Assessment of time-dependent behaviour of rocks on concrete lining in a large cross-section tunnel

Tunneling in rocks having the time-dependent behavior, causes some difficulties like tunnel convergence and, as a result, pressure on concrete lining; and so instability on this structure. In this paper the time-dependent behaviour of squeezing phenomenon in a large cross section tunnel was investigated as a case study: Alborz tunnel. Then, time-dependent behaviour of Alborz tunnel was evaluated using FLAC2D based on the finite difference numerical method. A Burger-creep viscoelastic model was used in numerical analysis. Using numerical analysis, the long-time effect of squeezing on lining stability was simulated.This study is done for primary lining (for 2 years) and permanent lining (for 100 years), under squeezing situations. The response of lining is discussed base on Thrust Force-Bending Moment and Thrust Force-Shear Force diagrams analysing. The results determined the importance of consideration of time-dependent behaviour of tunnel that structural forces in concrete lining will grow in consider with time pass and after 70 years can cause instability in creepy rock masses section of tunnel. To show the importance of time-dependent behavior consideration of rocks, elastic and Mohr-Coulomb models are evaluated at the end.

Automated summary

This paper investigates the time-dependent behavior of squeezing phenomenon in a large cross-section tunnel and its impact on lining stability using numerical analysis. The study highlights the importance of considering the time-dependent behavior in tunnel design and construction, as the structural forces in the concrete lining increase over time and can lead to instability. Evaluating different models further emphasizes the significance of accounting for rock's time-dependent behavior.