failure zone is divided into two parts:a sliding failure zone and an upper loosen zone,and the limit support pressure calculation equation is derived.To verify the rationality of the theoretical model,it was compared with the existing theory,numerical simulation,and centrifugal test,and then the parameter analysis was carried out.The results show that the results of this paper agree well with the existing theory,numerical simulation,and centrifugal test.The inclination angle of the proposed mechanism is determined based on the results of the existing centrifuge test,and the recommended inclination angle is between 52°+φ/2 and 54°+φ/2.The method is proven to be safe and accurate.It can provide a theoretical basis for similar projects.

Face stability analysis of large shield-driven tunnel in rock-soil interface composite formations

A new 3D log-spiral model(LS-M model)is proposed to determine the minimal support pressure on the tunnel face of a large shielddriven tunnel in rock-soil interface(RSI)composite formations.In the proposed LS-M model,we define the RSI angle ω and use a new approach to calculate the equivalent tunnel face area,which provides a collapse zone with more realistic geometry than the traditional wedge model.And it has acceptable accuracy with simpler implementation than limit equilibrium analysis.Comparing with previous studies and 3D numerical analysis,it indicates that:(i)the LS-M results agree well with others in full-soil formations on the variation patterns of minimum support pressure and stability coefficients N_(c) and N_(γ);(ii)the critical RSI angle ω_(cr),which is predominantly influenced by soil cohesion,increases with the soil property values;(iii)the limit support pressure starts to increase with ω only when ω>ω_(cr);(iv)the peak support pressure occurs at lower C/D with a lower ω;(v)ω can only affect stability coefficients N_(c) and N_(γ) when ω and the friction angle are relatively small,while N_(s) is substantially influenced by RSI angle ω.