INDIAN GEOTECHNICAL SOCIETY, KOLKATA CHAPTER
ADVANCED CONSTRUCTION AND COMPUTATIONAL TOOLS IN
GEOTECHNICS – PRACTICE TO THEORY
KOLKATA 27th – 28th July 2018, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
A CASE STUDY ON NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF A ROAD TUNNEL BY NATM
TECHNIQUE IN WESTERN GHATS, INDIA
Kaustuv Bhattacharya, Technical Services Department, ITD Cementation India Ltd, Kolkata.
[email protected]
Sudip Kumar Koley, Technical Services Department, ITD Cementation India Ltd, Kolkata.
[email protected]
Tamoghna Dasgupta, Technical Services Department, ITD Cementation India Ltd, Kolkata.
[email protected]
Prodyot Kr. Ray, Technical Services Department, ITD Cementation India Ltd, Kolkata.
[email protected]
P. S. Sengupta, Technical Services Department, ITD Cementation India Ltd, Kolkata. [email protected]
ABSTRACT: A large number of additional road highways are scheduled to come up in India as per latest initiative
taken by the Government of India. Several of these highways shall pass through rocky hill terrain, thereby
introducing the need for Rock Tunnel. This case-study is based on a 3 lane twin road tunnel of semi-circular shape
in the Western Ghats (Maharashtra, India) to be constructed by New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM). The
twin tunnels shall be interconnected by five no.s cross-passages. The height of soil/rock overburden at the crown of
the tunnel varies from 15m to 215m. The site predominantly consists of Deccan Trap Basaltic formation from
Cretaceous period to Eocene age. The core-log shows presence of completely weathered rock and boulders with
sand in top 20 m, followed by Highly weathered Basalt (RQD < 50%)and Hard Basalt (RQD > 50%). A model was
developed in finite element software to assess the temporary and permanent support system requirement for the
tunnel. A similar assessment for support system was also done using relevant codes of practice. The results showed
that more risk was associated in tunnel zones where the crown was having lower overburden depth and lying in the
highly weathered rock zone. The advantages of usage of present day available softwares in tunnel support design is
also discussed in the paper.
INTRODUCTION conditions. Moreover, these help in reducing the
There has been rapid growth of traffic in the past travel distance between remote locations thereby
few decades in India, thereby affecting the road saving on time and resources.
network system of the country. In order to The general methods of tunnel construction are by
overcome such capacity shortage and also to Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), Drill and Blast
connect remote locations of the country which had method, etc. The selection of a construction
remained isolated with the mainland as far as road methodology depends on several factors like
connectivity is concerned, various initiatives are project cycle time, geotechnical and geometrical
being taken by the concerned authorities. These aspects for tunnel part, position of groundwater
include development of existing facilities, table, logistics, etc. One of the recent popular
construction of new corridors for ensuring safe, methodology for tunnel construction is by the New
smooth and uninterrupted flow of traffic. Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM).
Several of these road networks shall pass through
mountainous profile, thereby requiring the METHODOLOGY
construction of tunnels. One of the major The New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM)
advantages of which is that road tunnels usually ,which became popular in the turn of twentieth
provide vehicular access even in critical weather century, is based on the principles of mobilisation
Kaustuv Bhattacharya /Sudip Kumar Koley/ Tamoghna Dasgupta/ Prodyot Kr Ray/ PS Sengupta
of rock mass strength, continuous monitoring of picture showing typical NATM Road Tunnel is
the deformation of the excavated rock mass, shown in Figure-1.
providing flexible but active supports and closing
of invert to form a load bearing support ring to
control deformation of rock mass. It covers a
number of techniques for safe tunnelling in rock
conditions where the stand up time is limited
before failure occurs. The techniques include the
use of heading and benching, application of proper
support conditions- temporary and permanent as
per rock conditions. In fractured rocks, grouting
may be done to consolidate the rock surrounding
tunnel.
The temporary support mainly designed to prevent Figure-1: Picture showing typical NATM Road
loosening of surrounding soil/rock around tunnel Tunnel
periphery must attain a high carrying capacity as
quickly as possible. As a result of close interaction The typical cross section of the tunnel and cross
between the elements of temporary support, the passage is shown in Figure-2(a) & Figure-2(b)
neighbouring portions of rock mass remain almost respectively.
in their original undisturbed state and thus help in
arch action.
Shotcrete forms one of the popular components of
temporary support. It is the term used for mixture
of cement, sand and graded coarse aggregate,
compacted dynamically and applied under high
pressure to rock surface under consideration. It
may be associated with rock bolt, wire mesh,
lattice girder, steel girder, etc. Rock bolts are steel
rods with mechanical anchor at one end (usually
grouted depending on application) and a face plate
and nut at the other. In very fractured rock masses,
forepoling may be introduced to stabilize crown
portion of tunnel face. Figure-2(a): Typical Cross Section of Tunnel
The permanent support usually comprises the
reinforced concrete lining and is so designed to
take the overall load on tunnel, neglecting the
contribution of temporary support. The selection of
permanent and temporary support is critical for any
tunnel design.
SUMMARY OF PROJECT
This article covers the preliminary analysis of a 3
lane twin tube semi-circular shape NATM road Figure-2(b): Typical Cross Section of Cross
tunnel in the Western Ghats region of Maharashtra, Passage
India. The twin tubes each of width of 16m and
height 10m approximately, are separated by 32 m The height of overburden above tunnel crown
and interconnected by 5 no.s cross passages. A varies from 15m (near portal) to maximum 215m.
INDIAN GEOTECHNICAL SOCIETY, KOLKATA CHAPTER
ADVANCED CONSTRUCTION AND COMPUTATIONAL TOOLS IN
GEOTECHNICS – PRACTICE TO THEORY
KOLKATA 27th – 28th July 2018, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
The vertical profile of the alignment is shown in Stage-2 : Application of Shotcrete & Rock Bolt in
Figure-3. Heading-1
Stage-3: Heading-2 Excavation
Stage-4 : Application of Shotcrete & Rock Bolt in
Heading-2
Stage-5 : Benching Excavation
Stage-6 : Application of Final Rock Bolt
Stage-7 : Shotcrete in balance portion
Stage-8 : Application of Concrete Lining
The geotechnical parameters used in model are
provided in Table-1.
Table-1: Geotechnical Parameter used in Software
Layer I II III
Figure-3: Vertical Profile of Tunnel Alignment
Boulders Highly
Description with traces Weathered Compact
Basalt
The geology around the tunnel site consists of of sand Rock
almost horizontal thick flows of Deccan Trap Depth BGL
0-11 11-18 >18
Basalt, Compact Basalt, Amygdaloidal Basalt and (m)
Red Bole from the Cretaceous Period to Eocene Bulk
Age. The thickness of the igneous bedrock is Density 18 22 25
(kN/m3)
estimated to be more than 1500 metres. The core-
Cohesion, c’ 8 - -
log summarizes the profile as completely (kN/m2)
weathered rock and boulders with traces of sand in
the top 20m followed by approximately 10 m of Angle of
Internal
Highly Weathered Basalt (with RQD<50%, RMR Friction, Φ’ 25 - -
20-50, Tunnel quality index 0.6-1.5, Lugeon Value (deg)
3-6) and Hard Compact Basalt (RQD>50%, RMR
Unconfined
50-80, Tunnel quality index > 10, Lugeon Value Compressive
0.5-4). The position of groundwater varied from Strength - 15 450
1.5-3 m BGL. (MPa)
Modulus of
NUMERICAL ANALYSIS & RESULTS Elasticity, E - 298 987
Analysis of the tunnel was carried out using finite (MPa)
element software, RS2. Plane strain model with
Geological
Hoek Brown formulations for rock part, was Strength - 30 50
developed and checked for two cases i.e crown of Index (GSI)
tunnel with maximum overburden and crown of
tunnel with minimum overburden.
However, the seismic analysis of the tunnel is not The initial stage for crown with minimum
covered in this model. overburden is shown in Figure-4. The Strength
The construction stages simulated in model are- Factor for subsequent stages are shown in Figure-
Initial : Insitu Condition 5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12. The absolute vertical settlement
Stage-1 : Heading-1 Excavation contour is shown in Figure-13. The plot of axial
forces obtained in rock bolts is shown in Figure-14.
Kaustuv Bhattacharya /Sudip Kumar Koley/ Tamoghna Dasgupta/ Prodyot Kr Ray/ PS Sengupta
Figure-4: Initial Stage of model with minimum Figure-8: Enlarged view showing strength factor
overburden above crown of tunnel after excavation of Heading-2
Figure-5: Enlarged view showing strength factor Figure-9: Enlarged view showing strength factor
of tunnel in initial stage of model of tunnel after application of shotcrete and rock
bolts at Heading-2
Figure-6: Enlarged view showing strength factor Figure-10: Enlarged view showing strength factor
of tunnel after excavation of Heading-1 of tunnel after excavation of Benching part
Figure-7: Enlarged view showing strength factor Figure-11: Enlarged view showing strength factor
of tunnel after application of shotcrete and rock of tunnel after application of shotcrete and rock
bolts at Heading-1 bolts at Benching
INDIAN GEOTECHNICAL SOCIETY, KOLKATA CHAPTER
ADVANCED CONSTRUCTION AND COMPUTATIONAL TOOLS IN
GEOTECHNICS – PRACTICE TO THEORY
KOLKATA 27th – 28th July 2018, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Figure-15: Plot of Axial Force obtained for design
Figure-12: Enlarged view showing strength factor of Shotcrete
of tunnel after application of final Concrete Lining
Figure-16: Plot of Bending Moment obtained for
Figure-13: Contour showing absolute vertical design of Shotcrete
settlement after installation of final lining (For
minimum overburden above crown)
Axial Capacity of
Rock Bolt
Figure-17: Plot of Shear Force obtained for design
Figure-14: Plot of axial force obtained in rock of Shotcrete
bolts during various stages of construction (For
minimum overburden above crown)
Kaustuv Bhattacharya /Sudip Kumar Koley/ Tamoghna Dasgupta/ Prodyot Kr Ray/ PS Sengupta
The shotcrete and concrete lining thickness was
selected according to the bending, shear force and
axial force summary obtained from software.
Similar exercise was carried out for the part where
the height of overburden above crown was
maximum and the crown was entirely in the
compact basalt strata. The number of plastic points
Figure-18: Plot of axial force obtained for design was less in this case compared to the one with less
of permanent liner overburden above crown and part of crown in
highly weathered rock zone, thus selection of
support was less stringent in the case with
maximum overburden above crown.
DISCUSSION
For selection of support system of the tunnel, an
exercise was also made based on guidelines from
IRC:SP-91-2010 (Guidelines for Road Tunnels). It
was observed that for the rock mass rating and
tunnelling index, the category of support for
Figure-19: Plot of Bending Moment obtained for
heading and benching was similar to the one that
design of permanent liner
was arrived after several trials using the software.
The major advantage using the software is that the
geotechnical profile variation can be plotted in the
software and stage-wise analysis can be performed
and guiding parameters such as settlement can be
monitored, thus making the selection of support
system more realistic and economic.
CONCLUSION
The following conclusions were ascertained from
Figure-20: Plot of Shear Force obtained for design this study-
of permanent liner (i) The results showed that more risk was
associated in tunnel zones where the crown was
It is observed from Figures-5-13, that the most having lower overburden depth and lying in the
critical portion during excavation is the crown part, highly weathered rock zone.
where the strength factor is least and vertical (ii) The Strength factor was lowest and
settlement maximum compared to other parts. settlement maximum in the crown area compared
Moreover, as presented for case where the crown to the other portions of tunnel. Thereby special
has minimum overburden above it and part of it attention must be paid to support system
lies in the highly weathered rock strata, the selection – both temporary and permanent
shotcrete was designed with single layer wire mesh (iii) The selection of support – both temporary
and the socket length of rock bolt was higher in and permanent is critically dependant on degree
weathered rock compared to that in hard rock. of weathering in rock
The axial force, bending moment and shear force
diagrams are shown from Figure-15-17 for
shotcrete and in Figure-18-20 for Concrete lining
respectively.
INDIAN GEOTECHNICAL SOCIETY, KOLKATA CHAPTER
ADVANCED CONSTRUCTION AND COMPUTATIONAL TOOLS IN
GEOTECHNICS – PRACTICE TO THEORY
KOLKATA 27th – 28th July 2018, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
FUTURE SCOPE OF WORK
The future scope of work may involve correlation
between the numerical analysis result and field
data
REFERENCES
1. Singh, Bhawani., Goel, Rajnish. “Tunnelling in
Weak Rocks.” Elsevier GeoEngineering Book
Series, Volume-5
2. IRC:SP-91-2010. Guidelines for Road Tunnels ,
Indian Road Congress
3. Hoek,E., Kaiser,P.K.,Bawden, W.F. “Support of
Underground Excavations in Hard Rock.” Oxford
& IBH Publishing Co. Pvt Ltd
4. RS2 v.9.0 Tutorial
