Physical and mechanical characteristics of soft rock tunnel and the effect of excavation on supporting structure

Abstract

The problem of large deformation is very prominent in deep-buried tunnel excavation in soft rock, which brings serious potential safety hazards and economic losses to projects. The knowledge of deformation law and support measures is the key to ensure the rational design and safe construction in a large deformation tunnel of soft rock. This paper describes rock physical and mechanical tests and field monitoring is employed to investigate the cause and development process of large deformation in Dongsong hydropower station in Sichuan Province, China. The results show that the free expansion rate of the rock sample is 20.0%, the average expansion stress of the rock sample is 11.0 kPa, and the expansibility of the rock is low. Large deformation of surrounding rock mainly comes from the dilatancy effect with high geostress and relaxation deformation with weak support. Shotcrete sealing exposed surrounding rock, and early strength support avoiding water immersion are useful to deal with the three main factors (weathering, water and confining pressure) that affect the strength of surrounding rocks. The second lining applied in time can effectively limit the further development of stress and deformation of initial support, and prevent the cracking and large deformation of concrete. Clearance convergence is suggested to be the main monitoring work in construction, because of its advantages of intuitive results, easy quality assurance of instrument installation and high accuracy.