The supporting effect of pipe wing rib designed to achieve early contact between ground and steel arch tunnel support

In the construction of mountain tunnels, reaction forces of the legs of steel arch supports against the ground are often expected to support the ground being excavated. In these cases, a stress concentration occurs in the ground directly under the support legs. If the bearing capacity of the ground is insufficient or displacement is not effectively constrained, the local failure of the ground under the support legs or settlement of the tunnel supports due to large deformation could result. It is therefore necessary to reinforce the support legs to reduce settlement. As a means of reducing settlement, wing-ribbed steel arch supports are well used. In this study, with the aim of finding a way to quickly reduce the settlement of steel arch support legs, effectiveness of a new type of wing ribs to reinforce steel arch supports was investigated through laboratory testing.