Effect of Excavation-Induced Groundwater Level Drawdown on Tunnel Inflow in a Jointed Rock Mass

Analytical and empirical methods used in current engineering practice for estimating inflow rate into a tunnel do not adequately account for the effect of groundwater level drawdown which triggers changes of the flow pattern as well as reductions of the hydraulic head. When there is no reservoir or a large body of water near the tunnel alignment, the groundwater recharge above the tunnel might not be fast enough to avoid a significant excavation-induced water level drawdown. This paper provides analytical methods for estimating groundwater inflow rate taking into account the groundwater table drawdown. The proposed analytical solutions presented here compare well with field observations as well as with results from numerical analysis using distinct element method which can adequately simulate the hydro-mechanically coupled behavior of joints in a rock mass. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.