Deformation characteristics and safety assessment of a high-speed railway induced by undercutting metro tunnel excavation

Stratum deformation(settlement) is a challenging issue in tunnel engineering, especially when construction of metro tunnels has to undercut high-speed railway. For this purpose, we used the FLAC30 software to analyze the stratum settlement characteristics of high-speed railway at different crossing angles intersected by metro tunnel, in terms of ground settlement trough, stratum slip line and irregularity of ballastless tracks. According to the evolution of the stratum settlement at different angle regions, an optimized angle is proposed for the actual project design. In order to reduce the influence of stratum settlement on the safety of high-speed railway, an approach of safety assessment is proposed for the shield engineering undercutting high-speed railway, as per Chinese specifications using numerical results and on-site conditions. A case study is conducted for the shield tunnel section crossing the Wuhan-Guangzhou High-speed Railway between the Guangzhou North Railway Station and the Huacheng Road Station, which represents the first metro tunnel project passing below a high-speed railway in China. A series of measures is taken to ensure the safe excavation of the shield tunnel and the operation of the high-speed railway. The results can provide a technical support for performing a safety evaluation between high-speed railways and metro tunnels.

New technologies for high-risk tunnel construction in GuiyangGuangzhou high-speed railway

Based on the construction of high risk tunnels in Guiguang-Guangzhou high-speed railway, several new technologies were developed for high-risk tunnel con- struction. First, an integrated advanced geological predic- tion was developed for tunneling in karst area. Then, a new system of ventilation by involving the dedusting technol- ogy was proposed and used in the field, which received a good air quality. Finally, a method to minimize the dis- tance between the working face and the invert installation was proposed by optimizing the invert installation and adopting the micro bench method. Applying the method to the project obtained an excellent result. The achievement obtained for this study would be able to provide a valuable reference to similar projects in the future.

Distribution characteristics and the evolution law of excavation damage zone in the large-span transition section of high-speed railway tunnel based on microseismic monitoring

Purpose–The microseismic monitoring technique has great advantages on identifying the location,extent and the mechanism of damage process occurring in rock mass.This study aims to analyze distribution characteristics and the evolution law of excavation damage zone of surrounding rock based on microseismic monitoring data.Design/methodology/approach–In situ test using microseismic monitoring technique is carried out in the large-span transition tunnel of Badaling Great Wall Station of Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed railway.An intelligent microseismic monitoring system is built with symmetry monitoring point layout both on the mountain surface and inside the tunnel to achieve three-dimensional and all-round monitoring results.Findings–Microseismic events can be divided into high density area,medium density area and low density area according to the density distribution of microseismic events.The positions where the cumulative distribution frequencies of microseismic events are 60 and 80%are identified as the boundaries between high and medium density areas and between medium and low density areas,respectively.The high density area of microseismic events is regarded as the high excavation damage zone of surrounding rock,which is affected by the grade of surrounding rock and the span of tunnel.The prediction formulas for the depth of high excavation damage zone of surrounding rock at different tunnel positions are given considering these two parameters.The scale of the average moment magnitude parameters of microseismic events is adopted to describe the damage degree of surrounding rock.The strong positive correlation and multistage characteristics between the depth of excavation damage zone and deformation of surrounding rock are revealed.Based on the depth of high excavation damage zone of surrounding rock,the prestressed anchor cable(rod)is designed,and the safety of anchor cable(rod)design parameters is verified by the deformation results of surrounding rock.Originality/value–The research provides a new method to predict the surrounding rock damage zone of large-span tunnel and also provides a reference basis for design parameters of prestressed anchor cable(rod).

Heterogeneity identification method for surrounding rock of large-section rock tunnel faces based on support vector machine

Purpose–The purpose of the study is to quickly identify significant heterogeneity of surrounding rock of tunnel face that generally occurs during the construction of large-section rock tunnels of high-speed railways.Design/methodology/approach–Relying on the support vector machine(SVM)-based classification model,the nominal classification of blastholes and nominal zoning and classification terms were used to demonstrate the heterogeneity identification method for the surrounding rock of tunnel face,and the identification calculation was carried out for the five test tunnels.Then,the suggestions for local optimization of the support structures of large-section rock tunnels were put forward.Findings–The results show that compared with the two classification models based on neural networks,the SVM-based classification model has a higher classification accuracy when the sample size is small,and the average accuracy can reach 87.9%.After the samples are replaced,the SVM-based classification model can still reach the same accuracy,whose generalization ability is stronger.Originality/value–By applying the identification method described in this paper,the significant heterogeneity characteristics of the surrounding rock in the process of two times of blasting were identified,and the identification results are basically consistent with the actual situation of the tunnel face at the end of blasting,and can provide a basis for local optimization of support parameters.

Wind tunnel test on the effect of metal net fences on sand flux in a Gobi Desert, China

The Lanzhou-Xinjiang High-speed Railway runs through an expansive windy area in a Gobi Desert, and sand-blocking fences were built to protect the railway from destruction by wind-blown sand. However, the shielding effect of the sand-blocking fence is below the expectation. In this study, effects of metal net fences with porosities of 0.5 and 0.7 were tested in a wind tunnel to determine the effectiveness of the employed two kinds of fences in reducing wind velocity and restraining wind-blown sand. Specifically, the horizontal wind velocities and sediment flux densities above the gravel surface were measured under different free-stream wind velocities for the following conditions： no fence at all, single fence with a porosity of 0.5, single fence with a porosity of 0.7, double fences with a porosity of 0.5, and double fences with a porosity of 0.7. Experimental results showed that the horizontal wind velocity was more significantly decreased by the fence with a porosity of 0.5, especially for the double fences. The horizontal wind velocity decreased approximately 65% at a distance of 3.25 m（i.e., 13 H, where H denotes the fence height） downwind the double fences, and no reverse flow or vortex was observed on the leeward side. The sediment flux density decreased exponentially with height above the gravel surface downwind in all tested fences. The reduction percentage of total sediment flux density was higher for the fence with a porosity of 0.5 than for the fence with a porosity of 0.7, especially for the double fences. Furthermore, the decreasing percentage of total sediment flux density decreased with increasing free-stream wind velocity. The results suggest that compared with metal net fence with a porosity of 0.7, the metal net fence with a porosity of 0.5 is more effective for controlling wind-blown sand in the expansive windy area where the Lanzhou-Xinjiang High-speed Railway runs through.

Unsteady slipstream of a train passing through a high-speed railway tunnel with a cave

The cave is of great importance for the storage of equipment and to avoid having workers in the tunnel,but it changes the tunnel section,leads to a change of slipstream and affects the safety of trains and workers.The Re-normalization group(RNG)k-εturbulence method is used to investigate the slipstream induced by a single train passing through a double-track tunnel at 350 km/h.The slipstream in a tunnel with and without a cave is compared.The slipstream components in three directions are reported comprehensively.The results show that the existence of a cave changes the slipstream at the tail of the train.At measurement points before and after the train passes the cave,the intensity of the slipstream at the tail ismitigated;as the train passes the cave,the tail slipstream is enhanced to a certain extent.With increasing lateral distance,the peak value of the slipstream with a cave decreases faster than that without a cave.These findings suggest that the presence of a cave mitigates the slipstream intensity,but special attention should be paid to the design of ancillary facilities,especially their relative location.

Review of research on high-speed railway aerodynamics in China

High-speed railway aerodynamics is the key basic science for solving the bottleneck problem of high-speed railway development.This paper systematically summarizes the aerodynamic research relating to China’s high-speed railway network.Seven key research advances are comprehensively discussed,including train aerodynamic drag-reduction technology,train aerodynamic noise-reduction technology,train ventilation technology,train crossing aerodynamics,train/tunnel aerodynamics,train/climate environment aerodynamics,and train/human body aerodynamics.Seven types of railway aerodynamic test platform built by Central South University are introduced.Five major systems for a high-speed railway network—the aerodynamics theoretical system,the aerodynamic shape(train,tunnel,and so on)design system,the aerodynamics evaluation system,the 3D protection system for operational safety of the high-speed railway network,and the high-speed railway aerodynamic test/computation/analysis platform system—are also introduced.Finally,eight future development directions for the field of railway aerodynamics are proposed.For over 30 years,railway aerodynamics has been an important supporting element in the development of China’s high-speed railway network,which has also promoted the development of high-speed railway aerodynamics throughout the world.