• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.479-499
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• 2019

State assessment of an operational tunnel is usually done by performing visual inspection and durability tests by following the detailed guideline for safety inspection (SI) and/ or precision inspection for safety and diagnosis (PISD). In this study, 12 NATM tunnels, which have been operational for more than 10 years, were inspected to figure out the cause of longitudinal cracks for the purpose of modifying the scoring items in the state assessment NATM tunnel related to the longitudinal crack and the thickness of concrete lining. All investigated tunnels were classified into four groups depending on the shape and usage of each tunnel. The causes of longitudinal crack occurrence were analyzed by investigating the correlations between the longitudinal crack and the following four factors: the patterns of ground excavation; construction state of primary support system; characteristics of material properties of the concrete lining; and thickness of lining which was obtained by Ground Penetration Radar (GPR) tests. It was found that influencing factors causing longitudinal cracks in the lining were closely related with the construction condition of the primary support system, i.e. shotcrete, rockbolt, and steel-rib; crack occurrences were not much affected by the excavation patterns. As for the properties of concrete lining materials, occurrence of the longitudinal crack was mostly affected by the following three items: w/c ratio; contents of cement; and strength of lining. When estimating the lining thickness of the concrete lining by GPR tests and taking thickness effect into account in the statement assessment, it was concluded that increase of the index score by an average of 0.03 (ranging from 0.01 up to 0.071) is needed; a more realistic way of state assessment should be proposed in which the increased index score caused by lack of lining thickness should be taken into account.