Modelling ground movements near a pressurised tunnel heading in drained granular soil

Face pressurised tunnel boring machines usually engender a complex expanding displacement field near the tunnel heading, which has not been well studied. In this article, the ground movements near a pressurised tunnel heading in drained granular soil were first investigated by physical model tests, in which the catastrophic scenario of face collapse and the normal situation of shield advance were both reproduced. Then coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian analyses were performed to gain further insights into the ground movements near a pressurised tunnel front. The simulation results showed good agreements with the test data, and the ground response mechanism was finally made clear.