• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.225-237
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• 2022

Settlement evaluation is important for shallow tunnels in big cities to estimate the settlement that occurs due to the excavation of twin tunnels. The majority of earlier research on analytical solutions, on the other hand, concentrated on calculating the settlement for a single tunnel. This research introduces a procedure to evaluate the settlement induced by the excavation of twin tunnels (two parallel tunnels). In this study, a series of numerical analysis were performed to validate the analytical solution results. Two geological conditions were considered to derive the settlement depending on each case. The analytical and numerical methods were compared, which involved considering many sections and conducting a parametric study; the results have good agreement. Moreover, a comparison of the 3D flat model and 2D (FEM) with the analytical solution shows that in the fill soil, the maximum settlement values were obtained by the analytical solution. In contrast, the values obtained by the analytical solution in the rock is more conservative than those in the fill. Finally, this method was shown to be appropriate for twin tunnels dug side by side by utilizing finite element analysis 3D and 2D (PLAXIS 3D and PLAXIS 2D) to verify the analytical equations. Eventually, it will be possible to use this approach to predict settlement troughs over twin tunnels.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.263-275
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• 2014

The development of transportation in large cities requires the construction of twin tunnels located at shallow depth. As far as twin tunnels excavated in parallel are concerned, most of the cases reported in literature focused on considering the effect of the ground condition, tunnel size, depth, surface loads, the relative position between two tunnels, and construction process on the structural lining forces. However, the effect of the segment joints was not taken into account. Numerical investigation performed in this study using the $FLAC^{3D}$ finite difference element program made it possible to include considerable influences of the segment joints and tunnel distance on the structural lining forces induced in twin tunnels. The structural lining forces induced in the first tunnel through various phases are considerably affected by the second tunnel construction process. Their values induced in a segmental lining are always lower than those obtained in a continuous lining. However, the influence of joint distribution in the second tunnel on the structural forces induced in the first tunnel is insignificant. The critical influence distance between two tunnels is about two tunnel diameters.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.425-438
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• 2019

A scaled model test was performed to evaluate the stability of subway twin tunnels excavated in the sedimentary rocks with subhorizontal bedding planes. The size of studied tunnel was 6.2 m×6.8 m and pillar width was 4 m. The anisotropic model test specimen was manufactured with the modeling materials suitable for in-situ rocks by way of dimensional analysis. Fracture and deformation behaviors of tunnels according to applied loads were investigated through the biaxial compression test. As the load was increased on the model specimen, the first crack occurred in the middle part of the pillar across twin tunnels and the gradual fractures progressed at crown and floor of twin tunnels. All the cracks in pillar were generated along the existing bedding planes so that they were found to be the main cause of the pillar failure. In addition, the test results were verified by numerical analysis on the experimental conditions using FLAC ubiquitous joint model. The distribution of plastic regions obtained from numerical analysis were in general agreement with test results, confirming the reliability of the scaled model test conducted in this study.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.369-380
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• 2023

The aim of this paper is to investigate stress analysis of semi-infinite soils consisting of two layers with twin rectangular tunnels under static loads. The region close to the ground surface and tunnel modelled within finite elements. In order to use a more realistic model, the far region is modelled within infinite elements. The material model of the layered soil is considered as elastic and isotropic. In the finite element solution of the problem, two dimensional (2D) plane solid elements are used with sixteen-nodes rectangular finite and eight-nodes infinite shapes. Finite and infinite elements are ordered to be suitable for the tunnel and the soils. The governing equations of the problem are obtained by using the virtual work principle. In the numerical process, the five-point Gauss rule is used for the calculation of the integrations. In order to validate using methods, comparison studies are performed. In the numerical results, the stress distributions of the two layered soils containing twin rectangular tunnels presented. In the presented results, effects of the location of the tunnels on the stress distributions along soil depth are obtained and discussed in detail. The obtained results show that the locations of the tunnels are very effective on the stress distribution on the soils.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.325-336
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• 2022

This paper analyzes the ground surface settlements induced by side-by-side twin shield tunnels bored in sedimentary soils, which primarily consist of sand with clay strata above the tunnel crown. The measurements were obtained during the construction of twin tunnels underneath the Incheon International Airport (IIA) located in Korea. The measured surface settlement troughs are approximated with Gaussian functions. The trough width parameters i and K of the settlement troughs produced by the first and second tunnel passings are determined, along with those for the total settlement trough. The surface settlement troughs produced by the first shield passing are reasonably represented by a symmetric Gaussian curve. The surface settlement troughs induced by the second shield tunnel display marginal asymmetric shapes at selected sections. The total settlement troughs are fitted both with a shifted symmetric Gaussian function and the superposition method utilizing an asymmetric function for the incremental trough produced by the second tunnel. It is revealed that the superposition method does not always produce better fits with the total settlement. Instead, the shifted symmetric Gaussian function is overall demonstrated to provide more favorable agreements with the recordings. Therefore, the shifted symmetric Gaussian function is recommended to be used in the design for the prediction of the settlement in clays caused by twin tunneling considering the simplicity of the procedure compared with the superposition method. The amount of increase in the width parameter K for the twin tunnel relative to that for the single tunnel is quantified, which can be used for a preliminary estimate of the surface settlement in clay induced by twin shield tunnels.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.352-359
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• 2010

Stability of twin tunnels depends on the pillar width and the ground condition. In this study, large scale model tests were conducted for investigating the influence of the pillar width of twin tunnels on their behavior in the regular horizontal jointed rock mass. Jointed rocks was composed of concrete blocks. Pillar width of twin tunnels varied in 0.29D, 0.59D, 0.88D and 1.18D, where D is the tunnel width. During the test, pillar stress, lining stress, tunnel distortion, and ground displacement were measured. Lateral earth pressure coefficient was kept in a constant value 1.0. As a result, it was found that the pillar stress and the displacement of the ground and tunnel were increased by decreasing pillar width. The maximum displacement rate was measured just after the upper excavation in each construction sequence. And the maximum influence position was the right shoulder of the preceeding tunnel at the pillar side. It was also found that for the stability assessment the inner displacement was more critical than the crown displacement. The influence zone was formed at the pillar width 0.59D~0.88D that was smaller than 0.8D~2.0D, which was proposed by experience for a good ground condition. And it would be concluded that horizontal joints could also influence on the stability of the twin tunnels.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.423-434
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• 2015

Scaled model tests were performed to investigate the influence of pillar width, rock strength and isotropy/anisotropy on the stability of twin tunnels. Test models had respectively different pillar widths, uniaxial compressive strengths of modelling materials and model types, where both the deformation behaviors around tunnels and the biaxial pressure data at a time of pillar cracking were analysed. The cracking pressures of the higher strength models were higher than the lower strength models, whereas the percentage of cracking pressure to uniaxial compressive strength of modelling materials showed an opposite tendency. The cracking pressures of the shallower pillar width models were lower than the thicker models, moreover the percentage of that showed a same tendency. It has been found that the pillar width was one of the main factors influencing on the stability of twin tunnels. Model types such as isotropy/anisotropy also influenced on the stability of twin tunnels. The anisotropic models showed lower values of both cracking pressures and the percentage of that than the isotropic models, where the pillar cracks of anisotropic models were generated with regard to the pre-existing joint planes.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.295-308
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• 2018

The excavation of twin tunnels is a process that destabilizes the ground. The stability of the tunnel lining, the control of ground displacements around the tunnel resulting from each excavation and the interaction between them must be controlled. This paper provides a new approach for replacing the costly 3D analyses with the equivalent 2D analyses that closely reflects the in-situ measurements when excavating twin tunnels. The modeling was performed in two dimensions using the FLAC2D finite difference code. The three-dimensional effect of excavation is taken into account through the deconfinement rate ${\lambda}$ of the soil surrounding the excavation by applying the convergence-confinement method. A comparison between settlements derived by the proposed 2D analysis and the settlements measured in a real project in Algeria shows an acceptable agreement. Also, this paper reports the investigation into the changes in deformations on tunnel linings and surface settlements which may be expected if the twin tunnels of T4 El-Harouche Skikda were constructed with a tunneling machine. Special attention was paid to the influence of the excavation phase shift distance between the two mechanized tunnel faces. It is revealed that the ground movements and the lining deformations during tunnel excavation depend on the distance between the tunnels' axis and the excavation phase shift.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.15-30
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• 2022

Slope stability during the excavation of twin road tunnels is considered crucial in terms of safety. In this research, physical model testing and numerical analysis were used to investigate the characteristics of the settlement (uz) and vertical stresses (σz) along the two tunnel sections. First, two model tests for a (fill-rock) slope were conducted to study the settlement and stresses in presence and absence of slope support (plate support system). The law and value of the result were then validated by using a numerical model (FEM) based on the physical model. In addition, a finite element model with a slope supported by piles (equivalent to the plate) was used for comparison purposes. In the physical model, several rows of plates have been added to demonstrate the capacity of these plates to sustain the slope by comparing excavating twin tunnels in supported and unsupported slope, the results show that this support was effective in the upper part of the slope, while in the middle and lower part the support was limited. Additionally, the plates appear to induce less settlement in several areas of the slope with differing settlement and stress distribution as compared to piles. Furthermore, as a results of the previous mentioned investigation, there are many factors influence the stress and settlement distribution, such as the slope's cover depth, movement during excavation, buried structures such as the tunnel lining, plates or piles, and the interaction between all of these components.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.381-390
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• 2004

In this study, scaled model tests were performed to investigate the deformation behaviors around twin tunnels. Eleven types of test models which had respectively different pillar widths, rock types and loading conditions were mode, where the modelling materials were the mixture of sand, plaster and water. The models with shallower pillar width were cracked under lower pressure than the models with thicker pillar width, and they showed the more tunnel convergences and the clear spatting failures. The models of hard rock were cracked under 50% higher pressure than the models of soft rock and they showed the less tunnel convergences. The failure and deformation behaviors of twin tunnels were also dependent on the loading conditions of models. Futhermore, the results of FLAC analysis were qualitatively coincident with the test results.