• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.829-843
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• 2017

Subsea tunnel needs to be built over 50 km long to connect between nations and continents. However there are only 19 tunnels longer than 5 km until recently. And there is no history of constructing and operating tunnel longer than 50 km. In Korea, subsea tunnels with a length of more than 50 km are being planned, such as Korea~Japan, Korea~China, Honam~Jeju subsea tunnels. Because of the geographical conditions of Korea, most of these tunnels are inter-contry tunnels. So technology preemption for the subsea tunnel construction is getting more and more important. Most of these subsea tunnels are ultra-long tunnels under high water pressure conditions. So new technologies are required such as ventilation and disaster prevention of high-speed tunnels, securing of structural stability under high pressure conditions, and pressure reduction in high-speed conditions. These technologies are different from those of ground tunnels. Therefore, this paper describes the ultra-long subsea tunnel design under high water pressure of maximum 16 bars through the Honam (land) - Jeju (island) virtual subsea project. We proposed a reasonable solution to various problems such as securing structural stability in high pressure condition and ventilation disaster prevention system of ultra long-tunnel.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.455-461
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• 2014

The Honam-Jeju, Korea-Japan, and Korea-China subsea tunnel construction projects have drawn significant attention since the early 2000s. These subsea tunnels are much deeper than most existing natural shallow sea tunnels linking coastal areas. Thus, the need for developing new technologies for the site selection and construction of deep subsea tunnels has recently emerged, with the launch of a research project titled "Development of Key Subsea Tunnelling Technology" in 2013. A component of this research, an analysis of deep subsea geological structure, is currently underway. A ground investigation, such as a borehole or geophysical investigation, is generally carried out for tunnel design. However, when investigating a potential site for a deep subsea tunnel, borehole drilling requires equipment at the scale of offshore oil drilling. The huge cost of such an undertaking has raised the urgent need for methods to indirectly assess the local geological structure as much as possible to limit the need for repeated borehole investigations. This study introduces an indirect approach for assessing the geological structure of the seafloor through a submarine bathymetry analysis. The ultimate goal here is to develop an automated approach to the analysis of submarine geological structures, which may prove useful in the selection of future deep subsea tunnel sites.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.120-130
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• 2014

Recently, a few mega projects of subsea tunneling are completed or ongoing or under planning stage all across the world. In Korea, subsea tunnels connecting to Japan and China have been considered in the past decades. At the same time, subsea tunnels connecting to domestic islands were planned with preliminary design concepts. Development and improvement of indigenous techniques regarding subsea tunneling are essential in light of current technical level in Korea and their future impact on tunneling industry. In this paper, distinct features of subsea tunnel and construction trend of subaqueous tunnels are analyzed via case studies. Also, case studies about incidents related to subsea tunneling and required techniques to secure safety are presented.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.523-536
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• 2013

In order to ensure the safety of the subsea tunnel during its construction and operation, unlike the underground structures on land, the special monitoring system is essential which considers the characteristics of subsea tunnels in addition to conventional stress and displacement measurements applied to existing land tunnels. Therefore, the concept applied to NATM is reorganized to evaluate the stability of subsea tunnels. And the observation system for making a monitoring plan, the critical strain theory for tunnel safety management and MS monitoring methods for detecting the local failure and crack initiation of rock and supports, are introduced. Finally, the scheme of monitoring and management for subsea tunnels by using these methods is suggested.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.235-244
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• 2016

Grouting is frequently used before the construction of subsea tunnels to mitigate problems that can occur in weak ground zones such as joints, faults or unconsolidated settlements during construction. The grout material injected into rock mass often flows through the discontinuities present in the host rock and hence, joint properties such as its distribution, roughness and thickness greatly affect the properties of grouting-improved rocks. The grouting-improved zones near subsea tunnels are also subjected to high water pressures that can cause long-term weathering in the form of changes in grout microstructure and crack formation and lead to subsequent changes in ground properties. Therefore, an assessment method is needed to accurately measure changes in the grouting-improved zones near subsea tunnels. In this study, the elastic wave propagation characteristics in grouting-improved rocks were tested for various axial stress levels, curing time, joint roughness and thickness conditions under laboratory conditions and the results were compared with wave velocity standards in different Korean rock mass classification systems to provide a basis for inferring improvement in grouted rock-mass.

• Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.36-47
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• 2017

As a typical domestic subsea tunnel construction the Gadeok subsea tunnel applying the method of immersed tunnel has been completed and the Boryeong-Taean subsea tunnel is under construction using NATM. The high-speed railway subsea tunnels between the Honam and Jeju are under consideration, and the feasibility of constructing subsea tunnels with Japan and China is also under consideration. However, it is difficult to provide the process plan information for the construction work such as the analysis of the feasibility of the subsea tunnel and the prediction of the proper construction period because there is no case of domestic construction for it applying the shield TBM method. Due to economic and other reasons, government organizations are reluctant to apply the shield TBM, and there is lack of data on the construction process management field using the shield TBM method. Therefore, a standard construction process management system for the subsea tunnel is needed to analyze the feasibility of the subsea tunnel and to predict the proper construction period. By presenting the standard construction process management system of subsea tunnels such as WBS, Network Diagram, and construction period calculation model, I hope to contribute technically and economically to future subsea tunnel projects.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.15-38
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• 2022

Recently, tunnel technology in Korea has shown various achievements such as long tunnel and large section by tunnel construction using TBM in Korea and abroad. Especially subsea tunnels are frequently designed and constructed. The Ga-deok subsea tunnel was completed in December 2010, and the Incheon North Port Tunnel was opened and operated in 2017, and the Bo-ryeong subsea tunnel between Dae-cheon Port and Won-san Island will be completed in 2021. In foreign countries, many subsea tunnels have been constructed and operated in such as Norway and Japan. The main technical problem in the construction of subsea tunnel is to secure stability due to high water pressure conditions and large-scale seawater inflow in fault zones and weak zones. In this paper, various risk factors and solutions are described in the subsea tunnel planning of national road 77 construction work between Abhae and Hwawon.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.587-596
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• 2015

Recent years have shown great advances in the feasibility of long subsea tunnels. Projects such as the Channel Tunnel, the Stoerebelt Tunnel or the Bosporus Crossing have pushed the boundaries of TBM tunneling technology and fueled the work on feasibility studies for even more challenging projects such as crossing the Qiongzhou or Gibraltar Straits. There are numerous geotechnical challenges such as wide variations of ground conditions, high operation pressures or long tunnel distances and finally geological uncertainties which must be solved in order to attempt such projects. Several operational challenges such as large muck quantities interventions under difficult conditions and long transport distances also have to be tackled. TBM manufacturer and construction industry have developed a number of approaches to these challenges which point into the right technical direction and have been proven successfully in recent experiences. Their further development will allow attempting several megaprojects which are currently under discussion.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.145-155
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• 2010

Recently interest in subsea tunnels is increasing nationwide and the construction of a subsea tunnel is taking place. For the stability of such a subsea tunnel, grouting is necessary for the water barrier and reinforcement of the tunnel. In this study, therefore, it was investigated how the grouting reinforcement had an effect on the stability of a subsea tunnel located in a great depth. To this end, Hydro-mechanical coupled analyses were performed for a sensitivity analysis in terms of different grouting range, rock class, shotcrete thickness, coefficient of lateral earth pressure, grouting thickness, and pumping existence for the rock classes I, III, and V. FLAC-2D ver. 5.0 was used for the numerical analyses. It was came to the conclusion that the effect of the increased water pressure due to the water barrier of the grouting should be considered as well as the strength improved effect in designing grouting reinforcement of subsea tunnels.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.563-573
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• 2015

For hard rock subsea tunnels the most challenging rock mass conditions are in most cases represented by major faults/weakness zones. Poor stability weakness zones with large water inflow can be particularly problematic. At the pre-construction investigation stage, geological and engineering geological mapping, refraction seismic investigation and core drilling are the most important methods for identifying potentially adverse rock mass conditions. During excavation, continuous engineering geological mapping and probe drilling ahead of the face are carried out, and for the most recent Norwegian subsea tunnel projects, MWD (Measurement While Drilling) has also been used. During excavation, grouting ahead of the tunnel face is carried out whenever required according to the results from probe drilling. Sealing of water inflow by pre-grouting is particularly important before tunnelling into a section of poor rock mass quality. When excavating through weakness zones, a special methodology is normally applied, including spiling bolts, short blast round lengths and installation of reinforced sprayed concrete arches close to the face. The basic aspects of investigation, support and tunnelling for major weakness zones are discussed in this paper and illustrated by cases representing two very challenging projects which were recently completed (Atlantic Ocean tunnel and T-connection), one which is under construction (Ryfast) and one which is planned to be built in the near future (Rogfast).