Compound Karst Cave Treatment and Waterproofing Strategy for EPB Shield Tunnelling in Karst Areas: A Case Study

There is high risk of water inrush and ground collapse accidents when tunnelling in karst areas. Based on the case study of an urban metro tunnel, this paper focuses on karst cave treatment and waterproofing strategies for earth pressure balancing (EPB) shield tunnelling in karst areas containing large amounts of karst caves and fissures. When the shield machine enters the karst area, water gush easily occurs, posing serious threats to tunnelling safety. The distribution characteristic of limestone fractures, karst caves, and fissures in the karst area were analyzed according to the geological survey results. Further, water inrush risk and engineering difficulties were analyzed. Subsequently, a compound karst cave treatment and waterproofing strategy for EPB shield tunnelling was proposed and implemented. Water inflow is successfully reduced and ground collapse accident is avoided using the compound karst cave treatment and waterproofing strategy.

Automated summary

Tunnelling in karst areas poses high risks of water inrush and ground collapses. This paper presents a case study of an urban metro tunnel to explore karst cave treatment and waterproofing strategies, which successfully reduced water inflow and prevented ground collapse accidents.