Evaluating the Time-Dependent Behavior of Deeply Buried Tunnels in Soft Rock Environments and Relevant Measures Guaranteeing Their Long-Term Stability
The time-dependent behavior and long-term stability of deep-buried tunnels in soft rocks have received lots of considerations in tunnel engineering and allied sciences. To better explore and deepen the engineering application of rock creep, extensive research studies are still needed, although fruit...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-09-01
|
| Series: | Applied Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/18/10542 |
| _version_ | 1797581400977702912 |
|---|---|
| author | Wadslin Frenelus Hui Peng |
| author_facet | Wadslin Frenelus Hui Peng |
| author_sort | Wadslin Frenelus |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The time-dependent behavior and long-term stability of deep-buried tunnels in soft rocks have received lots of considerations in tunnel engineering and allied sciences. To better explore and deepen the engineering application of rock creep, extensive research studies are still needed, although fruitful outcomes have already been obtained in many related investigations. In this article, the Weilai Tunnel in China’s Guangxi province is studied, taking its host rocks as the main research object. In fact, aiming at forecasting the time-varying deformation of this tunnel, a novel elasto-visco-plastic creep constitutive model with two variants is proposed, by exploiting the typical complex load–unload process of rock excavation. The model is well validated, and good agreements are found with the relevant experimental data. Moreover, the time-dependent deformation rules are properly established for the surrounding rocks, by designing two new closed-form solutions based on the proposed creep model and the Hoek–Brown criterion. To investigate the effects of the major creep parameters and the geological strength index (GSI) of the surrounding rocks on the time-dependent trend of the tunnel, an in-depth parametric study is carried out. It is shown that the convergence deformation of the surrounding rocks is remarkably influenced by the GSI and creep parameters. The convergence deformations calculated from the closed-form solutions conform well to the on-site monitoring data. In only 27 days after excavation, the creep deformation of the Weilai tunnel overtakes 400 mm, which is enormous. To guarantee the long-term stability of this tunnel, a robust support scheme and its long-term monitoring with appropriate remote sensors are strongly suggested. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:03:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d5cea45f54384cb3b0b7d7d7867cbcbc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:03:57Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-d5cea45f54384cb3b0b7d7d7867cbcbc2023-11-19T09:29:12ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172023-09-0113181054210.3390/app131810542Evaluating the Time-Dependent Behavior of Deeply Buried Tunnels in Soft Rock Environments and Relevant Measures Guaranteeing Their Long-Term StabilityWadslin Frenelus0Hui Peng1Department of Hydraulic Engineering, College of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering, China Three Gorges University, Yichang 443002, ChinaDepartment of Hydraulic Engineering, College of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering, China Three Gorges University, Yichang 443002, ChinaThe time-dependent behavior and long-term stability of deep-buried tunnels in soft rocks have received lots of considerations in tunnel engineering and allied sciences. To better explore and deepen the engineering application of rock creep, extensive research studies are still needed, although fruitful outcomes have already been obtained in many related investigations. In this article, the Weilai Tunnel in China’s Guangxi province is studied, taking its host rocks as the main research object. In fact, aiming at forecasting the time-varying deformation of this tunnel, a novel elasto-visco-plastic creep constitutive model with two variants is proposed, by exploiting the typical complex load–unload process of rock excavation. The model is well validated, and good agreements are found with the relevant experimental data. Moreover, the time-dependent deformation rules are properly established for the surrounding rocks, by designing two new closed-form solutions based on the proposed creep model and the Hoek–Brown criterion. To investigate the effects of the major creep parameters and the geological strength index (GSI) of the surrounding rocks on the time-dependent trend of the tunnel, an in-depth parametric study is carried out. It is shown that the convergence deformation of the surrounding rocks is remarkably influenced by the GSI and creep parameters. The convergence deformations calculated from the closed-form solutions conform well to the on-site monitoring data. In only 27 days after excavation, the creep deformation of the Weilai tunnel overtakes 400 mm, which is enormous. To guarantee the long-term stability of this tunnel, a robust support scheme and its long-term monitoring with appropriate remote sensors are strongly suggested.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/18/10542deeply buried tunnelsdeep soft rockselasto-visco-plastic creep constitutive modelclosed-form solutionslong-term stabilitystructural integrity |
| spellingShingle | Wadslin Frenelus Hui Peng Evaluating the Time-Dependent Behavior of Deeply Buried Tunnels in Soft Rock Environments and Relevant Measures Guaranteeing Their Long-Term Stability Applied Sciences deeply buried tunnels deep soft rocks elasto-visco-plastic creep constitutive model closed-form solutions long-term stability structural integrity |
| title | Evaluating the Time-Dependent Behavior of Deeply Buried Tunnels in Soft Rock Environments and Relevant Measures Guaranteeing Their Long-Term Stability |
| title_full | Evaluating the Time-Dependent Behavior of Deeply Buried Tunnels in Soft Rock Environments and Relevant Measures Guaranteeing Their Long-Term Stability |
| title_fullStr | Evaluating the Time-Dependent Behavior of Deeply Buried Tunnels in Soft Rock Environments and Relevant Measures Guaranteeing Their Long-Term Stability |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluating the Time-Dependent Behavior of Deeply Buried Tunnels in Soft Rock Environments and Relevant Measures Guaranteeing Their Long-Term Stability |
| title_short | Evaluating the Time-Dependent Behavior of Deeply Buried Tunnels in Soft Rock Environments and Relevant Measures Guaranteeing Their Long-Term Stability |
| title_sort | evaluating the time dependent behavior of deeply buried tunnels in soft rock environments and relevant measures guaranteeing their long term stability |
| topic | deeply buried tunnels deep soft rocks elasto-visco-plastic creep constitutive model closed-form solutions long-term stability structural integrity |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/18/10542 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT wadslinfrenelus evaluatingthetimedependentbehaviorofdeeplyburiedtunnelsinsoftrockenvironmentsandrelevantmeasuresguaranteeingtheirlongtermstability AT huipeng evaluatingthetimedependentbehaviorofdeeplyburiedtunnelsinsoftrockenvironmentsandrelevantmeasuresguaranteeingtheirlongtermstability |