Tunnelling

1. 2.

3.
4.

Tunnelling methods Excavation techniques Rock mass characterisation Examples

Brick lined, hand dug tunnel in to London Clay under the River Thames Victorian London Underground: 1st deep-level tube line; 1890 between Monument and Stockwell. Diameter: 3.10 m

Shallow tunnel in soils: Cut and Cover Technique 1. Excavate trench by removing overburden 2. Install infrastructure (railway system) 3. Install roofing structure
Cut and cover tunnel cut in Gault Clay at Castle Hill, near Folkestone Tunnel portal on the UK side of Channel Tunnel

NATM Singapore opened 2006

New Austrian Tunnelling Method: uses Drill and Blast method Design on the go, rock behaviour monitored while tunnelling and tunnel support constantly assessed and altered accordingly Economical tunnelling method

Ramsgate Harbour 760m bored tunnel using a TBM, opened 2000.

Submersible tube tunnel

Prefabricated in dry dock Commonly used for short road and rail crossings across rivers and estuaries
1. Excavate a channel by dredging Underwater cut and fill 2. Float section out to sea 3. Remove bulkhead and sink 4. Position and dock 5. Add backfill and rock armour 6. Dewater: pump out water

Conwy Bypass: UKs first immersed tunnel, 1080 m Crosses the River Conwy, N. Wales

Geology & Tunnels

1.

Geology determines: tunnel route, design and construction Ground investigation allows identification of most suitable unit to tunnel through: Rock weathering causes rock strength to reduce
Mudrocks:

fissure & soften; Basalts: micro-fracture

2.

Discontinuities affect tunnel roof stability:

Orientation

relative to tunnel axis:

(Bell, 2007)

Main tunnelling methods in soils & Shield weak rocks: <20 Mpa

Major issue is tunnel stand-up time, excavations collapse

Material with short stand-up time:

Shielding

Conveyor belt Madehow.com

method uses: Closed-face tunnel boring machine Cutting face is pump pressurised with bentonite slurry or grout Permanent pre-cast concrete lining

Soils influenced by water table:

Sands

flow as viscous liquid

Main tunnelling methods in Rock

3. 1.

2.

Main tunnelling methods in Rock

1. 2.

3.

Drill and blast in any hard rock and for large caverns Drill cavity (50 mm) Insert explosive & blast Muck out and repeat
Blasting damages rock mass; fracturing Weaken rock mass Not suitable for shales of schists; cleavages

Three ways:
Full-face driving Top heading Top heading & bench

Expresslink.hk

Main tunnelling methods in Rock

Full face blasting of a tunnel in Hong Kong

Blasting Sequence: 1. Blast out a cut 2. Free-face blasting 3. Smooth blasting

Smooth blasting of perimeter holes

Blast holes

Main tunnelling methods in Rock

Roadheader mobile milling head for use in rocks (60 - ~150 Mpa UCS) Rotating cutting head Mounted drag picks Some double headed Remote controlled Stratified formations:
High

degree of control Cut a range of tunnel shapes

Do not excavate a full face profile like a TBM

Main tunnelling methods in Rock Roadheader Machine

Shored up by netting Shotcrete?

Payline

Tunnel boring machine (TBM)

Rotating heads cutting up to 30 m/day in soft rock Excavation by cutter head equipped with cutters Smooth cylindrical tunnel Diameter: 1 m to 19.25 m Constant speed rotation Hydraulic pushing system:
Gripper

system pushes against tunnel lining

Main tunnelling methods in Rock

Tunnel boring machine (TBM)
Tunnelling by TBM most frequently used method due to: Increased rates of advance Versatile as can bore weak to strong rocks Bore rock up to 150 Mpa UCS Minimal damage to adjacent rock Overbreak minimised: 5 % compared to 25 % in drill and blast; less tunnel support needed

However:
1. Hard rock: cutter wear & larger thrusts 2. Low fracture density: slow progress 3. Geological structure can deviate the TBM 4. Constant surveying necessary 5. ~400 m turning circle 6. Only economical in tunnels longer than 1 km 7. High upfront costs 8. Transport logistics

Geophysical Survey in Ground Investigation for Tunnel

Electrical resistivity tomography used to identify difficult ground before tunnelling began Highly fractured limestone and clay filled zones

Tunnelling Considerations

Faults must be treated with caution;

Falling

wedges of fault gouge Prone to swelling which can damage support Lots of parasitic faults create zone of shattered rock

High groundwater flows present serious difficulties

Unexpected water-bearing zones Avoided by estimating water inflow

by identifying

hydrogeological boundaries

Overbreak
Rock falls from above crown Thinly bedded and jointed

Tunnelling Considerations:
Rockfall hazard within unlined section of tunnel Due to failure to correctly characterise the rock mass

Tunnelling Considerations

Rock burst (occurs > 600 m with UCS > 140 MPa)
Rock breaks from side of tunnel with explosive force Popping: less violent form at lower depths; rocks foliate

Squeezing and swelling ground (where UCS < 2 MPa)

Squeezing:

slow subsidence of tunnel sides in soft clays Swelling: expansion due to water infiltration in clays rich in montmorilonite (swelling clay)

Variable rockhead major hazard

Break

through to water bearing rocks; tunnel acts as drain

Temperature increases (2-4C/100 m)

Ventilation

to keep temperature below 25C

Tunnel liner failed due to applied stress

The partial collapse of a tunnel being constructed over the Chiltern line at Gerrards Cross closed the line to all services. The line is being roofed over to provide space for a Tesco supermarket above the tracks. [2005-07-01]

Rock Mass Characterisation

1. 2.

Suitability of ground for tunnelling by determining stand up time of a tunnel Identify necessary stability measures
Unsupported tunnel stand up time

Tunnel Width (m)

Bieniawski 1989:

Rock Mass Rating System Divides rock masses in to 5 groups depending on suitability for tunnelling
Stand up considerable time

Collapse immediately

1st: Geomechanics system of Rock Mass Rating

Tunnel support derived from: rock strength, groundwater and nature of discontinuities. Range: 0-100 (higher better)
Parameter
Intact rock UCS (MPa) Rating RQD % Rating Mean fracture spacing Rating

Assessment of values and rating

>250 15 >90 75 90 100 - 250 12 50 75 50 100 7 25 50 25 50 4 < 25 1 25 1

20
>2 m 20 0.6 -2 m

17

13
200-600mm 60-200 mm

8
<60mm 8

15

10

Fracture conditions Rating

Groundwater Rating Fracture orientation Rating*

Rough tight
30 Dry 15

Open <1mm
25 Damp 10

Weathered
20 Wet 7

Gouge <5mm
10 Dripping 4 Unfavourable

Gouge >5mm
0 Flowing 0 Very Unfavourable -15 -25

Very Favourable Fair favourable 0 -2

-7

*note negative values

Rock Mass Rating (RMR) is the sum of the six ratings

2nd: Norwegian Q System

Was developed as RMR doesnt account for support derived from:

1. Joint roughness
2. Frictional strength of joint infilling material 3. Stress reduction due to tunnelling; loosening of tunnel wall rocks

Waltham, 2009

Norweigan Q System successfully multiplies rating values to determine the rock mass quality (Q) as: Q= (RQD/Jn) x (Jr/Ja) x (Jw/SRF)

RQD rock quality designation (100-10) Jn Joint set number (1-20) Jr Joint roughness factor (4-1) Ja Joint alteration and clay infill (1-20) Jw Joint water inflow or pressure (1-0.1) SRF Stress reduction factor due to tunnelling (1-20) Q values range between <0.001 to > 1000

Guidelines properties for Rock Mass Classes

Results of RMR or Q system converted in to: Rock mass classes (I-V) Tunnel stand up time and recommended support Rock Mass Class Description RMR Q Value I Very good rock 80-100 >40 II Good rock 60-80 10-40 III Fair rock 40-60 4-10 IV Poor rock 20-40 1-4 V Very poor rock <20 <1

Friction angle ()
Cohesion (kPa) SBP (Mpa) Safe cut slope () Tunnel support Stand up time for span

>45
>400 10 >70 none 20 years for 15m

35-45
300-400 4-6 65 Spot bolts 1 years for 10m

25-35
200-300 1-2 55 Pattern bolts 1 week for 5m

15-25
100-200 0.5 45 Bolts & shotcrete 12 hours for 2m

<15
<100 <0.2 <40 Steel ribs 30 mins for 1m

Rock quality & stability improvement methods

Rock quality & stability improvement methods

For poor quality rock stability measures are erected immediately after excavation:

Rock Bolts
Clamp discontinuities closed Used along side drill and blast

Shotcrete
Sprayed on excavated surface 15 cm can eradicate rockfalls

Improving ground ahead of face

Spiling
An arch of rock bolts or grout inserted at 10 to tunnel axis ahead of tunnel advance

(Waltham, 2009)

Channel Tunnel, 1992

Longest undersea tunnel in the World Links Folkestone, UK to Calais, France 4 years to construct 50 km rail tunnel two bores of 7.6 m and smaller service tunnel 4.8 m under the English Channel Average 45 m depth below seabed
Cost: 4.65 Billion GBP 80% overspend 11 lives lost 2012: 18M passengers

Tunnel Transport System

Three tunnels: 2 for Eurostar trains 1 vehicle service tunnel

Lined with precast concrete segments 0.3-0.6 m thick 5-8 segments

Planned Channel Tunnel Route

85 % tunnelled in Chalk Marl: UCS 5-9MPa, 30-40% clay Low fracture density, moderately strong, little support required and impermeable
2 main tunnels cut by 11 TBMs of 8.7 m diameter Central tunnel probed 1 km ahead; pioneer hole Maintain 20 m of sound rock between crown and seabed Cretaceous Wealdon Boulonnaise Dome

Tates Cairn Tunnel, HK, 1991

Longest tunnel in HK 10.7 m wide, 8 m high, 4 km long through strong granite Drill and blast two 10hr shifts/day; advanced at 60m/week Drilling 3 hrs; round of 90 holes, 50mm diameter, 4.5 m deep each taking 3 mins Charging and firing 2.5 hrs Mucking out 4 hrs front loader fills 20t dumptruck in 2 mins, 1000t per round, rock bulks by 50%

Summary
Types of tunnel: soft ground; cut and cover; submerged tubes; bored Identifying tunnelling conditions Tunnel support Tunnelling problems

 Main

tunnelling methods in soils & weak rocks: <20 Mpa

Hand drill and blast

Hand dug tunnels

Lotschberg tunnel 1908 Swiss tunnel heading drove through rockhead into saturated gravels 185 m below valley floor after a false assumption of the sediment depth. There was no geomorphological input so there was no allowance for any reverse gradient on the rock floor of the glaciated valley that was buried beneath alluvial infill. The technology at the time excluded the use of deep boreholes but probes could have been drilled ahead of the tunnel drive. The water in rush killed 25 miners and the tunnel had to be re-routed (see Geology Today, Vol. 23, No. 3, May/June 2007)