• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.346-355
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• 2019

When evaluating pillar stability in very closely spaced tunnels, a local safety factor (strength/stress ratio) at the minimum width has been widely used. Tension bolts have been frequently applied as reinforcement for the cases where safety factors are less than 1.0 from FEM stress analysis. However, the local safety factor shows a constant value irrespective of the change in pillar width/tunnel diameter (PW/D) and the safety factor of the pillar is underestimated because the variation of deviation stress is relatively small even when the pre-stressing is applied to the tension bolt. In addition, the average safety factor proposed by Hoek and Brown(1980) was reviewed, but the pillar safety factor was relatively overestimated when the width of the pillar was increased. As an alternative, the SRM safety factor using shear strength reduction method shows the effect of changing the safety factor in the case of no reinforcement and tension bolt reinforcement as the pillar width/tunnel diameter(PW/D) changes. The failure shape is also similar to the previous limit theory result. In this study, the safety factor was evaluated without considering rock bolt and shotcrete to distinguish reinforcing effect of tension bolt.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.137-153
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• 2019

Estimating tunnel construction time and costs are the most fundamental part of a tunnel project planning, which has been generally assessed on a deterministic basis until now. In this paper, excavation cycle time was investigated for two road tunnels and one subway tunnel, and the results were compared with the Standard of Construction Estimate (SE), which is made for the estimation of construction time and cost in a design stage. The results show that the difference in cycle time between SE and actual cycle time is 50%, 7% and 31% respectively for the three tunnels, which means that SE does not reflect practical operation time. The major reasons of the difference are skilled level of tunneling workers, the change of operation sequences for more effective operations, much more complicated working atmosphere in a tunnel than the assumption of SE etc. Finally, even though the results can not be generalized since investigated tunnels are only 3, but it is thought that SE needs to be upgraded into the model able to consider quite common situations through additional tunnel investigation and studies in the future.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.317-326
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• 2022

This research performed single fiber pull-out test to evaluate the effect between fineness modulus of cement composites and the fiber bond performance (bond strength and pull-out energy). A synthetic fiber (polypropylene) and a steel fiber (hooked ends type) were inserted in the middle of dog bone shape specimens which were designed with fine aggregates of F. M. 1.96, 2.69, 3.43. The experiment results showed bond strength and pullout energy of synthetic fiber are improved as fineness modulus of cement composites increases. It is considered that the frictional resistance between synthetic fiber and cement composite increases as fineness modulus of cement composite increases and consume more energy while pull out the fiber from cement composite. However bond performance of steel fiber which resist pull out by mechanical behavior is less effected on fineness modulus of cement composite. It is considered that the mechanical fixedness of hooked ends exerts a greater effect on the pullout resistance than the frictional resistance between the cement composite and the steel fiber so F. M. of fine aggregate has a relatively small effect on the pullout resistance with the steel fiber.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.47-56
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• 2009

Rock bolts and shotcrete play a crucial role as a main support system in the underground space. Thus, the safety of the underground space may be affected by the defect of rock bolts. In order to evaluate the rock bolt integrity by using non-destructive technique, the transmission method of the guided ultrasonic waves, which are generated by using the piezo disk elements has been successfully performed. The energy generated by the piezo disk elements, however, is not enough for the rock bolts in the field. In addition, the piezo disk elements should be installed at the end of the steel bar during construction of the rock bolts. The purpose of this study is the devolvement of the reflection method, which may generate enough energy, and the application in the field rock bolts. Both laboratory and field tests are carried out. The guided ultrasonic waves with high energy are generated by the hammer impact with the center punch, and the AE sensor is used to measure the reflected guided waves. The received guided waves are analyzed by the wavelet transform. The peak value of the wavelet transform produces the energy velocity, which is used for the evaluation of the rock bolt integrity. The energy velocity increases with an increase in the defect ratio in both laboratory and field rock bolts. This study demonstrates that the hammer-impact reflection method may be a suitable method for the evaluation of the rock bolt in the field.

• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.433-439
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• 2023

In this study, the bonding performance of repair materials was evaluated on concrete repair surface to develop concrete repair materials based on UHPC (Ultra High Performance Concrete) which has high mechanical and durability performance. The ten test variables were applied considering the roughness and wet condition of the concrete surface subject to repair, the addition of polymer, and the use PP and PVA fibers in repair materials. The addition of the polymer caused a significant decrease in strength, which was thought to be due to the effect of the additional super plasticizer used to adjust workability. Also, flow was reduced by up to 13.8 % with the use of plastic-based fibers. As a result of evaluating the bond strength of the repair material considering the condition of the surface subject to repair, it was thought that in the case of using UHPC-based repair material, high bonding performance could be secured without any additional surface treatment as long as the surface of the base material was sound. In addition, UHPC-based repair materials showed high bonding performance even when the attachment surface was wet. In the future, research will be conducted on shot-crete application and gradient pouring for the development of UHPC-based repair materials, and continuous improvement in the repair material mixing property will be carried out to ensure economic efficiency and performance as a concrete structural repair material.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.445-471
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• 2023

Long-term safety over millennia is the top priority consideration in the construction of disposal sites. However, ensuring the mechanical stability of deep geological repositories for spent fuel, a.k.a. radwaste, disposal during construction and operation is also crucial for safe operation of the repository. Imposing restrictions or limitations on tunnel support and lining materials such as shotcrete, concrete, grouting, which might compromise the sealing performance of backfill and buffer materials which are essential elements for the long-term safety of disposal sites, presents a highly challenging task for rock engineers and tunnelling experts. In this study, as part of an extensive exploration to aid in the proper selection of disposal sites, the anticipation of constructing a deep geological repository at a depth of 500 meters in an unknown state has been carried out. Through a review of 2D and 3D numerical analyses, the study aimed to explore the range of properties that ensure stability. Preliminary findings identified the potential range of rock properties that secure the stability of central and disposal tunnels, while the stability of the vertical tunnel network was confirmed through 3D analysis, outlining fundamental rock conditions necessary for the construction of disposal sites.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.223-242
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• 2024

Single-shell tunnels, introduced to South Korea in the early 2000s, have not been adopted for the main tunnels of roads or railways over the past two decades despite several attempts starting with the Gwangju City Bypass. This reluctance likely arises from concerns about the long-term performance of supporting materials and the absence of relevant criteria and specifications. However, recent progress, including the incorporation of high-strength shotcrete standards and corrosion-resistant rock bolt specifications, alongside equipment and technique enhancements, necessitates a reassessment of single-shell tunnels. While the single-shell tunnel method offers advantages in environmental impact, construction cost and period compared to the conventional NATM, it is crucial to address the challenges, such as limited design and construction experience, incomplete detailed standards, and insufficient construction specifications, through further research and pilot projects. This paper reviewed the basic principles of single-shell tunnel, current application and research status, technical development trends, criteria and specifications, and remaining challenges. It aims to reignite discussions on the feasibility of applying single-shell tunnels in South Korea.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.113-132
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• 1999

Recently in Korea, application of the soil nailing is gradually extended to the sites of excavations and slopes having various ground conditions and field characteristics. Design of the soil nailing is generally carried out in two steps, The First step is to examine the minimum safety factor against a sliding of the reinforced nailed-soil mass based on the limit equilibrium approach, and the second step is to check the maximum displacement expected to occur at facing using the numerical analysis technique. However, design parameters related to the soil nailing system are so various that a reliable design method considering interrelationships between these design parameters is continuously necessary. Additionally, taking into account the anisotropic characteristics of in-situ grounds, disturbances in collecting the soil samples and errors in measurements, a systematic analysis of the field measurement data as well as a rational technique of the optimum design is required to improve with respect to economical efficiency. As a part of these purposes, in the present study, a procedure for the optimum design of a soil nailing excavation wall system is proposed. Focusing on a minimization of the expenses in construction, the optimum design procedure is formulated based on the genetic algorithm. Neural network theory is further adopted in predicting the maximum horizontal displacement at a shotcrete facing. Using the proposed procedure, various effects of relevant design parameters are also analyzed. Finally, an optimized design section is compared with the existing design section at the excavation site being constructed, in order to verify a validity of the proposed procedure.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.11-21
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• 2000

Tunnelling has been created as a great extent in view of less land space available because the growth of population in metropolitan has been accelerated at a faster pace than the development of the cities. In tunnelling, it is often faced that measures are obliged to be taken without confirmation for such abnormality as diverged movement of surrounding rock mass, growing crack of shotcrete and yielding of rockbolts. In this case, it is usually said that the judgments of experienced engineers for the selection of measure are importance and allowed us to get over the situations in many construction sites. But decrease of such experienced engineers need us to develop the new system to assist the selection of measures for the abnormality without any experiences of similar tunnelling sites. In this study, After a lot of tunnelling reinforcement methods were surveyed and the detail application were studied, an expert system was developed to predict the safety of tunnel and choose proper tunnel reinforcement system using fuzzy quantification theory and fuzzy inference rule based on tunnel information database. The expert system developed in this study have two main parts named pre-module and post-module. Pre-module decides tunnel information imput items based on the tunnel face mapping information which can be easily obtained in-situ site. Then, using fuzzy quantification theory II, fuzzy membership function is composed and tunnel safety level is inferred through this membership function. The comparison result between the predicted reinforcement system level and measured ones was very similar. In-situ data were obtained in three tunnel sites including subway tunnel under Han river. This system will be very helpful to make the most of in-situ data and suggest proper applicability of tunnel reinforcement system developing more resonable tunnel support method from dependance of some experienced experts for the absent of guide.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.617-628
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• 2022

A ground support pattern should be designed by properly integrating various support materials in accordance with the rock mass grade when constructing a tunnel, and a technical decision must be made in this process by professionals with vast construction experiences. However, designing supports at the early stage of tunnel design, such as feasibility study or basic design, may be very challenging due to the short timeline, insufficient budget, and deficiency of field data. Meanwhile, the design of the support pattern can be performed more quickly and reliably by utilizing the machine learning technique and the accumulated design data with the rapid increase in tunnel construction in South Korea. Therefore, in this study, the design data and ground exploration data of 48 road tunnels in South Korea were inspected, and data about 19 items, including eight input items (rock type, resistivity, depth, tunnel length, safety index by tunnel length, safety index by rick index, tunnel type, tunnel area) and 11 output items (rock mass grade, two items for shotcrete, three items for rock bolt, three items for steel support, two items for concrete lining), were collected to automatically determine the rock mass class and the support pattern. Three machine learning models (S1, A1, A2) were developed using two machine learning algorithms (SVR, ANN) and organized data. As a result, the A2 model, which applied different loss functions according to the output data format, showed the best performance. This study confirms the potential of support pattern design using machine learning, and it is expected that it will be able to improve the design model by continuously using the model in the actual design, compensating for its shortcomings, and improving its usability.