• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2005.03a
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• pp.1335-1342
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• 2005

In this paper, there is intended to introduce the new tunnel face shape, that is concave shaped face, and discusses its effects on the tunnel stabilization. Therefore, a comparative analysis in which the stability of a concave face was compared to that of a conventional plane face on the basis of displacement patterns in the tunnel face was conducted using a model test. In order to check and confirm displacement patterns on the concave face according to the radius of curvature as well as those around the face according to lateral pressure coefficient(k), two experimental concave models, produced at a scale of 1:2 and 1:5(tunnel radius), of the forefront of the curved area extended from plane face was built and tested.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.487-497
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• 2016

If a tunnel is excavated, the released stress is redistributed in the ground around the tunnel face, which lead the stress state of the surrounding ground of the tunnel and the load acting on the tunnel support to change. If the tunnel face deforms, the ground ahead of it is relaxed, and the earth pressure acting on it decreases. And if the displacement increases so much that, the ground ahead of the tunnel face reaches in failure state. At this time, load would be transferred longitudinally in the tunnel, depending on the cover and the face deformations. The longitudinal load transfers in the tunnels induced by the tunnelling has been often studied; however, the relation between the deformation of the tunnel face and the longitudinal load transfer was rarely studied. Therefore in this study assesses the characteristics of the longitudinal load transfer as the face was failed by displacement by conducting a model test in a shallow tunnel. In other words, the longitudinal load transfer of the tunnel with the progress of the face deform was measured by conducting a model test, beginning at the state of earth pressure at rest. As results of this study, most of the longitudinal load transfers occurred drastically at the beginning of the displacement of the tunnel face, and as the displacement of the face approached the ultimate displacement, it converged to the ultimate displacement at a gentler slope. In other words, when the ground ahead of the tunnel face was still in an elastic state, the longitudinally transferred load increased sharply at the beginning stage but it tended to increase gradually if it approached to the ultimate limit. Thus, it was noted that the earth pressure in the face and the longitudinal load transfer of the tunnel had the same decreasing tendency.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.363-372
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• 2022

One of the most frequent issues in tunnel excavation is the collapse of rock blocks and the dropping of rock fragments from the tunnel face. The tunnel face can be reinforced using a number of techniques. One of the most popular and affordable solutions is the use of face longitudinal dowels, which has benefits including high strength, flexibility, and ease of cutting. In order to examine the reinforced face, this work shows the longitudinal deformation profile and ground response curve for a tunnel face. This approach is based on assumptions made during the analysis phase of problem solving. By knowing the tunnel face response and dowel behavior, the interaction of two elements can be solved. The rock element equation derived from the rock bolt method is combined with the dowel differential equation to solve the reinforced ground response curve (GRC). With a straightforward and accurate analytical equation, the new differential equation produces the reinforced displacement of the tunnel face at each stage of excavation. With simple equations and a less involved computational process, this approach offers quick and accurate solutions. The FLAC3D simulation has been compared with the suggested analytical approach. A logical error is apparent from the discrepancies between the two solutions. Each component of the equation's effect has also been described.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.187-200
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• 2020

In the current work, a series of three-dimensional finite element analyses have been conducted to investigate the behaviour of pre-existing single piles in response to adjacent tunnelling by considering the tunnel face pressures and the relative locations of the pile tips with respect to the tunnel. Via numerical modelling, the effect of the face pressures on the pile behaviour has been analysed. In addition, the analyses have concentrated on the ground settlements, the pile head settlements and the shear stress transfer mechanism at the pile-soil interface. The settlements of the pile directly above the tunnel crown (with a vertical distance between the pile tip and the tunnel crown of 0.25D, where D is the tunnel diameter) with a face pressure of 50% of the in situ horizontal soil stress at the tunnel springline decreased by approximately 38% compared to the corresponding pile settlements with the minimum face pressure, namely, 25% of the in situ horizontal soil stress at the tunnel springline. Furthermore, the smaller the face pressure is, the larger the tunnelling-induced ground movements, the axial pile forces and the interface shear stresses. The ground settlements and the pile settlements were heavily affected by the face pressures and the positions of the pile tip with respect to the tunnel. When the piles were inside the tunnel influence zone, tensile forces were induced on piles, while compressive pile forces were expected to develop for piles that are outside the influence zone and on the boundary. In addition, the computed results have been compared with relevant previous studies that were reported in the literature. The behaviour of the piles that is triggered by adjacent tunnelling has been extensively examined and analysed by considering the several key features in substantial detail.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.32-40
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• 2000

This paper presents the results of a parametric study on the behavior of tunnel face reinforced with horizontal pipes. A series of reduced-scale model tests was carried out to in an attempt to verify previously performed three-dimensional numerical modeling and to investigate effects of reinforcement layout on the tunnel face deformation behavior. The results of model tests indicate that the tunnel face deformation can significantly reduced by pre-reinforcing the tunnel face with longitudinal members and thus enhancing the tunnel stability. In addition, the model tests results compare fairly well with those from the previously performed three-dimensional finite element analysis. Therefore, a properly calibrated three dimensional model may effectively be used in the study of tunnel face reinforcing technique.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.599-614
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• 2014

When tunnelling with TBM (Tunnel Boring Machine), accessibility to tunnel face is very limited because tunnel face is mostly occupied by a bunch of machines. Existing techniques that can predict ground condition ahead of TBM tunnel are extremely limited. In this study, the TBM Resistivity Prediction (TRP) system has been developed for predicting anomalous zone ahead of tunnel face utilizing electrical resistivity. The applicability and prediction accuracy of the developed system has been verified by performing field tests at subway tunnel construction site in which an EPB (Earth Pressure Balanced) shield TBM was used for tunnelling work. The TRP system is able to predicts the location, thickness and electrical properties of anomalous zone by performing inverse analysis using measured resistivity of the ground. To make field tests possible, an apparatus was devised to attach electrode to tunnel face through the chamber. The electrode can be advanced from the chamber to the tunnel face to fully touch the ground in front of the tunnel face. In the 1st field test, none of the anomalous zone was predicted, because the rock around the tunnel face has the same resistivity and permittivity with the rock ahead of tunnel face. In the 2nd field test, 5 m thick anomalous zone was predicted with lower permittivity than that of the rock around the tunnel face. The test results match well with the ground condition predicted, respectively, from geophysical exploration, or directly obtained either from drilling boreholes or from daily observed muck condition.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.11-22
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• 2009

Tunnel excavation with several sections and appropriate auxiliary measures such as face bolt and pre-grouting are widely used in case of weak and less rigid ground for the stability of a tunnel face during excavation. This papers first described the evaluation methods proposed in technical literature to maintain the tunnel face stable, and then studied by FEM analysis whether face reinforcement is need in what degree of ground deformation and strength features for the stability of a tunnel face when excavating by full excavation with sub-bench. Lastly, a three dimensional FEM analysis was performed to study how the tunnel face itself and the ground around the tunnel behave depending on different bolt layouts, length of bolts, number of bolts. There were relative differences in comparison of results on the stability of a tunnel face by a theoretical evaluation methods and FEM analysis, but the same in reinforced effect of face. It was found that the stability of a tunnel face can be obtained with face bolt installed longer than 1.0D (tunnel width), bolt density of about 1 bolt per every $1.5\;m^2$ (layout of grid type), and reinforcement area of $120^{\circ}$ arch area of upper section.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.366-374
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• 2008

Tunnelling under water table induces many geotechnical problems because of groundwater. In subsea tunneling, reduction of face stability can induce flooding in the vicinity of a fracture zone characterized by high permeability and high water pressure. In this study, the effects of high water pressure on the stability of a tunnel face in a limited zone with high permeability(hazardous zone) are analyzed. On the basis of the 'advance core' concept, the seepage force acting on a hypothetical cylinder ahead of a tunnel face is modeled. This study focuses on the hydraulic behavior of the ground ahead of the tunnel face by three-dimensional steady-state seepage analyses. The impact of the hazardous zone on the seepage force and stability of the tunnel face are simulated and analyzed. In light of the analysis results, it is estimated that the distance from the tunnel face to the exterior boundary limit, which the seepage force significantly affects the stability of the tunnel face, of a hypothetical cylinder is approximately 5 times the tunnel radii. Despite the restrictive assumptions of this study, the results are highly indicative regarding the risks of hazardous zones.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.283-293
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• 2019

Evaluating the stability of the excavation face of the cross-river shield tunnel with good accuracy is considered as a nonlinear and multivariable complex issue. Understanding the stability evaluation method of the shield tunnel excavation face is vital to operate and control the shield machine during shield tunneling. Considering the instability mechanism of the excavation face of the cross-river shield and the characteristics of this engineering, seven evaluation indexes of the stability of the excavation face were selected, i.e., the over-span ratio, buried depth of the tunnel, groundwater condition, soil permeability, internal friction angle, soil cohesion and advancing speed. The weight of each evaluation index was obtained by using the analytic hierarchy process and the entropy weight method. The evaluation model of the cross-river shield construction excavation face stability is established based on the idea point method. The feasibility of the evaluation model was verified by the engineering application in a cross-river shield tunnel project in China. Results obtained via the evaluation model are in good agreement with the actual construction situation. The proposed evaluation method is demonstrated as a promising and innovative method for the stability evaluation and safety construction of the cross-river shield tunnel engineerings.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.3-11
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• 2003

Face stability of a tunnel is a main concern during tunnel excavation. However, there has been only a few studies on this problem while a lot of researches on the support systems have been carried out. In addition, when tunneling is performed below the groundwater level, the groundwater flows into the tunnel so that the seepage forces generated on the tunnel face might give rise to a serious potential for the face instability. In this study, the face stability was evaluated by simultaneously considering two factors: one is the effective stress calculated by upper bound theorem; the other is the seepage forces acting on the tunnel face obtained by numerical analysis under the condition of steady-state groundwater flow. Tunneling in difficult geological conditions often requires auxiliary techniques to guarantee safe tunnel excavations and/or to prevent damage to structures and services around the tunnel. The steel pipe-reinforced multistep grouting has been recently applied to tunnel sites in Korea. Face stability of a tunnel with the steel pipe-reinforced multistep grouting was also analyzed in this study.