Journal of The Institution of Engineers, Singapore Vol.

44 Issue 1 2004 Winner of IES Publication Awards (Student Category)

Numerical Study on the Behaviour of Jointed Tunnel Lining

A.M. Hefny1, F.C. Tan1, and N.F. Macalevey1 ABSTRACT A numerical study on the factors affecting the bending moment and thrust induced in jointed tunnel lining (segmental lining) has been performed and presented in this paper. The effect of both the number and orientation of joints have been investigated in details. The study showed that as the number of segments increases the bending moment and thrust decrease. However, beyond a critical number of joints, the increase of number of joints has little influence on the values of stresses induced in the lining. It has been also shown that the effects of joint orientation is significant in determining the stress level in the lining for cases where the in-situ stress is higher or lesser than unity. A simple design methodology to determine the stresses induced in jointed lining without incorporating the joints in the analysis has thus been proposed. INTRODUCTION Tunneling project is often deemed as one of the most challenging and costly civil engineering projects. This prompted many to research on ways to improve constructability and stability of the tunnel and to reduce the high cost involved in tunneling project. With the popular choice of using segmental lining in recent years to improve the speed of construction and eventually reduce costs of tunneling, more attention is given to the design of the linings. Concern is given on the factors that would induce stresses in the lining and causing the failure of segmental tunnel lining. One of the influencing factors affecting the stresses induced in the lining, which is often ignored in design, is the effect of joints between the segmental linings. Muir Wood (1975) proposed that for a segmental tunnel ring with a number of equal segments, n, the effective moment of inertia, Ie, can be expressed as

4 Ie = I j + I n

Ie I , n > 4

(1)

School of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Blk N1, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798

108

Journal of The Institution of Engineers, Singapore Vol. 44 Issue 1 2004 Winner of IES Publication Awards (Student Category)

where Ie is the effective value of I, Ij is the effective value of I at the joint, I is the moment of inertia of the lining, n is the number of segments, and Ij << I for an expanded and articulating lining. For four or fewer lining segments, Muir Wood suggested that the existence of joints would not affect the rigidity of the lining. But for a lining of several segments the stiffness at the joint may be appreciably less than that of the lining thus reducing the bending moment in the lining. However, Muir Wood did not take into consideration certain structural effects such as the joint arrangement. Therefore, Lee and Ge (2001) took these structural effects into consideration. They found that the joint stiffness ratio and the radius of the tunnel have a large influence on the effective rigidity ratio whereby either a reduction in joint stiffness ratio or the radius of the tunnel will result in a substantial drop of effective rigidity ratio, thus implying that bending moment of the lining also decreases. If the number of joints were to increase, the effective rigidity ratio and the bending moment of the lining would decrease substantially due to the increasing flexibility of the lining. A reduction in the thickness of the lining will cause a reduction in bending moment for a 4-joint tunnel but will cause an increase for a 3-joint tunnel instead. Other factors, such as the joint distribution, do not very much affect the moment in the lining. Although Lee and Ge took into consideration some of the effects ignored by Muir Wood, their design method requires often rather long iterations in addition to approximations in the assumed loadings. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to investigate the factors affecting the stresses induced in tunnel lining, especially the effect of the number and orientation of joints. The finite element software PLAXIS is used in this numerical studies. Based on the results obtained, a simple design methodology for determining the bending moment and thrust in the tunnel linings without incorporating the joints in the analysis is proposed. In this paper, the lining properties used throughout the study are typical for those used for the lining of the North-East MRT Tunnel in Singapore. Table 1 summarizes these properties. The main analysis is performed on a Tunnel of 6m diameter at a depth, H= 2D (where D is diameter of the tunnel and H is measured from the center of tunnel to the ground surface). The soil is considered elastic with properties as suggested by Karr Winn et al (2001) for Bukit Timah Residual Soil as shown in Table 2. These values have changed during the parametric study.

109

Journal of The Institution of Engineers, Singapore Vol. 44 Issue 1 2004 Winner of IES Publication Awards (Student Category)

Table 1: Properties of the elastic tunnel lining (after Sebastian and Nadarajah, 2000) Parameters Thickness of Lining, Weight of Lining Poissons Ratio, Value Unit m kN/m/m -

0.275 6.6 0.2

Table 2: Material properties of soil (Bukit Timah Residual Soil - G4) (after Copsey and Doran, 1987 & Karr Winn et al, 2001) Parameters Unit Weight, Value Unit kN/m3 kN/m2 -

18 0.495 150

Possions Ratio, s

Es / c
Shear Strength,

c
ko

55 0.5 Impermeable

Ground Coefficient,

Interface Permeability

where Es is the Youngs Modulus of the soil. INFLUENCE OF NUMBER & ORIENTATION OF JOINTS ON STRESSES INDUCED IN TUNNEL LINING The purpose of this study was to find out the effect of the number and orientation of joints on the stresses induced in the tunnel lining. The different orientation of the joints was tried so that the critical and most favourable joint orientation that would give the maximum and minimum stresses in the lining respectively could be established. The joints are evenly distributed around the tunnel. Figure 1 shows the moment induced in the tunnel lining due to the different number of joints (critical joint orientation) in the tunnel. It can be seen from Figure 1 that as the number of joints increases, the moment induced in the lining decreases, reaching almost zero when the number of joints is 10. This can be explained by the fact that with more number of joints in the tunnel, the span of the beams is shorter, thus inducing lower stresses in the lining.

110

Journal of The Institution of Engineers, Singapore Vol. 44 Issue 1 2004 Winner of IES Publication Awards (Student Category)

Bending Moment (kNm/m)

300 250 200 150 100 50 0 3 4 5 6 7 Number of joints, N 8 9 10

Figure 1: Variation of moment (critical orientation) in tunnel lining with number of joints The effects of joint orientation on the stresses induced in the lining are rather significant especially for a 4-joint tunnel lining. This can be shown in Figure 2.
Bending Moment (kNm/m)
200 160 120 80 40 0 0 20 40 60 80 100

Joint at Angle

from the Vertical Axis of the Tunnel

Figure 2: Variation of moment in 4-joints tunnel lining with different joint orientation Figure 2 shows the variation of moment induced in the lining due to the different joint orientation of the 4-joint lining. represents the location of the joints in the tunnel with respect to the crown of the tunnel. For example, = 00 implies that the location of joints is at 00, 900, 1800 and 2700 with respect to the crown of the tunnel and = 450 implies that the location of joints is at 450, 1350, 2250 and 3150 with respect to the crown of the tunnel. It can be observed from Figure 2 that by orientating the joints from = 450 to = 00 the values of the moment induced in the lining is reduced by 8 times. This is a considerably large reduction in stresses and can lead to a large reduction in costs.

111

Journal of The Institution of Engineers, Singapore Vol. 44 Issue 1 2004 Winner of IES Publication Awards (Student Category)

Furthermore, it should be noted that the most favourable orientation of the 4-joint tunnel has lower stresses than the most favourable orientation of the 3-joint case and 6-joint case. Its stress level is about the same as the 8-joint case. This is due to the critical orientation of joints and loading on the segmental lining. For detailed analyses, one can refer to Tan (2002). Therefore, if one were to minimize cost in tunnel construction, he could choose to use the most favourale orientation of 4 joints in his tunnel design to obtain the minimum stresses in the tunnel lining. PARAMETERIC STUDIES ON THE BEHAVIOUR OF JOINTED TUNNEL The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of soil and lining parameters on the stresses induced in the segmental tunnel lining. The parameters studied are coefficient of earth pressure at rest (Ko), Youngs Modulus of soil (Es), thickness of lining (t) and depth of the tunnel (H). The same lining and soil parameters shown in Table 1 and Table 2 are used, except for the case study on the influence of each parameter. In the study on the effect of Youngs modulus of soil, thickness of lining and depth of the tunnel on the stresses induced in the segmental lining, both the 6-joint and 8-joint cases are used since 6 and 8 joints are often the popular choice for the number of joints used in tunnel design. The moment will be expressed in terms of moment coefficient , expressed as:

M = HR 2

(2)

where M is the bending moment, is the unit weight of soil, H is the depth of tunnel, and R is the mean radius of the lining. Influence of coefficient of earth pressure a rest, Ko Figure 3 shows the variation of moment coefficient due to the coefficient of earth pressure at rest. It can be seen that for the different Ko values, the stresses induced in the lining decrease with the increase of number of joints. The moment induced in the lining is the highest for Ko = 2.0 and the lowest for Ko = 1.0 (approximately zero moment), with the Ko = 0.5 in between. This is due to the larger differences between vertical and horizontal loadings on the linings for Ko = 2.0 as compared to Ko = 0.5 and equal vertical and horizontal loadings for Ko = 1.0.

112

Journal of The Institution of Engineers, Singapore Vol. 44 Issue 1 2004 Winner of IES Publication Awards (Student Category)

Moment Coefficient

0.35 0.25 0.15 0.05 -0.05 3 4 5 6 7 8 Numbe r of Joints, n 9 10 Ko=0.5 Ko=1.0 Ko=2.0

Figure 3: Variation of moment coefficient in jointed lining (critical orientation) with coefficient of earth pressure at rest Therefore it can be concluded that the stresses induced in the lining are functions of Ko, which is one of the most critical factors that should be considered in the design of tunnels. For the case of Ko = 2.0, larger number of joints should be considered in the tunnel lining so as to obtain the minimal stresses in the lining possible. Influence of Youngs modulus of soil, Es
Moment Coefficient 0.025 0.02 0.015 0.01 0.005 0 0 20000 40000 60000 80000 Young's Modulus of Soil, Es (kPa) 100000

6-Joints 8-Joints

Figure 4: Variation of moment coefficient in jointed lining (most favourable orientation) with Youngs modulus of soil Figure 4 shows the influence of Es on the moment coefficient. As Es increases, the moment in the lining decreases. This is because when the soil is stiffer, the lining in contrast is relatively more flexible, thus inducing lesser stresses in the lining. The influence of Es on the moment in the lining for the 8-joint tunnel is almost negligible as compared to the 6-jointed tunnel for a large range of Es. This may be due to its relatively high flexibility, owning to the large number of joints.

113

Journal of The Institution of Engineers, Singapore Vol. 44 Issue 1 2004 Winner of IES Publication Awards (Student Category)

One thus should use an 8-joint tunnel lining to get a minimal moment in the lining in softer clays (e.g. Singapore Marine Clays) rather than a 6-joint tunnel lining. Influence of thickness of the lining, t
Moment Coefficient
0 .0 2 5 0 .0 2 0 . 0 15 0 .0 1 0 .0 0 5 0 0 200 400 600 800 10 0 0

6-Joints 8-Joints

Lining Thickne ss, t (mm)

Figure 5: Variation of moment coefficient in jointed lining (most favourable orientation) with thickness of lining Figure 5 shows the influence of the thickness of the lining on the moment coefficient. As shown the moment induced in the lining increases as the thickness of the lining increases. This is because as thickness increases, the liner is less flexible, thus inducing larger stresses. The critical lining thickness (where the lining thickness has no effect on the stresses induced in the lining) decreases as the number of joints increases. The critical lining thickness for the 6-joint case occurs when t = 300mm whereas the critical lining thickness for the 8-joint case occurs when t = 150mm, almost half of that of the 6-joint case. By increasing just 2 joints in the tunnel lining, the moment induced in the lining is reduced up to 3 times. Influence of depth of the tunnel, H Figure 6 shows the influence of depth of the tunnel on the moment induced in the lining. As shown the moment coefficient for the 6-jointed tunnel increases with the dimensionless depth of burial (H / D). The moment coefficient for a 6-joint lining increases with H / D and approaches the fully buried condition at a dimensionless depth of burial of 2.5. However the moment coefficient for an 8-joint lining remains fairly constant with H / D. Therefore, the change in stress coefficient with the dimensionless depth of burial is dependent on the number of joints in the tunnel and it is more economical for one to use an 8-joint lining at greater depth of burial, as it will produce much lesser stresses as compared to the 6-jointed tunnel.

114

Journal of The Institution of Engineers, Singapore Vol. 44 Issue 1 2004 Winner of IES Publication Awards (Student Category)

Moment Coefficient

0.025 0.02 0.015 0.01 0.005 0 0.5 1.5 H/D 2.5 3.5

6-Joints 8-Joints

Figure 6: Variation of moment coefficient in jointed lining (most favourable orientation) with depth of tunnel DESIGN METHODOLOGY The purpose of this study was to develop a simple design methodology to determine the stresses induced in jointed lining without incorporating the joints in the analysis.

0.3 0.25 0.2 Ie/I 0.15 0.1 Ie,max/I = 429.01n -4.6023 Most Favourable Orientation Critical Orientation

0.05 Ie,min/I = 159.19n -4.2734 0 5 6 7

10

Numbe r of Joints, n

Figure 7: Equivalent I of jointed shallow tunnels Equivalent tunnel is defined as the unjointed tunnel that have lining thickness that gives the same maximum stresses in a jointed tunnel lining. The lining thickness would be varied to find out the maximum stresses induced in the unjointed tunnel lining. These maximum stresses would be matched with the maximum stresses obtained from the analysis of number and orientation of joints, where both the critical and most favourable orientation of the joints would be considered. The thickness of the unjointed tunnel lining that gives the same stress level as in the jointed tunnel were chosen to correlate an unjointed tunnel with a jointed tunnel. The equivalent of the jointed tunnel is thus established for the moment as shown in Figure 7, where Ie,max and Ie,min are the effective second moment of inertia of the lining for the critical and most favourable orientation of joints respectively and I is the second moment of inertia for non-jointed tunnel lining. 115

Journal of The Institution of Engineers, Singapore Vol. 44 Issue 1 2004 Winner of IES Publication Awards (Student Category)

Generally when the number of joints increases, the moment decreases which corresponds to a decrease in thickness of the non-jointed tunnel lining. This implies that the effective second moment of inertia of the lining decreases with the increase of number of joints. For designing purposes, one can use Figure 7 to get the effective Ie,min (preferably to use the most favourable orientation for minimum stresses in the lining). The corresponding effective thickness can then be calculated. From there one can proceed to Figure 8 which shows the influence of flexibility ratio on the moment coefficient where the thickness of the lining is expressed in terms of flexibility ratio F, as given by Peck (1969):

F =

6EI x 1 3 2 1 R

Es (1 + s )

(3)

where E is the Youngs modulus of tunnel lining and R is the mean radius of the lining.
Moment Coefficient 0.125 0.1 0.075 0.05 0.025 0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Flexibility Ratio, F 70 80

Figure 8: Variation of moment coefficient in unjointed shallow tunnel lining with flexibility ratio (For case given in Tables 1 & 2)

It should be noted that as the thickness of the lining decreases, the flexibility ratio increases. Therefore, as the flexibility ratio increases, the moment coefficient decreases. With the thickness derived from Figure 7, the moment coefficient thus can then be calculated from Figure 8.

116

Journal of The Institution of Engineers, Singapore Vol. 44 Issue 1 2004 Winner of IES Publication Awards (Student Category)

CONCLUSIONS This paper investigates the factors affecting the stresses induced in tunnel lining, with emphasis on the effects of joints between segmental linings. The finite element software PLAXIS was used in the numerical study.

From the results obtained for this study, the following conclusions were made: a) Both the number and orientation of joints between the segments play important roles in the stress level induced in the lining. An increase in the number of joints in the most favourable orientation would reduce the level of stresses in the lining by a significant amount. This is especially so for the most favourable orientation of 4 joints which can reduce moment in the lining up to 8 times as compared to the critical orientation of the 4 joints. b) A decrease in the lining thickness would reduce the stresses induced in the lining since smaller lining thickness implies that the lining is relatively more flexible, thus smaller stresses induced in the lining. Furthermore, the critical lining thickness, where above which no increase in stresses occurs, decreases with the number of joints. c) An increase in the Youngs Modulus of soil would reduce the stresses in the lining since, as the soil is stiffer, the lining in contrast is relatively more flexible, thus inducing lesser stresses in the lining. d) The ground coefficient at rest is one critical factor in setting the stress level in the lining. Generally, the larger the Ko values, the higher the stresses induced in the lining, except for the case of Ko = 1.0 where the moment induced in the lining is approximately zero. e) Change in stress coefficient with the dimensionless depth of burial is dependent on the number of joints in the tunnel. A simple design methodology has been proposed so that future tunnelling analyses to determine the stresses induced in jointed lining can be carried out without incorporating the joints in the analysis.
REFERENCES Copsey, J P and Doran, S R. (1987). Mass Rapid Transit Systems. Proceedings of the Singapore Mass Rapid Transit Conference, 1987, 225-235.

Karr Winn, Rahardjo, H and Peng, S.C. (2001). Characterization of residual soils in Singapore. Geotechnical Engineering Journal of the South-East Asian Geotechnical Society, 32 (1), 2001, 1-13. Lee, K.M and Ge, X.W. (2001). The equivalence of a jointed shield-driven tunnel lining to a 117

Journal of The Institution of Engineers, Singapore Vol. 44 Issue 1 2004 Winner of IES Publication Awards (Student Category)

continuous ring structure. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 38 (3), 2001, 461-483. Muir Wood, A M. (1975). The circular tunnel in elastic ground. Geotechnique, 1, 1975, 115-127. Peck, R. B. (1969). Deep Excavation and Tunneling in soft Ground. Proceedings of the 7th International Conference of Soil Mechanics, Mexico, State-of-art Volume, 1969, 225-290. Peck, R B, A J Hendron and B Mohraz. (1969). State of the art of soft ground tunneling. 1st North A M. Rapid Excavation and Tunnelling Conference, 1969, 259- 285. Sebastian, P and Nadarajah, P. (2000). Construction of North East Line tunnels at Singapore River Crossing. Tunneling in soft ground. Proceedings of the international conference on tunnels and underground structures, Singapore, 2000, 191- 198. Tan, C F. (2002). Numerical Study on the Behaviour of Jointed Tunnel Lining. Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 2002.

118