Enhanced elastic beam model with BADS integrated for settlement assessment of immersed tunnels

Excessive settlement may induce structural damage and water leakage in immersed tunnels,seriously threatening the tunnels’safety.However,making accurate assessment of the settlement in immersed tunnels is difficult due to the incomplete knowledge of the geotechnical parameters and the inadequacy of the model itself.This paper proposes an effective method to accurately assess the settlement in immersed tunnels.An enhanced beam on elastic foundation model(E-BEFM)is developed for the settlement assessment,with the Bayesian adaptive direct search algorithm adopted to estimate unknown model parameters based on previous observations.The proposed method is applied to a field case of the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao immersed tunnel.The original BEFM is used for comparison to highlight the better assessment performance of E-BEFM,particularly for joints’differential settlement.Results show that the proposed method can provide accurate predictions of the total settlement,angular distortion(a representation of tubes’relatively differential settlement),and joints’differential settlement,which consequently supports the associated maintenance decision-making and potential risk prevention for immersed tunnels in service.

Comparative Analysis of ARIMA and LSTM Model-Based Anomaly Detection for Unannotated Structural Health Monitoring Data in an Immersed Tunnel

Structural Health Monitoring(SHM)systems have become a crucial tool for the operational management of long tunnels.For immersed tunnels exposed to both traffic loads and the effects of the marine environment,efficiently identifying abnormal conditions from the extensive unannotated SHM data presents a significant challenge.This study proposed amodel-based approach for anomaly detection and conducted validation and comparative analysis of two distinct temporal predictive models using SHM data from a real immersed tunnel.Firstly,a dynamic predictive model-based anomaly detectionmethod is proposed,which utilizes a rolling time window for modeling to achieve dynamic prediction.Leveraging the assumption of temporal data similarity,an interval prediction value deviation was employed to determine the abnormality of the data.Subsequently,dynamic predictive models were constructed based on the Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average(ARIMA)and Long Short-Term Memory(LSTM)models.The hyperparameters of these models were optimized and selected using monitoring data from the immersed tunnel,yielding viable static and dynamic predictive models.Finally,the models were applied within the same segment of SHM data,to validate the effectiveness of the anomaly detection approach based on dynamic predictive modeling.A detailed comparative analysis discusses the discrepancies in temporal anomaly detection between the ARIMA-and LSTM-based models.The results demonstrated that the dynamic predictive modelbased anomaly detection approach was effective for dealing with unannotated SHM data.In a comparison between ARIMA and LSTM,it was found that ARIMA demonstrated higher modeling efficiency,rendering it suitable for short-term predictions.In contrast,the LSTM model exhibited greater capacity to capture long-term performance trends and enhanced early warning capabilities,thereby resulting in superior overall performance.

Research progress and development trends of highway tunnels in China

The highway tunnel system in China has in recent years surpassed Europe, the United States, and other developed countries in terms of mileage, scale, complexity, and technical achievement. Much scientific research has been conducted, and the results have greatly facilitated the rapid development of China＇s highway tunnel building capacity. This article presents the historical development of highway tunneling in China, according to specific charac- teristics based on construction and operation. It provides a systematic analysis of the major achievements and chal- lenges with respect to construction techniques, operation, monitoring, repair, and maintenance. Together with future trends of highway tunneling in China, suggestions have been made for further research, and development prospects have been identified with the for a Chinese-style highway aim of laying the foundation tunnel construction method and technical architecture.

Typical Underwater Tunnels in the Mainland of China and Related Tunneling Technologies

In the past decades, many underwater tunnels have been constructed in the mainland of China, and great progress has been made in related tunneling technologies. This paper presents the history and state of the art of underwater tunnels in the mainland of China in terms of shield-bored tunnels, drill-and-blast tunnels, and immersed tunnels. Typical underwater tunnels of these types in the mainland of China are described, along with innovative technologies regarding comprehensive geological prediction, grouting-based consolidation, the design and construction of large cross-sectional tunnels with shallow cover in weak strata, cutting tool replacement under limited drainage and reduced pressure conditions, the detection and treatment of boulders, the construction of underwater tunnels in areas with high seismic intensity, and the treatment of serious sedimentation in a foundation channel of immersed tunnels. Some suggestions are made regarding the three potential great strait-crossing tunnels-the Qiongzhou Strait-Crossing Tunnel, Bohai Strait-Crossing Tunnel, and Taiwan Strait-Crossing Tunnel--and issues related to these great strait-crossing tunnels that need further study are proposed.

Experimental Investigation on Element Immersing Process of Immersed Tube Tunnel

Bridges and tunnels are good solutions to transportation problems in large cities separated by large rivers. In bridge construction great success has been achieved in China, but large-sized immersed tube tunnel construction is still new. Element immersing is an important process of immersed tube tunnel construction. The accuracy of tunnel element positioning directly determines the quality of tunnel construction. In order to study the behavior of elements during its lowering to the sea bed, the experiments carried out in the State Key Laboratory of Ocean Engineering of Shanghai Jiaotong University. In consideration of the construction experience abroad and by reference to published papers on the Oresund tunnel in Norway-Sweden and Tokyo Bay tunnel in Japan, an element model to an appropriate scale is developed. A concise description of the model experiment wave environments is carried out, and the feasibility of two immersing strategies is studied.

Settlement Mode Analysis for An Immersed Tube Tunnel Considering A Nonuniform Foundation Under Tidal Load

Immersed tube tunnels are usually placed on soft soil layers in cross-sea tunnelling engineering.Owing to the influence of stratum conditions and slope design,the longitudinal distribution of substratum layers is generally uneven.Thus,the inhomogeneous deformation of the element-joint becomes the key factor in the failure of the immersed tube tun-nel.Therefore,a corresponding calculation method for joint deformation is needed to explore the deformation law of immersed tube tunnels.By constructing a three-section immersed tube tunnel analysis model(TTM),the relationship between the two types of deformation of the immersed tube tunnel structure in a longitudinal nonuniform soft soil foundation is described,and the deformation characteristics of the immersed structure under different boundaries are discussed.Based on the mechanical behaviour of the joint and foundation,according to the Timoshenko beam on the Vlasov two-parameter foundation(VTM),considering the tidal cyclic load during the operation and maintenance period,an example analysis is given.Moreover,the deformation characteristics and development trend of the immersed tube tunnel under the influence of different soil layers are discussed.The obtained results have a certain guiding significance for the deformation calculation of immersed tube tunnels.

Particle Swarm-Based Translation Control for Immersed Tunnel Element in the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge Project

Immersed tunnel is an important part of the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge(HZMB) project. In immersed tunnel floating, translation which includes straight and transverse movements is the main working mode. To decide the magnitude and direction of the towing force for each tug, a particle swarm-based translation control method is presented for non-power immersed tunnel element. A sort of linear weighted logarithmic function is exploited to avoid weak subgoals. In simulation, the particle swarm-based control method is evaluated and compared with traditional empirical method in the case of the HZMB project. Simulation results show that the presented method delivers performance improvement in terms of the enhanced surplus towing force.

Evaluation on the state of sand filling layer and the influence on segment deformation of immersed tunnels

The immersed tunnel is considered an effective solution for traffic problems across rivers and seas.The sand filling layer,as an important part of immersed tunnel foundation treatments,directly affects segment attitude stability.Due to difficulties in quality control of concealed construction and the complex hydrodynamic environment,the sand filling layer is prone to compaction defects,further leading to changes in segment attitude.However,limited by structural concealment and state complexity,most studies consider the sand filling layer part of the foundation to study its impact on settlement while neglecting its influence on segment attitude.This research proposes an evaluation method for the sand filling layer state based on elastic wave testing and the elastic wave characteristic parameters selected come from analysis of the time domain,frequency domain and time–frequency domain.By classifying the elastic wave characteristic parameters through the K-means clustering method,the relationship between the state of the sand filling layer and the elastic wave characteristic parameters is established.The state of the sand filling layer is divided into dense,incompact,and void.A numerical model is established based on the Guangzhou BI-UT immersed tunnel with incompact and void sand filling layer states to simulate deformation and torsion.The results indicate that the settlement of the tunnel segment is low in the eastern region and high in the western region due to the presence of a less dense sand filling layer,with a maximum differential settlement of 0.04 m.The evaluation method plays a crucial role in guiding the construction of immersed tube tunnels.

Frequency responses of immersing tunnel element under wave actions

The immersion of large-scale tunnel elements is one of the most important working procedures in the construction of an underwater immersed tunnel. To investigate the dynamic characteristics of tunnel element in the process of immersion, based on the twin-barge immersing operation method, the frequency-domain analysis of the tunnel element motions under wave actions was made. The linear wave diffraction theory and the three-dimensional source distribution method were applied to calculate the wave loads and motion responses of the tunnel element under different incident wave conditions. In the study, movement of the two barges in the water was assumed to be small and was ignored. Cable tension was computed by the static method. On the basis of the above theories, a computer program was made, and two cases were taken to check the validity of the program. The results showed that wave loads acting on the immersed tunnel element are relatively large near the water surface, and they decrease with the increase of immersing depth of the tunnel element. Wave loads first increase, then decrease, with the increase of wave period. The motion responses of the tunnel element are also generally large near the water surface and decrease as the immersing depth increases.

Establishment of Nanchang Honggu Tunnel health monitoring and assessment system

Based on the background of the Nanchang Honggu Tunnel,which is the largest inland river immersed tunnel to date in China,some research work on the construction of the Nanchang Honggu Tunnel health monitoring and assessment system is introduced.The platform of the health monitoring and assessment system is established with a relatively mature structure,including the sensor subsystem,data acquisition subsystem,data transmission subsystem,database subsystem,data processing and control subsystem,and health assessment and pre-warning subsystem.Monitoring index selection,sensor selection and sensor layout are fully considered in the health monitoring design and technology scheme.The fuzzy-AHP(analytic hierarchy process)evaluation method is employed to establish the Honggu Tunnel health assessment model,and the index weight determination method and grading control criterion are investigated and given.Then,the functions of the software system are achieved with advanced cloud platform technology,and the running costs of the system is reduced greatly.In summary,the establishment of the Nanchang Honggu Tunnel health monitoring and assessment system is described and such a system can realize real-time monitoring of the Honggu Tunnel and make it more convenient for implementing health assessment,pre-warning,and some other functions.Managers can operate the system using PCs and cell phones.At the same time,the relevant work on this system can provide a good reference for other immersed tunnels.

Pavement structure and materials design for sea-crossing bridges and tunnel:Case study of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge

With the continuous development of bridge and tunnel construction technologies,large-scale sea-crossing bridges and tunnels have gradually become the preferred choice for regional traffic.The construction technology of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge(HZMB),one of the most representative sea-crossing passageways,is instructive for the construction of other large sea-crossing infrastructures.At present,the pavement design method of sea-crossing passageways lacks pertinence as it still refers to specifications for design of common pavement.Therefore,it is necessary to consider the bridge and tunnel pavement of HZMB as a typical example to analyze key technical problems encountered in its design,construction and operation.Novel solutions for material selection and structural design built upon the analysis of such critical problems should thus follow up.Based on comprehensive literature research,it can be found that environmental variability,tunnel closure,structural differential settlement and expansion deformation are the key technical problems faced by pavement of sea-crossing passageways.In view of the environmental variability,the steel deck-paving material and structure design of GMA-10 t SMA-13 is innovatively proposed.As for the closure of immersed tube tunnel,warm-mix flame retardant asphalt mixture is used to control pavement design through key indexes such as temperature and limit oxygen index.Regarding the deformation of immersed pipe joints,BJ200 asphalt seamless expansion joint material is introduced,which effectively satisfies the multi-directional deformation between pipe joints and ensures the smoothness of the road surface and driving comfort.For segmental joints,double-layer waterproof-coiled material is used to effectively prevent reflective cracks while ensuring the continuity of asphalt concrete pavement.Therefore,this paper provides a panel of ideas and methods for the pavement design of the same type of sea-crossing passageways.

Experimental Study on Mooring,Towing and Installing of Immersed Tunnel Caissons

Mooring,towing and installing tests on immersed tunnel caissons across the Yong River are carried out in basin to investigate the motions and line tensions.In the towing operation,the maximum tension exists in the case that half caisson is exposed to waves and currents.The cooperation of operating manually on many lines at the same time is very difficult and important.The dynamic behavior of the caisson and the line tensions are affected more by the manual operations than by waves and currents.In the installing operation,the tensions of hoisting lines are much larger than the positioning lines.

Experimental study on the mechanical behavior and deformation characteristics of gravel cushion in an immersed tube tunnel

The immersed tube tunnel section of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link exhibits complex geological conditions and high back sludge strength. The tunnel cushion adopts the gravel and flaky stone combined cushion. The major influencing factors of the mechanical deformation characteristics of the gravel and flaky stone composite cushion are studied through a physical model experiment. The following results are reported.(1) The load–settlement curves of the flaky stone cushion become more compact with a dense increment under the design load. These curves can be regarded as nonlinear mechanical characteristics. The load–settlement curves of the gravel cushion and the gravel and flaky stone composite cushion exhibit the characteristics of a two-stage linear change.(2) The flatness of the top of flaky stone cushion considerably affects settlement and secant modulus. The flatness of the top of flaky stone should be ensured during construction.(3) Gradation and thickness exert no evident effect on the compressibility of a cushion. The preloading pressure caused by the construction height difference of the cushion materials plays an important role in improving the initial stiffness of a cushion and reducing initial settlement and overall settlement.(4) This study investigates the preloading under 30 kPa of the 0.7-m flaky stone and 1.0-m gravel combination cushion. It recommends the following secant modulus values: 48.89 MPa for the section of 0–30 kPa and 10.47 MPa for the section of 30–110 kPa.

TIME-DOMAIN RESPONSES OF IMMERSING TUNNEL ELEMENT UNDER WAVE ACTIONS

The time domain responses of the tunnel element under wave actions during its immersion are investigated based on the linear wave diffraction theory. The integral equation is derived by using the time-domain Green function that satisfies the free water surface condition in the finite water depth, and is solved by the boundary element method. The motion equations of the tunnel element are solved by the fourth order Runge-Kutta method. A comparison between the computed and measured results reveals that the numerical model can effectively simulate the motion responses of the tunnel element and the cable tensions when the motions of the tunnel element are within some limit. Taking the tunnel element of 100 m in length, 15 m in width and 10 m in height as an example, the computational results of the motion responses of the tunnel element and the cable tensions in different immersing depths are obtained under different incident wave conditions.