Application of the Stress-Strain Curve of Rock Mass to Estimate the Convergence of Deep Circular Tunnels

Authors

Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Tabriz

Abstract

The prediction of tunnel convergence at great depth is the important factor in tunneling design. A large number of analytical solutions have been presented for circular tunnels. However; it is not an easy task to use them in practice due to their either complexity or difficulty of stepwise computations, particularly when the stress-strain behavior of rock mass is the strain softening.
Therefore; in this study, a simple analytical approach is presented to estimate circular tunnel convergence using the stress- strain curve of rock mass located on tunnel wall. This curve is obtained based on values of the principle stresses as well as their variation on tunnel wall due to tunnel face advancement.

Keywords


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