Types and Geological Conditions of Tunnels
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ScribdTranslationsTypes and Geological Conditions of Tunnels
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ScribdTranslations1. Types of tunnels.
The most well-known underground works are tunnels, as they find a great
a variety of applications in engineering, reaching such importance that its development has
marked the evolution and progress of the other underground works. The tunnels,
depending on their purpose, they can be road, hydraulic, communal, mining and
special.
• Road tunnels. They are those built for roads, railways,
vehicular accesses or metropolitan train systems.
• Hydraulic tunnels. They are built to transport water, mainly in
hydroelectric plants, supplies, irrigation systems, navigation, channeling, etc.
Community tunnels. They are tunnels primarily built in cities with
destination to pedestrian walkways, cables, pipes, etc. These tunnels are generally constructed
in soft grounds, under roads, houses, and urban buildings, requiring methods
excavation details to prevent damage to surface structures
Mining tunnels. These are underground works built to access a
mining exploitation and serves as a pathway to transport extracted materials and supplies
of exploitation. There are also mining tunnels between different exploitation fronts.
of the site. In general, these tunnels are temporary in nature, subject to
time required to exploit the minerals, after which the work is abandoned
• Special tunnels. They are built for a specific purpose and can be used for installation.
drains or equipment, investigate a place, conduct tests, military maneuvers, accommodate
conveyor belts, etc. Their geometry, construction method, and structure are
arrange the object of the tunnel.
DUE TO ITS LOCATION WITH RESPECT TO THE PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE PLACE, THE TUNNELS
CAN BE:
In the mountains. When the work is done to cross a mountainous obstacle.
relieve. These tunnels are built to shorten distances in conduits and roads
of communication.
• In flat. When the tunnel is built in flat terrain, usually located in
the cities, to provide a solution to a road or conduction. Such is the case of tunnels for
Metro, urban highways, hydraulic conduits. In general, these are works.
excavated in soils.
• Subaquatic. They are called that the tunnels that are built to overcome the obstacle of
a surface current of water, such as a river, canal, or strait. The tunnel
the longest underwater tunnel in the world, illustrated in Figure 3, was built in Japan, under
the Tsugaru Strait to connect the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido. Its construction is
It began in 1973 and ended in 1983.
DEPENDING ON THE DEPTH, ALSO KNOWN AS COVERAGE OR ROOF,
TUNNELS CAN BE CLASSIFIED INTO:
• Subsuperficial. If the cover does not exceed 50 m. In this classification are found
all tunnels built in urban areas.
• Shallow. If the depth is between 50 and 200 m. In this classification
an immense number of short and medium tunnels built in
mountain.
• Moderately deep. When the coverage is between 200 and 500m. Some
medium and long tunnels built in mountains are found within this range of
depths.
Deep. Built with covers from 500 to 1000 m
Very Deep. When the construction depths exceed 1000 m.
IN RELATION TO LENGTH, TUNNELS CAN BE CLASSIFIED AS:
Short. If the length does not exceed 500 m.
Medium. If the length is between 500 and 2000 m.
Long. When the length is between 2 and 5 km.
Very long. If the length exceeds 5 km.
DEPENDING ON THEIR CROSS SECTIONAL GEOMETRY, TUNNELS CAN BE:
• Circulars, in a horseshoe shape.
• In Vaulted and Rectangular.
In the cross-section of a tunnel, the following elements can be distinguished
geometric
• Hastiáiles. They are the lateral part of the section. They are also called walls. They can
to be straight or curved.
Vault. It is the upper part of the section. It is also called the keystone. It is curved and
it can only be flat in rectangular section tunnels.
• Solera. It is the bottom part of the section. It is also called the floor. It can be straight.
oh curve.
(Revilla, 2017)
2. Geological conditions of tunnels.
Influence of geological conditions
While digging a tunnel, three types of natural conditions can be found that give rise to the
loss of resistance of the massif and, therefore, stability issues (Figure 1):
Unfavorable orientation of discontinuities.
Unfavorable orientation of the tensions with respect to the tunnel axis.
Water flow towards the interior of the excavation along fractures, aquifers or rocks.
certified.
These conditions are directly related to the following geological factors:
structure, discontinuities, matrix rock resistance, hydrogeological conditions and state
tensional. On the other hand, the excavation of the tunnel also generates a series of induced actions
that are added to the aforementioned natural conditions, such as:
Loss of strength of the surrounding mass due to the excavation as a consequence of the
decompression created: opening of discontinuities, cracking due to blasting, alterations,
water flows into the tunnel etc.
Reorientation of the stress fields, leading to changes in stresses.
Other effects such as surface subsidence, landslide movements, changes in the
aquifers, etc.
The response of the rock mass to natural and induced actions determines the
stability conditions of the tunnel and, as a consequence, the support measures
apply. On the other hand, the construction process also depends on the excavability of the rocks,
which is also a function of resistance, hardness, and abrasiveness, among other factors.
(Vallejo, 2004)
Figure No. 1. Natural instability conditions in rock tunnel excavation
Source: (Vallejo, 2004)
Geological structure
The geological structure is one of the factors that most influences the stability of a
underground excavation. In folded and stratified rocks, the orientation of the strata
conditions different modes of behavior in front of stability in a tunnel, influencing
the following factors:
Bending of the structure with respect to the section of the tunnel.
Direction of the stratification concerning the tunnel axis.
Type of folds.
Figure 2 shows the influence of the structure on the stability of a tunnel.
general, the orientations parallel to the direction of the axis of a tunnel are situations
unfavorable.
