• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.217-230
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• 2022

The adequate control of TBM face pressure is of vital importance to maintain face stability by preventing face collapse and surface settlement. An EPB shield TBM excavates the ground by applying face pressure with the excavated soil in the pressure chamber. One of the challenges during the EPB shield TBM operation is the control of face pressure due to difficulty in managing the excavated soil. In this study, the face pressure of an EPB shield TBM was predicted using the geological and operational data acquired from a domestic TBM tunnel site. Four machine learning algorithms: KNN (K-Nearest Neighbors), SVM (Support Vector Machine), RF (Random Forest), and XGB (eXtreme Gradient Boosting) were applied to predict the face pressure. The model comparison results showed that the RF model yielded the lowest RMSE (Root Mean Square Error) value of 7.35 kPa. Therefore, the RF model was selected as the optimal machine learning algorithm. In addition, the feature importance of the RF model was analyzed to evaluate appropriately the influence of each feature on the face pressure. The water pressure indicated the highest influence, and the importance of the geological conditions was higher in general than that of the operation features in the considered site.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.331-338
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• 2022

Face stability analyses provides the most probable failure mechanisms and the understanding about parameters that need to be considered for the evaluation of ground movements caused by tunneling. After the Upper Bound Method (UBM) solution which can consider the influence of seepage forces and depth-dependent effective cohesion is verified with the numerical experiments, the probabilistic model is proposed to calculate the unbiased limiting tunnel collapse pressure. A reliability analysis of a shallow circular tunnel driven by a pressurized shield in a frictional and cohesive soil is presented to consider the inherent uncertainty in the input parameters and the proposed model. The probability of failure that exceeding a specified applied pressure at the tunnel face is estimated. Sensitivity and importance measures are computed to identify the key parameters and random variables in the model.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.33-51
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• 2013

This paper introduces the improvement of connection method for segment in tunnel lining system using prestressed steel cable and presents the results of real-scale tests. It conducted a study about the applicability and mechanical behaviour analysis of the new method that connects segment tunnel lining using prestressed steel cable by real-scale test. Through the research, it was found that the new method has stronger connection than conventional assembling methods. Also, the new method can be expected to have integrated behavior and stability increase of shield tunnel lining. It is considered that the new method is much more effective than conventional assembling methods.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.199-207
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• 2003

Tunnel modelling in the field of geotechnical engineering essentially requires models of tunnelling machines and the simulation of tunnelling processes to clarify the detailed behaviour of tunnel construction. Modern advanced mechatronics, including construction processes, machinining and control technologies, are making it possible to fabricate such models. These technologies, however, are essentially developed in a gravity field condition and are needed to examine in a 1g or cenrifuge field condition. This paper presents the simulation method for tunnelling processes and the design method for tunnelling machines with special reference to the problem of earth pressure acting on the lining of a shield tunnel. The paper then introduces and verifies the design method for tunnelling machines in the 1g field by means of checking the reproduceability of experiment data and their comparison with data in the field.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.29-40
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• 2019

Mechanized constructions have been frequently increased in soft ground below sea bed or river bed, for urban tunnel construction, and for underpinning the lower part of major structures in order to construct a safer tunnel considering various risk factors during the tunnel construction. However, it is difficult to estimate the subsidence behavior of the ground surface due to excavation and needs to be easily predicted. Thus, in this study, when a twin tunnel is constructed in the soft ground, it is proposed a simpler equation relating to the settlement behavior and a corrected formula applicable to soft ground and large diameter shield tunnels based on the previously proposed theory by Peck (1969). For this purpose, it was analyzed to long-term measurement values such as the amount of maximum settlement, the subsidence range by ground conditions, and interference volume loss due to the parallel construction, etc. As a result, a equation was suggested to predict the amount of maximum settlement in the soft sediment clay ground where is located at the upper part of the excavation site. It is turned out that the proposed equation is more suitable for measurement data in Korea than Peck (1969)'s.

• Magazine of the Korea Institute for Structural Maintenance and Inspection
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.10-17
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• 2013

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.197-217
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• 2020

Shield TBM tunneling, used in the construction of Seoul subway line 7 and line 9, has been well known as a very efficient, as well as safe, tunneling method. Although the Shield TBM method has been known to be effectively used in poor ground conditions, a number of troubles have occurred during the use of the shield TBM, due to inappropriate machine selection, machine breakdown, and unpredicted ground conditions etc. In this study, several accidents and trouble cases occurred during excavation by Shield TBM, reported from Japan, were investigated. A series of numerical analysis was then performed to compare with the trouble cases and back-analysis results for the cause analysis. The lessons learned from the case studies are presented at the end.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.583-603
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• 2023

Recently, the advancement of mechanical tunnel boring machine (TBM) technology and the characteristics of subsea railway tunnels subjected to hydrostatic pressure have led to the widespread application of shield TBM methods in the design and construction of subsea railway tunnels. Subsea railway tunnels are exposed in a constant pore water pressure and are influenced by the amplification of seismic waves during earthquake. In particular, seismic loads acting on subsea railway tunnels under various ground conditions such as soft ground, soft soil-rock composite ground, and fractured zones can cause significant changes in tunnel displacement and stress, thereby affecting tunnel safety. Additionally, the dynamic response of the ground and tunnel varies based on seismic load parameters such as frequency characteristics, seismic waveform, and peak acceleration, adding complexity to the behavior of the ground-tunnel structure system. In this study, a finite difference method is employed to model the entire ground-tunnel structure system, considering hydrostatic pressure, for the investigation of dynamic behavior of subsea railway tunnel during earthquake. Since the key factors influencing the dynamic behavior during seismic events are ground conditions and seismic waves, six analysis cases are established based on virtual ground conditions: Case-1 with weathered soil, Case-2 with hard rock, Case-3 with a composite ground of soil and hard rock in the tunnel longitudinal direction, Case-4 with the tunnel passing through a narrow fault zone, Case-5 with a composite ground of soft soil and hard rock in the tunnel longitudinal direction, and Case-6 with the tunnel passing through a wide fractured zone. As a result, horizontal displacements due to earthquakes tend to increase with an increase in ground stiffness, however, the displacements tend to be restrained due to the confining effects of the ground and the rigid shield segments. On the contrary, peak compressive stress of segment significantly increases with weaker ground stiffness and the effects of displacement restrain contribute the increase of peak compressive stress of segment.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.214-225
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• 2020

Uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of rock is one of the important factors to determine the advance speed during shield TBM tunnel excavation. UCS can be obtained through the Geotechnical Data Report (GDR), and it is difficult to measure UCS for all tunneling alignment. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to predict UCS by utilizing TBM machine driving data and machine learning technique. Several machine learning techniques were compared to predict UCS, and it was confirmed the stacking model has the most successful prediction performance. TBM machine data and UCS used in the analysis were obtained from the excavation of rock strata with slurry shield TBMs. The data were divided into 8:2 for training and test and pre-processed including feature selection, scaling, and outlier removal. After completing the hyper-parameter tuning, the stacking model was evaluated with the root-mean-square error (RMSE) and the determination coefficient (R²), and it was found to be 5.556 and 0.943, respectively. Based on the results, the sacking models are considered useful in predicting rock strength with TBM excavation data.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2005.03a
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• pp.1283-1290
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• 2005

A thixotropic grout has been newly developed for the use of back-filling a tail void in the shield tunnel and filling up ground voids. The grout developed in the study is a mixture of colloidal silica, cement and some functional additives. Its engineering characteristics was investigated by measuring a viscosity and unconfined compressive strengths. The optimum mixing proportion for an effective thixotropic grout was proposed through several repeated laboratory tests. The various physical properties such as thixotropy, unconfined compressive strengths, and durability of the thixotropic grout and the gels produced from the grout were compared with those of the well-known waterglass grout such as L.W.. The thixotropic grout developed in the study exhibited an excellent performance for back-filling of tail voids, based on experimental results compared to the existing waterglass grout.