• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.489-506
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• 2024

Excavation of tunnels below the groundwater table changes the hydraulic boundary conditions, causing flow towards the excavation face. Inflow into a tunnel is generally influenced by pre-excavation grouting, shotcrete lining, drainage system implementation, and the hydraulic deterioration of the drainage system. From the perspective of continuum theory, the groundwater inflow behavior due to excavation is very similar to the tunnel excavation behavior known as the convergence-confinement method. The groundwater inflow behavior due to tunnel excavation can be explained by the hydraulic convergence, while the behavior of shotcrete lining in limiting inflow can be inferred as hydraulic confinement. This study investigates the hydraulic convergence and confinement behavior using theoretical and numerical methods due to tunnelling. It is confirmed that the hydraulic convergence-confinement is exactly the same as the mechanical convergence-confinement concept. It is identified that the behavior is governed by the tunnel geometry, grout thickness and permeability, as well as the thickness and permeability of the support materials, such as shotcrete.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Railway
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.244-252
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• 2002

We must notice ground movement by excavation for reasonable tunnel designs. The convergence confinement method is an attempt to evaluate tunnel stability conditions by means of a mathematical model and a ground response curve. In this study, the convergence confinement method by numerical model was examined. This method don't need the basic assumptions for a mathematical model of circular tunnel shape, and hydrostatic in situ stress. Also modified ground response curve that is calculated after installing the support, is suggested, which informs us the ground movement mechanism. The ground response curve and the support reaction curve are mutually dependent. Especially the support reaction curve depends upon the ground response curve. The mechanism of tunnel must be analyzed by the interaction between support and ground. Consequently the stability of tunnel must be qualitatively investigated by a ground response curve and quantitatively adjudged by a numerical analysis for the reasonable design of tunnel.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.29 no.2C
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• pp.81-90
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• 2009

In this study the behavior of a steel pipe structure used as an auxiliary method was evaluated by the convergence-confinement method and load-transfer approach, and the result was compared with that of numerical approach and in-situ measured data. As calculated partially increased displacement of the installed pipe to obtain the tunnel displacement. A numerical analysis simulate well the general behavior of measured displacement of tunnel crown. Through this study, it was found that the proposed procedure produces conservative result so that it can be applied in preliminary design of the auxiliary method of tunnel face.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.143-153
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• 2002

Convergence Confinement Method (CCM) makes a more simple judgement in a ground-support reaction than numerical method. Also this method is good for the applicability of construction feedback and the analysis of field measurement. However, there has been little research with respect to the application of CCM in tunnel construction. One of the problems in CCM is a decision of the time to support installation. To decide a reasonable supporting installation time, support characteristic curve and displacement characteristic curve considering construction stage are proposed. In addition, to predict displacement distribution ratio and load distribution ratio, the time dependent support reaction curve is used. Finally, through a comparison of the result between CCM and numerical analysis, the trust of this study is proved and the practical application is proposed to control resonable tunnel construction management.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.187-195
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• 2005

When a tunnel is excavated below groundwater table, the groundwater flow occurs towards the tunnel resulting in the seepage pressure. In this paper, the effect of groundwater flows on the behavior of shotcrete lining installed between ground-liner interfaces was studied considering permeability ratio between the ground and the shotcrete into account. Three-dimensional coupled finite element analysis was performed for this assessment. Seepage forces will seriously affect the shotcrete behavior since arching phenomena do not occur in seepage forces. A parametric study was conducted on the various tunnelling situations including interfacial properties between ground and shotcrete lining, the shape of tunnel cross-section and the thickness of liner, etc. Moreover, the convergence-confinement method (CCM) of a NATM tunnel considering seepage forces was proposed. The result showed that the more water tight is the shotcrete, the smaller is the convergence and the larger is the internal pressure. Therefore, the watertight fiber-reinforced shotcrete is found to be even more advantageous when used in under water tunnel.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 1998.05a
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• pp.153-204
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• 1998

Prediction of lining loads due to tunnelling is one of the major issues to be addressed in the design of a tunnel. The objective of this study is to investigate rational and realistic design loads on tunnel linings. factors influencing the lining load are summarized and discussed. The instruments for measuring the lining loads are reviewed and discussed because field measurements are often necessary to verify the design methods. Tunnel construction in the City of Edmonton has been very active for storm and sanitary purposes. Since the early 1970's, the city has also been developing an underground Light Rail Transit system. The load measurements obtained from these tunnels are compared with the results from the existing design methods. However, none of the existing methods are totally satisfactory, Therefore, there is some room for improvement in the prediction of lining loads. The convergence-confinement method is reviewed and applied to a case history of a tunnel in Edmonton. The convergence curves are obtained from 2-D finite element analyses using three different material models and theoretical equations. The limitation of the convergence-confinement method is discussed by comparing these curves with the field measurements. Three-dimensional finite element analyses are performed to gain a better understanding of stress and displacement behaviour near the tunnel face. An improved design method is proposed based on the review of existing design methods and the performance of numerical analyses. A specific method or combination of two different methods is suggested for the estimation of lining loads for different conditions of tunnelling. A method to determine the stress reduction factor is described. Typical values of dimensionless load factors nD/H for tunnels in Edmonton are obtained from parametric analyses. Finally, the loads calculated using the proposed method are compared with field measurements collected from various tunnels in terms of soil types and construction methods to verify the method. The proposed method gives a reasonable approximation of the lining loads. The proposed method is recommended as an approximate guideline for the design of tunnels, but the results should be confirmed by field measurements due to the uncertainties of the ground and lining properties and the construction procedures, This is the reason that in-situ monitoring should be an integral part of the design procedure.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2008.03a
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• pp.734-741
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• 2008

At-rest and active earth pressure in plane strain condition have been applied to the design of cylindrical retaining walls. But many researchers have indicated that the earth pressure on the cylindrical retaining walls would be smaller than in plane strain condition due to wall deformation and stress relief. In this paper, the distribution of earth pressure acting on diaphragm wall of a shaft in dry sand was predicted by using the convergence confinement method and model test was performed to verify the estimated values. Test results showed that the earth pressure acting on the diaphragm wall of a shaft was expected to be 1.1~1.5 times larger than active earth pressure of plane strain condition and 0.7~0.9 times less than at-rest earth pressure.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.1237-1258
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• 2015

This paper proposes a simple inelastic analysis approach to efficiently map out the complete nonlinear post-collapse (strain-softening) response and the maximum load capacity of axially loaded concrete encased steel composite columns (stub and slender). The scheme simultaneously incorporates the influences of difficult instabilizing phenomena such as concrete confinement, initial geometric imperfection, geometric nonlinearity, buckling of reinforcement bars and local buckling of structural steel, on the overall behavior of the composite columns. The proposed numerical method adopts fiber element discretization and an iterative M${\ddot{u}}$ller's algorithm with an additional adaptive technique that robustly yields solution convergence. The accuracy of the proposed analysis scheme is validated through comparisons with various available experimental benchmarks. Finally, a parametric study of various key parameters on the overall behaviors of the composite columns is conducted.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.21-29
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• 2009

On plane strain condition, many researchers have investigated the earth pressure according to the shape of wall, and standardized method has been applied to the design of the retaining wall. But on cylindrical diaphragm wall, at-rest earth pressure has been generally used. Even though this method is on conservative side, it may lead to over-design. In this paper, the application of convergence confinement method to the calculation of the earth pressure acting on the cylindrical diaphragm wall of a shaft was suggested. In addition, a model test was carried out to investigate the distributions of earth pressure. Model test results show that the earth pressures of diaphragm wall are about 1.4 times larger than active earth pressure and about 0.8 times less than at-rest earth pressure.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.181-190
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• 2003

The convergence-confinement method is an attempt to evaluate tunnel stability conditions by means of a mathematical model and a ground response curve. In this study, the convergence-confinement method by numerical model was examined. This method don't need the basic assumptions for a mathematical model. Also This is applicable to general tunnel. According to the results of this study, the change of shotcrete stiffness and the load-distribution ratio used for 2-Dimension numerical analysis are not signficant factors. The ground response curve and the support reaction curve are mutually dependent. Especially the support reaction curve depends upon the ground response curve. The mechanism of tunnel must be analyzed by the interaction between support and ground. Consequently the stability of tunnel must be qualitatively investigated by a ground response curve and quantitatively adjudged by a numerical analysis for the reasonable design of tunnel.