Study on calculation of rock pressure for ultra-shallow tunnel in poor surrounding rock and its tunneling procedure

Abstract

A computational method of rock pressure applied to an ultra-shallow tunnel is presented by key block theory, and its mathematical formula is proposed according to a mechanical tunnel model with super-shallow depth. Theoretical analysis shows that the tunnel is subject to asymmetric rock pressure due to oblique topography. The rock pressure applied to the tunnel crown and sidewall is closely related to the surrounding rock bulk density, tunnel size, depth and angle of oblique ground slope. The rock pressure applied to the tunnel crown is much greater than that to the sidewalls, and the load applied to the left sidewall is also greater than that to the right sidewall. Meanwhile, the safety of the lining for an ultra-shallow tunnel in strata with inclined surface is affected by rock pressure and tunnel support parameters. Steel pipe grouting from ground surface is used to consolidate the unfavorable surrounding rock before tunnel excavation, and the reinforcing scope is proposed according to the analysis of the asymmetric load induced by tunnel excavation in weak rock with inclined ground surface. The tunneling procedure of bench cut method with pipe roof protection is still discussed and carried out in this paper according to the special geological condition. The method and tunneling procedure have been successfully utilized to design and drive a real expressway tunnel. The practice in building the super-shallow tunnel has proved the feasibility of the calculation method and tunneling procedure presented in this paper. © The Author(s) 2013. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com.