Leading-Edge in Computational Methods for Tunnelling and Underground Construction

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Construction Management, and Computers & Digitization".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2023) | Viewed by 6816

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Faculty of Civil Engineering, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCMUT), Ho Chi Minh City 70000, Vietnam
Interests: geotechnical stability analysis; limit analysis; finite element analysis; pile foundation; deep excavations
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Guest Editor
Department of Civil Engineering, Thammasat School of Engineering, Thammasat University, Pathumthani 12120, Thailand
Interests: finite element analysis; limit analysis; deep excavations; solid mechanics; geotechnical stability analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is dedicated to the theme of computational methods for tunneling and underground construction. In addition to model tests and theoretical calculation, computational methods have become essential due to the rapid development of computer technology, which has been commonly used to find solutions to geotechnical problems in tunnelling and underground construction. Several computational methods, such as the finite difference method (FDM), finite element limit analysis (FELA), finite element method (FEM), boundary element method (BEM), discontinuous deformation analysis (DDA) method, discrete element method (DEM), particle flow method (PFM), etc. have been improved and employed to compute several problems for tunneling and underground constructions owing to the complexity of such engineering problems. Further, an actual physical counterpart can be established and reflected in numerical software such as ABAQUS, PLAXIS, OPTUM, MIDAS, and ANSYS, subsequently providing the optimal parameters for the design and construction of underground engineering. The aim of this Special Issue is to provide guidelines for potential users of these new computational methods and prospects of further development of computational methods for tunneling and underground space engineering. Moreover, optimization algorithms, artificial intelligence, hybrid intelligent systems, smart techniques, and applications in the area of tunneling and underground construction are of interest.

Dr. Van Qui Lai
Dr. Suraparb Keawsawasvong
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • tunneling
  • computation
  • underground construction
  • infrastructure
  • geotechnical
  • finite element
  • optimization algorithms
  • artificial intelligence
  • soil mechanics
  • rock mechanics
  • uncertainties

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 4844 KiB  
Article
Additional Stress of Soil and Surface Settlement during Tunnel Shield Construction
by Ying Li, Xiaowei Bian, Hao Peng, Baoqiang Zhu and Yilin Zhou
Buildings 2023, 13(6), 1437; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13061437 - 31 May 2023
Viewed by 908
Abstract
To study the influence of shield excavation on the surrounding soil, and to control the influence of the shield excavation of the subway tunnel on the surface settlement and the deformation of the surrounding buildings, it is necessary to study the additional stress [...] Read more.
To study the influence of shield excavation on the surrounding soil, and to control the influence of the shield excavation of the subway tunnel on the surface settlement and the deformation of the surrounding buildings, it is necessary to study the additional stress of the surrounding soil caused by the tunnel shield excavation and the law of surface settlement. Combined with a shield construction project of a subway tunnel, this article uses the Mindlin solution in elastic mechanics to obtain three-dimensional calculation formulas for the additional thrust on the shield cutter head surface and the additional stress and displacement field caused by the friction force between the shield shell and the soil contact interface on the surrounding soil. The Loganathan ground movement pattern is used to determine the soil movement mode. The source–sink method is used to study the formula for calculating the three-dimensional additional stress of the soil around the shield tunnel caused by ground loss. The results show that when the shield is digging, the ground goes through five stages, namely the uplift of the ground before the arrival of the shield cutter head, surface settlement when the shield reaches the surface subsides when the shield tail of the shield passes through, the passage of the shield tail of the shield, surface settlement when the lining is separated from the shield, and consolidation and settlement after the shield passes through. Full article
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19 pages, 4498 KiB  
Article
Thermal Insulation, Antifreeze, and Anti-Drainage Technology for Tunnels in the Cold Area of Jinpen Bay
by Tu Ha, Shengjun Liu, Libin Lin, Wei Liu, Hongwei Zhang, Lijun Sun and Xuemin Zhao
Buildings 2023, 13(6), 1377; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13061377 - 25 May 2023
Viewed by 1225
Abstract
There are a large number of tunnels built in permafrost regions every year in China. When investigating the road tunnels that have been in operation in cold regions, it was found that most of these tunnels have various freezing damages. Therefore, in the [...] Read more.
There are a large number of tunnels built in permafrost regions every year in China. When investigating the road tunnels that have been in operation in cold regions, it was found that most of these tunnels have various freezing damages. Therefore, in the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of tunnels in cold regions, there are still many technical problems that need to be solved urgently. Among them, the problems of heat preservation, anti-freezing, and anti-drainage are the key technical problems to determine whether the tunnels in cold regions are affected by freezing damage. The project was based on the completed highway tunnels in Inner Mongolia. Given a series of special problems faced by the construction and management of tunnels in cold regions, a large number of reference documents were consulted. This paper designed thermal insulation, antifreeze, and anti-drainage technology for tunnels in the cold area of Jinpen Bay. The research in this paper can effectively reduce the probability of the occurrence of tunnel freezing damage, ensure the safety of the long-term operation of the tunnel lining structure, and greatly reduce maintenance costs, which have good economic and social benefits. Full article
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13 pages, 5333 KiB  
Article
Projected Effects of a Deep Excavation Pit on the Existing Metro Tunnel and Findings of Geotechnical Monitoring: A Comparative Analysis
by Armen Z. Ter-Martirosyan, Valery P. Kivliuk, Ilya O. Isaev and Victoria V. Rud
Buildings 2023, 13(5), 1320; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13051320 - 18 May 2023
Viewed by 1018
Abstract
With the evolution of modern cosmopolitan cities, subterranean spaces have developed in dense urban environments. Hence, new metro tunnels often intersect with those in operation. The top-priority task of designers is to evaluate the effect of new construction projects. The experience accumulated in [...] Read more.
With the evolution of modern cosmopolitan cities, subterranean spaces have developed in dense urban environments. Hence, new metro tunnels often intersect with those in operation. The top-priority task of designers is to evaluate the effect of new construction projects. The experience accumulated in this field should contribute to the design of a realistic geotechnical model to simulate long-term displacements in the future. This paper includes a backward analysis of a design scheme developed for a tunnel construction area above an existing tunnel with a 10.3 m diameter, according to the results of geotechnical monitoring performed in PLAXIS 2D. The authors identified the optimum combination of the distance from the tunnel bottom to the lower boundary of the design model, the soil model, and tunnel lining stiffness. The authors derived regression equations describing vertical and horizontal displacements of the tunnel at the stage of excavation to the elevation datum as the excavation pit bottom. These equations can be applied to preliminarily predict the displacements of the tunnel depending on geometrical parameters at the initial design stage. Geometrical parameters include the distance from the tunnel to the excavation pit, the depth of the tunnel from the surface to the crown, the depth of the designed excavation pit, and the distance from the bottom of the excavation pit to the bottom of the tunnel. In addition, the effect of the Muir–Wood coefficient on the vertical displacements of the tunnel was investigated. This work found a reduction in the stiffness of the bearing structure of the tunnel and an increase of 4.8% in deformations on average when this coefficient was considered. Full article
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23 pages, 5885 KiB  
Article
Estimating Maximum Surface Settlement Caused by EPB Shield Tunneling Utilizing an Intelligent Approach
by Tohid Moghtader, Ahmad Sharafati, Hosein Naderpour and Morteza Gharouni Nik
Buildings 2023, 13(4), 1051; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13041051 - 17 Apr 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1230
Abstract
To control tunneling risk, the prediction of the surface settlement rate induced by shield tunneling using earth pressure balance plays a crucial role. To achieve this, ten independent variables were identified that can affect the amount of settlement. The nonlinear relationship between maximum [...] Read more.
To control tunneling risk, the prediction of the surface settlement rate induced by shield tunneling using earth pressure balance plays a crucial role. To achieve this, ten independent variables were identified that can affect the amount of settlement. The nonlinear relationship between maximum ground surface settlements and ten influential independent variables was considered in artificial neural network (ANN) models. A total of 150 genuine datasets derived from the Southern Development Section of the Tehran Metro Line 6 project were used to train, validate, and test ANN techniques. Hence, the ground surface settlements of the mentioned project were predicted by the most accurate back propagation ANN technique. Ultimately, the importance level of different influential parameters on ground settlement at tunneling is relatively determined based on the results of the optimal neural network. The results used in this paper to evaluate the relative importance of each variable involved in the rate of ground surface settlement demonstrate that the parameters of grout injection and permeability equivalent to the proportions of approximately 16.91% and 5.07% have the highest and lowest impact, successively. Full article
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25 pages, 5019 KiB  
Article
Design Equations for Predicting Stability of Unlined Horseshoe Tunnels in Rock Masses
by Jintara Lawongkerd, Jim Shiau, Suraparb Keawsawasvong, Sorawit Seehavong and Pitthaya Jamsawang
Buildings 2022, 12(11), 1800; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12111800 - 27 Oct 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1589
Abstract
This paper aims to propose new stability equations for the design of shallow, unlined horseshoe tunnels in rock masses. The computational framework of the upper- and lower-bound finite-element limit analysis is used to numerically derive the stability solutions of this problems using the [...] Read more.
This paper aims to propose new stability equations for the design of shallow, unlined horseshoe tunnels in rock masses. The computational framework of the upper- and lower-bound finite-element limit analysis is used to numerically derive the stability solutions of this problems using the Hoek–Brown failure criterion. Five dimensionless parameters including the width ratio and the cover-depth ratio of the tunnels, as well as the normalized uniaxial compressive strength, the geological strength index, and the yield parameters of the Hoek–Brown rock masses, are considered in the study. Selected failure mechanisms of the horseshoe tunnels in rock masses are presented to portray the effect of all dimensionless parameters. New design equations for stability analyses of horseshoe tunnels are developed using the technique of nonlinear regression analysis and the average bound solutions. The proposed stability equations are highly accurate and can be used with great confidence by practitioners. Full article
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