Stability analysis of tunnel face reinforced with face bolts

Face bolting has been widely utilized to enhance the stability of tunnel face,particularly in soft soil tunnels.However,the influence of bolt reinforcement and its layout on tunnel face stability has not been systematically studied.Based on the theory of linear elastic mechanics,this study delved into the specific mechanisms of bolt reinforcement on the tunnel face in both horizontal and vertical dimensions.It also identified the primary failure types of bolts.Additionally,a design approach for tunnel face bolts that incorporates spatial layout was established using the limit equilibrium method to enhance the conventional wedge-prism model.The proposed model was subsequently validated through various means,and the specific influence of relevant bolt design parameters on tunnel face stability was analyzed.Furthermore,design principles for tunnel face bolts under different geological conditions were presented.The findings indicate that bolt failure can be categorized into three stages:tensile failure,pullout failure,and comprehensive failure.Increasing cohesion,internal friction angle,bolt density,and overlap length can effectively enhance tunnel face stability.Due to significant variations in stratum conditions,tailored design approaches based on specific failure stages are necessary for bolt design.

Rock mass quality prediction on tunnel faces with incomplete multi-source dataset via tree-augmented naive Bayesian network

Rock mass quality serves as a vital index for predicting the stability and safety status of rock tunnel faces.In tunneling practice,the rock mass quality is often assessed via a combination of qualitative and quantitative parameters.However,due to the harsh on-site construction conditions,it is rather difficult to obtain some of the evaluation parameters which are essential for the rock mass quality prediction.In this study,a novel improved Swin Transformer is proposed to detect,segment,and quantify rock mass characteristic parameters such as water leakage,fractures,weak interlayers.The site experiment results demonstrate that the improved Swin Transformer achieves optimal segmentation results and achieving accuracies of 92%,81%,and 86%for water leakage,fractures,and weak interlayers,respectively.A multisource rock tunnel face characteristic(RTFC)dataset includes 11 parameters for predicting rock mass quality is established.Considering the limitations in predictive performance of incomplete evaluation parameters exist in this dataset,a novel tree-augmented naive Bayesian network(BN)is proposed to address the challenge of the incomplete dataset and achieved a prediction accuracy of 88%.In comparison with other commonly used Machine Learning models the proposed BN-based approach proved an improved performance on predicting the rock mass quality with the incomplete dataset.By utilizing the established BN,a further sensitivity analysis is conducted to quantitatively evaluate the importance of the various parameters,results indicate that the rock strength and fractures parameter exert the most significant influence on rock mass quality.

Inverse reliability analysis and design for tunnel face stability considering soil spatial variability

The traditional deterministic analysis for tunnel face stability neglects the uncertainties of geotechnical parameters,while the simplified reliability analysis which models the potential uncertainties by means of random variables usually fails to account for soil spatial variability.To overcome these limitations,this study proposes an efficient framework for conducting reliability analysis and reliability-based design(RBD)of tunnel face stability in spatially variable soil strata.The three-dimensional(3D)rotational failure mechanism of the tunnel face is extended to account for the soil spatial variability,and a probabilistic framework is established by coupling the extended mechanism with the improved Hasofer-Lind-Rackwits-Fiessler recursive algorithm(iHLRF)as well as its inverse analysis formulation.The proposed framework allows for rapid and precise reliability analysis and RBD of tunnel face stability.To demonstrate the feasibility and efficacy of the proposed framework,an illustrative case of tunnelling in frictional soils is presented,where the soil's cohesion and friction angle are modelled as two anisotropic cross-correlated lognormal random fields.The results show that the proposed method can accurately estimate the failure probability(or reliability index)regarding the tunnel face stability and can efficiently determine the required supporting pressure for a target reliability index with soil spatial variability being taken into account.Furthermore,this study reveals the impact of various factors on the support pressure,including coefficient of variation,cross-correlation between cohesion and friction angle,as well as autocorrelation distance of spatially variable soil strata.The results also demonstrate the feasibility of using the forward and/or inverse first-order reliability method(FORM)in high-dimensional stochastic problems.It is hoped that this study may provide a practical and reliable framework for determining the stability of tunnels in complex soil strata.

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.

An efficient probabilistic design approach for tunnel face stability by inverse reliability analysis

In order to maintain the safety of underground constructions that significantly involve geo-material uncertainties,this paper delivers a new computation framework for conducting reliability-based design(RBD)of shallow tunnel face stability,utilizing a simplified inverse first-order reliability method(FORM).The limit state functions defining tunnel face stability are established for both collapse and blow-out modes of the tunnel face failure,respectively,and the deterministic results of the tunnel face support pressure are obtained through three-dimensional finite element limit analysis(FELA).Because the inverse reliability method can directly capture the design support pressure according to prescribed target reliability index,the computational cost for probabilistic design of tunnel face stability is greatly reduced.By comparison with Monte Carlo simulation results,the accuracy and feasibility of the proposed method are verified.Further,this study presents a series of reliability-based design charts for vividly understanding the limit support pressure on tunnel face in both cohesionless(sandy)soil and cohesive soil stratums,and their optimal support pressure ranges are highlighted.The results show that in the case of sandy soil stratum,the blowout failure of tunnel face is extremely unlikely,whereas the collapse is the only possible failure mode.The parametric study of various geotechnical uncertainties also reveals that ignoring the potential correlation between soil shear strength parameters will lead to over-designed support pressure,and the coefficient of variation of internal friction angle has a greater influence on the tunnel face failure probability than that of the cohesion.

Influences of anisotropy and inhomogeneity on supporting pressure of tunnel face with kinematical approach

Based on the active failure mechanism generated by a spatial discretization technique, the stability of tunnel face was studied. With the help of the spatial discretization technique, not only the anisotropy and inhomogeneity of the cohesion but also the inhomogeneity of the internal friction angle was taken into account in the analysis of the supporting forces. From the perspective of upper bound theorem, the upper bound solutions of supporting pressure were derived. The influence of the anisotropy and heterogeneity on the supporting forces as well as the failure mechanisms was discussed. The results show that the spatial discretization characteristics of cohesion and internal frictional angle impose a significant effect on the supporting pressure, which indicates that above factors should be considered in the actual engineering.

Probabilistic analysis of tunnel face seismic stability in layered rock masses using Polynomial Chaos Kriging metamodel

Face stability is an essential issue in tunnel design and construction.Layered rock masses are typical and ubiquitous;uncertainties in rock properties always exist.In view of this,a comprehensive method,which combines the Upper bound Limit analysis of Tunnel face stability,the Polynomial Chaos Kriging,the Monte-Carlo Simulation and Analysis of Covariance method(ULT-PCK-MA),is proposed to investigate the seismic stability of tunnel faces.A two-dimensional analytical model of ULT is developed to evaluate the virtual support force based on the upper bound limit analysis.An efficient probabilistic analysis method PCK-MA based on the adaptive Polynomial Chaos Kriging metamodel is then implemented to investigate the parameter uncertainty effects.Ten input parameters,including geological strength indices,uniaxial compressive strengths and constants for three rock formations,and the horizontal seismic coefficients,are treated as random variables.The effects of these parameter uncertainties on the failure probability and sensitivity indices are discussed.In addition,the effects of weak layer position,the middle layer thickness and quality,the tunnel diameter,the parameters correlation,and the seismic loadings are investigated,respectively.The results show that the layer distributions significantly influence the tunnel face probabilistic stability,particularly when the weak rock is present in the bottom layer.The efficiency of the proposed ULT-PCK-MA is validated,which is expected to facilitate the engineering design and construction.

Failure responses of rock tunnel faces during excavation through the fault-fracture zone

It is essential to cast light on the construction risks in tunnel excavations through the fault-fracture zone(FFZ).This study adopts the material point method(MPM)to simulate the failure responses of a rock tunnel face during excavation through the FFZ.A numerical study was conducted to compare a physical model test and validate the feasibility of using the MPM in simulating tunnel face failure.One hundred ninety numerical simulation cases were constructed to represent a rock tunnel excavation project with different site con-figurations.The simulation results suggest that the cohesion and the friction angle significantly influence failure responses.The tunnel cover depth can magnify the failure responses,and the FFZ thickness significantly affects the mobilized rock mass volume when the FFZ consists of a weak rock mass.The numerical simulation results suggest three deformation patterns:face bulge,partial failure,and slide collapse.The failure responses can be characterized by stress arch,slip surface,angle of reposing,and influence range.The insights suggested by the face failure responses during excavation through the FFZ can aid field engineers in determining the scope of possible damage,and in establishing emergency measures to minimize losses if such failure occurs.

Effect of cutterhead configuration on tunnel face stability during shield machine maintenance outages

Owing to long-distance advancement or obstacles,shield tunneling machines are typically shut down for maintenance.Engineering safety during maintenance outages is determined by the stability of the tunnel face.Pressure maintenance openings are typically used under complicated hydrogeological conditions.The tunnel face is supported by a medium at the bottom of the excavation chamber and compressed air at the top.Owing to the high risk of face failure,the necessity of support pressure when cutterhead support is implemented and a method for determining the value of compressed air pressure using different support ratios must to be determined.In this study,a non-fully chamber supported rotational failure model considering cutterhead support is developed based on the upper-bound theorem of limit analysis.Numerical simulation is conducted to verify the accuracy of the proposed model.The results indicate that appropriately increasing the specific gravity of the supporting medium can reduce the risk of collapse.The required compressed air pressure increases significantly as the support ratio decreases.Disregarding the supporting effect of the cutterhead will result in a tunnel face with underestimated stability.To satisfy the requirement of chamber openings at atmospheric pressure,the stratum reinforcement strength and range at the shield end are provided based on different cutterhead aperture ratios.

Hard-rock tunnel lithology identification using multiscale dilated convolutional attention network based on tunnel face images

For real-time classification of rock-masses in hard-rock tunnels,quick determination of the rock lithology on the tunnel face during construction is essential.Motivated by current breakthroughs in artificial intelligence technology in machine vision,a new automatic detection approach for classifying tunnel lithology based on tunnel face images was developed.The method benefits from residual learning for training a deep convolutional neural network(DCNN),and a multi-scale dilated convolutional attention block is proposed.The block with different dilation rates can provide various receptive fields,and thus it can extract multi-scale features.Moreover,the attention mechanism is utilized to select the salient features adaptively and further improve the performance of the model.In this study,an initial image data set made up of photographs of tunnel faces consisting of basalt,granite,siltstone,and tuff was first collected.After classifying and enhancing the training,validation,and testing data sets,a new image data set was generated.A comparison of the experimental findings demonstrated that the suggested approach outperforms previous classifiers in terms of various indicators,including accuracy,precision,recall,F1-score,and computing time.Finally,a visualization analysis was performed to explain the process of the network in the classification of tunnel lithology through feature extraction.Overall,this study demonstrates the potential of using artificial intelligence methods for in situ rock lithology classification utilizing geological images of the tunnel face.

Pseudo-dynamic analysis of a 3D tunnel face in inclined weak strata

A new discretization technique is proposed for a three-dimensional(3D)tunnel face in weak strata with a random position in space.This method limits the angle,height,and thickness of the strata on the tunnel face.The original whole piece of soil is separated by a series of parallel planes,and two parallel planes are used as a stratum.Each radial discrete plane is separated when it passes through the strata,and the change in the soil properties of discrete points on the truncated plane is considered separately inside the strata.Considering the spatial and temporal characteristics of seismic waves,a pseudo-dynamic analysis of the tunnel face is carried out.The tunnel face active damage types under earthquake conditions are quantitatively analyzed,and the corresponding support pressure design diagrams are given for the case without weak strata.For the case containing weak strata,the presence of weak strata can have adverse effects on the face.The failure mechanism of the weak strata is given by the discretization method.For different friction angles,the presence of the weak strata changes the friction angles of the soils.For the thickness,location and angle of the weak strata,the variation in the support pressure is given in this paper.To more intuitively depict the change in the failure mechanism in the presence of weak strata,the change in the failure mechanism under different thicknesses and weaknesses of weak strata is plotted.

Face stability of shield tunnels considering a kinematically admissible velocity field of soil arching

Existing mechanism of simulating soil movement at tunnel face is generally based on the translational or rotational velocity field,which is,to some extent,different from the real soil movement in the arching zone.Numerical simulations are carried out first to investigate the characteristics of the velocity distribution at tunnel face and above tunnel vault.Then a new kinematically admissible velocity field is proposed to improve the description of the soil movement according to the results of the numerical simulation.Based on the proposed velocity field,an improved failure mechanism is constructed adopting the spatial discretization technique,which takes into account soil arching effect and plastic deformation within soil mass.Finally,the critical face pressure and the proposed mechanism are compared with the results of the numerical simulation,existing analytical studies and experimental tests to verify the accuracy and improvement of the presented method.The proposed mechanism can serve as an alternative approach for the face stability analysis.

Design Theory of Full Face Rock Tunnel Boring Machine Transition Cutter Edge Angle and Its Application

At present, the inner cutters of a full face rock tunnel boring machine (TBM) and transition cutter edge angles are designed on the basis of indentation test or linear grooving test. The inner and outer edge angles of disc cutters are characterized as symmetric to each other with respect to the cutter edge plane. This design has some practical defects, such as severe eccentric wear and tipping, etc. In this paper, the current design theory of disc cutter edge angle is analyzed, and the characteristics of the rock-breaking movement of disc cutters are studied. The researching results show that the rotational motion of disc cutters with the cutterhead gives rise to the difference between the interactions of inner rock and outer rock with the contact area of disc cutters, with shearing and extrusion on the inner rock and attrition on the outer rock. The wear of disc cutters at the contact area is unbalanced, among which the wear in the largest normal stress area is most apparent. Therefore, a three-dimensional model theory of rock breaking and an edge angle design theory of transition disc cutter are proposed to overcome the flaws of the currently used TBM cutter heads, such as short life span, camber wearing, tipping. And a corresponding equation is established. With reference to a specific construction case, the edge angle of the transition disc cutter has been designed based on the theory. The application of TBM in some practical project proves that the theory has obvious advantages in enhancing disc cutter life, decreasing replacement frequency, and making economic benefits. The proposed research provides a theoretical basis for the design of TBM three-dimensional disc cutters whose rock-breaking operation time can be effectively increased.

Wear Analysis of Disc Cutters of Full Face Rock Tunnel Boring Machine

Wear is a major factor of disc cutters’ failure. No current theory offers a standard for the prediction of disc cutter wear yet. In the field the wear prediction method commonly used is based on the excavation length of tunnel boring machine（TBM） to predict the disc cutter wear and its wear law, considering the location number of each disc cutter on the cutterhead（radius for installation）; in theory, there is a prediction method of using arc wear coefficient. However, the preceding two methods have their own errors, with their accuracy being 40% or so and largely relying on the technicians’ experience. Therefore, radial wear coefficient, axial wear coefficient and trajectory wear coefficient are defined on the basis of the operating characteristics of TBM. With reference to the installation and characteristics of disc cutters, those coefficients are modified according to penetration, which gives rise to the presentation of comprehensive axial wear coefficient, comprehensive radial wear coefficient and comprehensive trajectory wear coefficient. Calculation and determination of wear coefficients are made with consideration of data from a segment of TBM project（excavation length 173 m）. The resulting wear coefficient values, after modification, are adopted to predict the disc cutter wear in the follow-up segment of the TBM project（excavation length of 5621 m）. The prediction results show that the disc cutter wear predicted with comprehensive radial wear coefficient and comprehensive trajectory wear coefficient are not only accurate（accuracy 16.12%） but also highly congruous, whereas there is a larger deviation in the prediction with comprehensive axial wear coefficient（accuracy 41%, which is in agreement with the prediction of disc cutters’ life in the field）. This paper puts forth a new method concerning prediction of life span and wear of TBM disc cutters as well as timing for replacing disc cutters.

Energy analysis of face stability of deep rock tunnels using nonlinear Hoek-Brown failure criterion

The nonlinear Hoek-Brown failure criterion was introduced to limit analysis by applying the tangent method. Based on the failure mechanism of double-logarithmic spiral curves on the face of deep rock tunnels, the analytical solutions of collapse pressure were derived through utilizing the virtual power principle in the case of pore water, and the optimal solutions of collapse pressure were obtained by using the optimization programs of mathematical model with regard of a maximum problem. In comparison with existing research with the same parameters, the consistency of change rule shows the validity of the proposed method. Moreover, parametric study indicates that nonlinear Hoek-Brown failure criterion and pore water pressure have great influence on collapse pressure and failure shape of tunnel faces in deep rock masses, particularly when the surrounding rock is too weak or under the condition of great disturbance and abundant ground water, and in this case, supporting measures should be intensified so as to prevent the occurrence of collapse.

Full-face excavation of large tunnels in difficult conditions

Following a few preliminary remarks on the tunneling methods at the beginning of the 20th century, thesuccessful applications of the full-face method also in difficult conditions are underlined. The attention isposed on the use of a systematic reinforcement of the face and of the ground, by means of fiber-glasselements. A selection of tunnels where this method was used successfully is reported with the purposeof illustrating the wide spectrum of ground conditions where it has been applied. Then, following adescription of the main concepts behind the method, the attention moves from the so-called “heavymethod”, where deformations are restrained, to the “light method”, where deformations are allowedwith the intention to decrease the stresses acting on the primary and final linings. The progress in theapplication of the “light method” is underlined, up to the development of a novel technique, which relieson the use of a yielding support composed of top head steel sets with sliding joints and specialdeformable elements inserted in the primary lining. The well-known case study of the Saint Martin LaPorte access adit, along the Lyon-Turin Base Tunnel, is described. In this tunnel, a yield-control supportsystem combined with full-face excavation has been adopted successfully in order to cope with the largedeformations experienced during face advance through the Carboniferous formation. The monitoringresults obtained during excavation are illustrated, together with the modeling studies performed whenpaying attention to the rock mass time-dependent behavior.

开挖面失稳导致地下结构变形破坏的离心模拟

城市密集地下工程结构群下进行地下空间开发遭遇复杂地质环境时,可能会导致隧道开挖面失稳从而对既有结构的安全造成巨大威胁。开展了三个离心模型试验,模拟均质粉土地基和有黏土夹层的粉土地基中多层既有地下结构,研发了模拟隧道开挖面失稳的试验技术,再现了施工扰动引发的土体破坏模式和既有结构变形破坏机理。试验表明,控制开挖面位移(0.48H,H为开挖面高度)或者开挖面附近存在黏土夹层时,其附近形成的土拱有效地控制破坏区域,显著降低既有隧道的变形和应变,最终竖向变形为0.3~0.35 m,最大拉应变为850微应变;如果开挖面位移增大至0.86H,均质粉土地基出现整体失稳,既有隧道的最终竖向变形0.48 m,最大拉应变达到1900微应变。

快掘面抽风口集尘参数变化下粉尘场优化模型研究

为了解决长压短抽通风方式下传统抽风口集尘效果不适应掘进速度快、产尘量大的工作面集尘需求等问题,提出设计抽风筒集尘口装置及系统布局,以降低快掘面高粉尘危害和污染等隐患。利用Fluent建立集尘系统的粉尘场有限元模型,分析单集尘参数对粉尘场影响并确定参数取值范围,设计二次回归正交试验,建立司机和人行道呼吸带粉尘质量浓度双目标优化模型,采用NSGA-Ⅱ算法求解模型。以陕西某矿快掘面为研究对象,求解得到该集尘布局下最佳集尘参数方案。搭建集尘系统试验平台来测试最佳集尘参数方案,研究结果表明:试验测试值和预测值误差小于8%,优化后的司机处粉尘质量浓度和人行道呼吸带平均粉尘质量浓度分别降低79.3%,58.7%,证明优化模型准确且有效。研究结果可为实现快掘面空气净化目标提供参考。

基于极限分析上限法的地震作用下分层地基盾构隧道开挖面稳定性研究

目前针对盾构隧道开挖面稳定性的研究还较少考虑土体分层特性和地震作用的耦合影响,因此构建了一种在分层土体中考虑地震作用的开挖面三维对数螺旋破坏模型进行研究。首先,将地震引起的动态响应通过拟静力法简化为水平和竖直两个方向上的惯性力作用;其次,在均质土体中的三维对数螺旋破坏机制的基础上,将其改进为适用于分层土体的三维对数螺旋破坏机制;再次,根据上限定理,在虚功率方程中引入地震惯性力所做功率,得到考虑土体分层特性和地震作用条件下的盾构隧道开挖面支护力的上限解;最后,将上限理论解与三维数值模拟结果和既有模型试验结果进行对比,得到了较好的一致性。此外,针对水平地震加速度系数和地层厚度对关键物理特征进行了影响因素分析。结果表明,当比例系数ζ>0时,极限支护力随水平地震加速度系数的增大显著增大;当ζ<0时,极限支护力随水平地震加速度系数增大而增大的趋势减弱。当水平地震加速度系数kh=0时,即在无地震作用情况下,归一化极限支护力不随ζ的变化而变化;在上硬下软土层中,下部土层厚度比的增大会引起极限支护力的增大,在上软下硬土层中,下部土层厚度比的增大会引起极限支护力的减小。

富水环境下盾构隧道最小覆盖层厚度设计与计算方法综述

覆盖层厚度设计是建设水下盾构隧道的关键环节之一。覆盖层厚度过小,围岩在施工扰动下易发生失稳,引起塌方、突水等灾害;覆盖层厚度过大,则会对工程预算与工期提出更高的要求。通过文献调研,结合已有实际水下盾构隧道工程案例,对现有合理覆盖层厚度设计和计算方法进行研究与总结。得出:1)水下盾构隧道设计方法主要分为理论分析法和数值模拟法;2)根据隧道结构稳定分析侧重点不同,理论分析法可分为考虑抗浮稳定性设计方法和考虑掌子面稳定性设计方法;3)现阶段水下盾构隧道合理覆盖层厚度的设计方法多基于数值模拟和理论分析,对实际工程工况进行一定程度的简化,且未能全面考虑复杂建(构)筑物环境、施工工艺以及隧道自身结构特性的影响,覆盖层厚度的研究深度和设计方法的适用性仍需进一步提高;4)目前,富水环境下盾构隧道最小覆盖层厚度的研究内容已较为丰富,但与实际工程的结合较为困难。未来的研究应进一步考虑施工的经济性、施工流程、复杂环境条件、结构寿命及智慧建造平台等方面。