• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2005.03a
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• pp.409-416
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• 2005

Design analysis for underground spaces requires evaluating stability related to tunnel collapses. A failure mode is one of the critical factors in the conventional methods of stability analysis. Therefore identification of failure modes is essential in securing safe construction in the phase of design analysis, instrumentation planning and implementation of reinforcing measures. In this study failure modes at the tunnel heading in granular soils are investigated using physical model tests and numerical simulation for various tunnel depths and ground surface inclinations. Test results indicated that the effect of depth and inclination of ground surface on a failure mode are significant. It is identified that, with an incase in depth, failure modes become localized in a region close to the tunnel. It is also known that an increase in the inclination of ground surface results in inclined and wide failure modes.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.621-630
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• 2018

In the note a comprehensive and optimal passive-active mode for describing the limit failure of circular shallow tunnel with settlement is put forward to predict the catastrophic stability during the geotechnical construction. Since the surrounding soil mass around tunnel roof is not homogeneous, with tools of variation calculus, several different curve functions which depict several failure shapes in different soil layers are obtained using virtual work formulae. By making reference to the simple-form of Power-law failure criteria based on numerous experiments, a numerical procedure with consideration of combination of upper bound theorem and stochastic medium theory is applied to the optimal analysis of shallow-buried tunnel failure. With help of functional catastrophe theory, this work presented a more accurate and optimal failure profile compared with previous work. Lastly the note discusses different effects of parameters in new yield rule and soil mechanical coefficients on failure mechanisms. The scope of failure block becomes smaller with increase of the parameter A and the range of failure soil mass tends to decrease with decrease of unit weight of the soil and tunnel radius, which verifies the geomechanics and practical case in engineering.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.288-295
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• 1999

Concentrated stresses due to the underground tunnel excavation easily cause many problems such as yielding, popping, and failure at the immediate roof, wall and floor of tunnel. Therefore, it is very important to predict the possibility of these problems when a tunnel is excavated underground. There are two typical methods to predict these problems. The one is to predict problems from the analysis of field monitoring data and the other is to predict them from computer simulations using good site investment data. Using the second method, this study attempted to describe the time-dependent or progressive manner of immediate roof and wall due to the underground tunnel excavation. An iterative technique was used to represent progressive failure of rockmass with the Hoek and Brown theory. By developing and simulating three different shapes of twin tunnels, this research estimated the proper size of critical pillar width between tunnels, distributed stresses on the tunnel walls, and convergences of tunnel crowns. Moreover, results out of progressive failure technique based on the Hoek and Brown theory were compared with the results out of Mohr-Coulomb theory.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.367-378
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• 2002

Recently, the number of tunnels on national roads has been increased due to the trend that construction of the large-scaled cut slopes is limited because of the environmental issues. Therefore, the slope failures of tunnel portal have often occurred. The tunnel portal in use has limitations on selection of the countermeasure and construction against slope failure. In the cases of Suanbo hot springs 1 and 2 tunnel portals, seedding was chosen and constructed as the countermeasureof slope failure when the tunnel was first built but collapsed in April, 2002. In this study, the failure sites were examined accurately through the site investigation and an efficient countermeasure according to stability analysis is presented. It is shown that it is very efficient to use resloping for Suanbo hot springs 1 tunnel and concrete buttress, rock anchor to reinforcement countermeasure, and attached rockfall prevention net by dividing the site into 3 sections for Suanbo hot springs 2 tunnel.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 1999.03a
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• pp.293-300
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• 1999

The maintenance for the stability of tunnel, especially on downtown area, careful check must be considered during construction stage and after. Moreover we have to achieve the stability of tunnel by ground improvement and reinforcement when ground condition is bad or tunnel failures under the various ground conditions. In this paper, it is presented the case of tunnel failure and the state of restoration by ground reinforcements at seoul subway $\bigcirc$-$\bigcirc$ construction site. For the purpose of ground reinforcement, first, curtain wall was established by chemical grouting. Secondly, cement milk grouting was carried by upper part of tunnel crown. Also Boreholes loading test and tunnel monitoring were carried by in failure site for the long term stability of tunnel.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.871-885
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• 2017

Nowadays, the construction of tunnels with a shallow depth drastically in urban areas increases. But the effect of sidewall displacement in shallow tunnel on its behavior is not well known yet. Most studies on the shallow tunnel have been limited to the stability and the failure of the tunnel and the adjacent ground in plane strain state. Therefore, the model tests were conducted in a model ground which was built with carbon rods, in order to investigate the impact of the tunnel sidewall displacement on the lateral load transfer to the adjacent ground. The lateral displacement of the tunnel sidewall and the load transfered to the adjacent ground were measured in model tests for various overburdens (0.50D, 0.75D, 1.00D, 1.25D). As results, if the cover depth of tunnel was over a constant depth (0.75D) in a shallow tunnel, the tunnel sidewall was failed with a constant shape not depending on the tunnel cover depth and also not affected by the opposite side of the wall. But, if the cover depth of tunnel was under a constant depth (0.75D), the failure of the tunnel sidewall could affect the opposite sidewall. In addition, if the displacement of tunnel sidewall with 50% of the critical displacement occurred, the tunnel failure was found to be at least 75%. However, additional studies are deemed necessary, since they may differ depending on the ground conditions.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.37-49
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• 2005

In a tunnel, failure of its supports can cause failure of the tunnel. Therefore it is important to estimate safety factor of the tunnel which the failure of its supports is taken into account. In previous studies, supports of tunnels were usually modelled as beam elements. The failure of the supports was decided by comparing the allowable stress and the calculated bending stresses inside the beam elements in estimating safety factor of the tunnel considering the failure of its supports. In this study, it is suggested how to model the supports properly. To this end, supports of a tunnel were modelled by both beam (elastic) elements and continuum (elasto-plastic) elements in two dimensional numerical analyses. Meanwhile, it was analyzed how rock mass class, coefficient of lateral pressure, shotcrete thickness, the existence of rock bolt, and excavation method had an effect on the safety factor of a tunnel.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.491-505
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• 2023

The practical usage of underground space and demand for vehicular tunnels necessitate the construction of non-circular wide rectangular tunnels. However, constructing large tunnels in soft clayey soil conditions with no ground improvement can lead to excessive ground deformations and collapse. In recent years, in situ ground improvement techniques such as jet grouting and deep cement mixing are often utilized to perform cement-stabilisation around the tunnel boundary to prevent large deformations and failure. This paper discusses the stability characteristics and failure behaviour of a wide rectangular tunnel in cement-treated soft clays. First, the plane strain finite element model is developed and validated with the results of centrifuge model tests available in the past literature. The critical tunnel support pressures computed from the numerical study are found to be in good agreement with those of centrifuge model tests. The influence of varying strength and thickness of improved soil surround, and cover depth are studied on the stability and failure modes of a rectangular tunnel. It is observed that the failure behaviour of the tunnel in improved soil surround depends on the ratio of the strength of improved soil surround to the strength of surrounding soil, i.e., q_ui/q_us, rather than just q_ui. For low q_ui/q_us ratios,the stability increases with the cover; however, for the high strength improved soil surrounds with q_ui >> q_us, the stability decreases with the cover. The failure chart, modified stability equation, and stability chart are also proposed as preliminary design guidelines for constructing rectangular tunnels in the improved soil surrounded by soft clays.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.469-485
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• 2016

The failure of rock mass around deep tunnel, different from shallow tunnel largely affected by discontinuities, is dominated by magnitudes and directions of stresses, and the failures dominated by stresses can be divided into ductile and brittle features according to the conditions of stresses and the characteristics of rock mass. It is important to know the range and the depth of the V-shaped notch type failure resulted from the brittle failure, such as spalling, slabbing and rock burst, because they are the main factors for the design of excavation and support of deep tunnels. The main features of brittle failure are that it consists of cohesion loss and friction mobilization according to the stress condition, and is progressive. In this paper, a three-dimensional numerical model has been developed in order to simulate the brittle behavior of rock mass around deep tunnel by introducing the bi-linear failure envelope cut off, elastic-elastoplastic coupling and gradual spread of elastoplastic regions. By performing a series of numerical analyses, it is shown that the depths of failure estimated by this model coincide with an empirical relation from a case study.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.35-47
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• 2018

This paper investigates the mechanisms of tunnel spalling and massive tunnel failures using fracture mechanics principles. The study starts with examining the fracture propagation due to tensile and shear failure mechanisms. It was found that, fundamentally, in rock masses with high compressive stresses, tensile fracture propagation is often a stable process which leads to a gradual failure. Shear fracture propagation tends to be an unstable process. Several real case observations of spalling failures and massive shear failures in boreholes, tunnels and underground roadways are shown in the paper. A number of numerical models were used to investigate the fracture mechanisms and extents in the roof/wall of a deep tunnel and in an underground coal mine roadway. The modelling was done using a unique fracture mechanics code FRACOD which simulates explicitly the fracture initiation and propagation process. The study has demonstrated that both tensile and shear fracturing may occur in the vicinity of an underground opening. Shallow spalling in the tunnel wall is believed to be caused by tensile fracturing from extensional strain although no tensile stress exists there. Massive large scale failure however is most likely to be caused by shear fracturing under high compressive stresses. The observation that tunnel spalling often starts when the hoop stress reaches $0.4^*UCS$ has been explained in this paper by using the extension strain criterion. At this uniaxial compressive stress level, the lateral extensional strain is equivalent to the critical strain under uniaxial tension. Scale effect on UCS commonly believed by many is unlikely the dominant factor in this phenomenon.