• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.735-747
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• 2019

Due to the lack of ground space by urbanization, the demand of utility tunnels for laying social facilities is increasing. During the construction of a utility tunnel in downtown area using a shield TBM, various problems may occur when difficult ground is encountered such as mixed ground and cobbly ground. Thus, in this study, using MIDAS GTS NX (Ver. 280), a numerical analysis was performed on characteristics of difficult ground, reinforced area, depth of cover and groundwater level to analyze the optimal ground reinforced area according to combination of parameters. As a result, it was difficult to secure stability in unconstrained excavation cases on both the mixed ground and the cobbly ground. However, when ground reinforcement grouting as much as 2.0D is applied, convergence occurred within the allowable limit, except for mixed ground with a depth of cover 30 m. In addition, excessive leakage occurred during excavation of both the mixed ground and the cobbly layers. It was able to secure stability after applying waterproof grouting.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.39-47
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• 2003

Rockbursts are mainly caused by a sudden release or the stored strain energy in the rock mass. They have been the major hazard in deep hard rock mines but rarely occur in tunnels. Due to the short history and limited information on rockbursts, the topic has rarely been studied in Korea. Some cases of rockbursts, however, have been reported during construction of a mountain tunnel for waterway. This study focuses on analyzing data on rockbursts obtained from a TBM (Tunnel Boring Machine) tunnel and suggests methods for a comprehensive understanding on rockbursts. From the analysis of the field data of rockbursts, it was found that most rockbursts mainly occurred at the section between the tunnel face and the TBM operating room, and the rock bursting phenomena lasted up to 20 days after excavation in certain areas. The data also show that the bursting spots are located all around the tunnel surface including the face, the wall, and the roof, The maximum size of bursting spots is usually less than 100cm. This study also suggests new scale systems of brittleness and uniaxial compressive strength to evaluate the possible tendency for a rockburst. These systems are scaled based on the scale system of strain energy density. In addition, with these scale systems, this research shows that there are potentially higher tendencies for rockbursts in this specific tunnel. Moreover this research suggests that properties of rock and rock mass, RMR (Rock Mass Rating) value, tunneling method, excavating speed, and depth of tunnel have a strong correlation with rockbursts.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.261-275
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• 2020

When excavating a small cross-section tunnel in a fault fracture zone using the shield TBM method, there is a high possibility of excessive convergence and collapse. Appropriate ground reinforcement is required to minimize construction cost loss and trouble due to a fault fracture zone. In this study, the optimal reinforcement area was suggested and the surrounding ground behavior was investigated through numerical analysis using MIDAS GTS NX (Ver. 280). For the parameters, the width of the fault fracture zone, the existence of fault gouge, and the groundwater level and depth of cover were applied. As a result, when there is not fault gouge, the convergence and ground settlement are satisfied the standard when applying ground reinforcement by up to 0.5D. And, due to the high permeability coefficient, it is judged that it is necessary to apply 0.5D reinforcement. There is a fault gouge, it was possible to secure stability when applying ground reinforcement between the entire fault fracture zone from the top of the tunnel to 0.5D. And, because the groundwater discharge occurred within the standard value due to the fault gouge, reinforcement was unnecessary.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.281-301
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• 2024

The power cable tunnels which are part of the underground transmission line project, are constructed using the shield TBM method. The disc cutter among the shield TBM components plays an important role in breaking rock mass. Efficient tunnel construction is possible only when appropriate replacement occurs as the wear limit is reached or damage such as uneven wear occurs. A study was conducted to determine the wear conditions of disc cutter using a deep learning algorithm based on real-time measurement data of wear and rotation speed. Based on the results of full-scaled tunnelling tests, it was confirmed that measurement data was obtained differently depending on the wear conditions of disc cutter. Using real-time measurement data, an algorithm was developed to determine disc cutter wear characteristics based on a convolutional neural network model. Distributional patterns of data can be learned through CNN filters, and the performance of the model that can classify uniform wear and uneven wear through these pattern features.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Rock Mechanics Conference
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• 2006.09a
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• pp.59-79
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• 2006

The successful execution of shield tunnelling depends on the cutting ability of cutter. So the selection of shape, size and material of cutter according to geology condition is important work. Since shield tunnelling method was first invented in 1881, the cutting tool for rock has been developed owing to various experiments and researches, the study for soil, however, is insufficient. This paper introduces the shield tunnelling that will be carried out on weathered rock section (920m) of Seoul Subway Line 7 Extension C703. The shape and the material of cutter are discussed required for execution without replacement of cutter tool as well as for advance of excavation efficiency. In addition the estimation method of cutter abrasion in case of excavation on weathered soil is proposed and verified. Specially, the coefficient of abrasion for different soil and cutter is proposed by means of investigation into construction example of foreign country.

• Explosives and Blasting
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.52-58
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• 2012

A TBM launching shaft in DTL2 Contract 915 site is located in a typical hard Bukit Timah granite formation and lots of blasting work is required for shaft sinking. The original blast design used the electric detonator and ANFO blasts consisting of 30 holes per one blast with 1.5 m depth of drilling hole. However, significant delay of work and poor progress were expected due to the limitation of the number of blasting hole and strict vibration regulation on retaining systems. To overcome such constraints, an efficient new blasting method which can improve productivity and satisfy vibration limit was required. The revised blast design, using triple-deck blasts with electronic detonators and cartridge emulsion explosives, gives better construction performance and can reduce construction time. Such a new blasting technique can be effectively used for similar underground projects in the future where the volume of rock blasting is significant.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.107-115
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• 2015

As TBM construction method is widely applied to construct underground transmission lines, increasing attention has been drawn to SFRC(steel fiber reinforced concrete) segment with respect to structural characteristics. Health hazards of electromagnetic wave which the underground transmission lines emit has emerged, and there is a concern that electromagnetic wave can be amplified because a segment characteristic such as electrical conductivity is changed by steel fibers. In order to analyze correlation between steel fiber dosage and electromagnetic wave, the specimens were fabricated on three conditions to perform experimental tests. From the measured data, it is proven that there is no correlation between the electromagnetic wave and steel fiber reinforced concrete.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.387-401
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• 2023

The Earth Pressure Balanced (EPB) Shield Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) is widely employed for constructing urban underground spaces due to its minimal vibration and low noise levels. The injection of additives offers several advantages, including maintaining shield chamber pressure, reducing shear strength, minimizing cutter wear, and decreasing the permeability of the excavated soil. This technique is known as soil conditioning and involves the application of additives such as foam, polymer, and bentonite slurry. In this study, weathered granite soil commonly encountered at domestic tunnel sites was used as a soil specimen. Foam and polymer were applied as additives to assess the rheological properties of conditioned soils. The workability was evaluated through slump tests, while the rheological properties were assessed through laboratory pressurized vane shear tests conducted under the same conditions. Specially, the polymer was applied under specific conditions with low workability with high slump values, with the aim of evaluating the impact of polymer application. The test results revealed that with an increase in the Foam Injection Ratio (FIR), the slump value also increased, while the torque, peak strength, yield stress, apparent viscosity, and thixotropic area decreased. Conversely, an increase in the Polymer Injection Ratio (PIR) led to results opposite to those of FIR. Additionally, a correlation between the slump value and yield stress was proposed. When comparing conditions with only foam applied to those with both foam and polymer applied, even with similar slump values, the yield stress was found to be lower in the latter conditions.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.931-946
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• 2018

In line with the increased usability of utility pipe conduits in urban areas, construction and R&D activities of utility tunnel, incorporated with the shield TBM method, are actively under way. The utility tunnels are installed through underground excavation, and thus are relatively weak in terms of construction safety. However, hazards associated with the utility tunnel construction have not been properly identified, despite the introduction of a policy to the 'Design for Safety' for the purpose of reducing accident rates in the construction industry. Therefore, in this study, following the derivation of hazards associated with utility tunnel, these hazards were then used as the basis to uncover key safety hazards requiring extensive management in a field, which were then used to conduct a risk assessment having applied the matrix method so that the results can be utilized in risk assessment during the stages of utility tunnel planning, design, and construction, while also serving as a data reference.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.255-268
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• 2018

Subsea tunnel can be highly vulnerable to seawater intrusion due to unexpected high-water pressure during construction. An artificial ground freezing (AGF) will be a promising alternative to conventional reinforcement or water-tightening technology under high-water pressure conditions. In this study, the freezing energy and required time was calculated by the theoretical model of the heat flow to estimate the total amount of refrigerant required for the artificial ground freezing. A lab-scale freezing chamber was devised to investigate changes in the thermal and mechanical properties of sandy soil corresponding to the variation of the salinity and water pressure. The freezing time was measured with different conditions during the chamber freezing tests. Its validity was evaluated by comparing the results between the freezing chamber experiment and the numerical analysis. In particular, the freezing time showed no significant difference between the theoretical model and the numerical analysis. The amount of refrigerant for artificial ground freezing was estimated from the numerical analysis and the freezing efficiency obtained from the chamber test. In addition, the energy ratio for maintaining frozen status was calculated by the proposed formula. It is believed that the energy ratio for freezing will depend on the depth of rock cover in the subsea tunnels and the water temperature on the sea floor.