A new approach for estimating the transverse surface settlement curve for twin tunnels in shallow and soft soils

Increasing demand on infrastructures has led to increased attention to shallow soft ground tunneling methods in urbanized areas. Especially in metro tunnel excavations, it is important to control the surface settlements which are observed before and after excavation, which may cause damage to surface structures. Unlike motorway, sewage and other infrastructure tunnels, metro tunnels generally have to be excavated as twin tunnels and must have a larger diameter. Metro tunnels also have shallow depth. Due to their shallow depth, metro tunnels generally have been constructed in weak rocks or weak soils in cities. The construction of twin tunnels will generate ground movements which have the potential to cause damage to existing surface and subsurface structures. To solve this settlement problem, experts have used the Earth pressure balance machine (EPBM) and the slurry balance machine. In such excavations, especially in twin tunnels, the main challenges for constructers are estimating the maximum surface settlement, controlling the interaction of transverse surface settlement and shaping the settlement curve. Incorrect estimation of these parameters can lead to significant problems above the tunnels and in nearby structures. This paper focuses on surface settlement measurements, on the interaction of twin tunnel transverse surface settlement and on the relationship between shield parameters and transverse surface settlement for parallel tunnels using EPBM shields in clay and sand soils in shallow depth. Also, a new equation is proposed for estimating the transverse settlement curve of twin tunnels. The results from this proposed equation are compared with the results of field observations. The transverse settlement curve values obtained from the proposed equation have good agreement with the actual results for the Otogar-Kirazli metro case studies.