• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.143-154
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• 2016

This study investigated the occurrences, causes, and mitigation of the recent ground subsidence and underground cavity generation events in Korea. Two main causes of ground subsidence are (1) the soil erosion by seepage during tunneling and earth excavation and (2) the damage of underground pipes. The main cause of the soil erosion during tunneling was the uncontrolled groundwater flow. Especially, when excavating soft grounds using a tunnel boring machine (TBM), the ground near TBM operation halt points were found to be the most vulnerable to failure. The damage of underground pipes was mainly caused by poor construction, material deterioration, and differential settlement in soft soils. The ground subsidence during tunneling and earth excavation can be managed by monitoring the outflow of groundwater and eroded soils in construction sites. It is expected that the ground subsidence by the underground pipe damage can be managed or mitigated by life cycle analysis and maintenance of the buried pipes, and by controlling the earth pressure distribution or increasing the bearing capacity at the upper ground of the buried pipes.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.71-85
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• 2010

Dynamic analyses of tunnels are widely performed in practice in Korea. Accurate performance of a dynamic analysis is very difficult, requiring appropriate application of lower and lateral boundary conditions, deconvolution, constitutive model, and selection of dynamic soil properties etc. Lack of a systematic guideline on how to perform the dynamic analysis makes it even more difficult to perform an analysis. In addition, dynamic analyses are not needed in most cases and pseudo-static analyses are more than adequate. However, they are performed without a clear understanding on the need for the dynamic analysis and differences between the two methods. In this study, firstly, a guideline for correctly performing a 2D dynamic analysis is developed. Secondly, the differences in the tunnel responses using dynamic and pseudo-static analyses are discussed and compared. The results show that the discrepancies between the dynamic and static analyses are not significant for most cases. It is therefore recommended that the dynamic analyses be performed at tunnel portal, very soft ground, or in cases where spatial variation of the ground motion needs to be considered in the seismic analysis of tunnels in transverse direction.

• Geotechnical Engineering
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.41-56
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• 1994

Under the groundwater level, the tunnel face is affected by the seepage force and the groundwater flow may cause a trouble to the tunnel support systems. The appropriate methods of analysis and design in the tunnel face and the lining, considering groundwater flow according to tunnel drainage condition are presented in this thesis. First, the effect of seepage on the stability of tunnel face was studied. Seepage force was estimated by the 3-D finite element analysis and the stability of tunnel face was checked by analytical method. Furthermore, using the finite difference method the stress and displacement on the face were computed for either case, where the seepage force is or is not considered, and the effect of seepage on the tunnel face stability was evaluated. Second, the effect of seepage force on the tunnel lining when construction is finished and steady state seepage flow occurs was studied and a design methodology considering seepage effect was made. Consequently, in case where the groundwater level remains almost unchanged and the steady state groundwater flow occurs, the proper countermeasures for face staility are required according to the condition of groundwater flow. Moreover, the tunnel lining should be designed and constructed considering the seepage force occuring by the groundwater flow toward the tunnel linings.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.271-287
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• 2013

In this study, more convenient model(S-model) for predicting ground surface settlement is developed through comparing field monitoring data of the domestic subway applied shield TBM method with conventional equation & numerical analysis. Sample stations are chosen from whole of excavation section and lateral & vertical ground surface settlement characteristic with excavation are analysed. Based on analysis result, through the comparison with actual monitoring data, the model that is possible to compute maximum surface settlement and settlement influence area is suggested with assumption that lateral surface settlement forms are composed relaxed zone and elastic zone. In addition, vertical ground surface settlement patterns with excavation are similar to cubic-function and S-model with assumption that coefficients are function of tunnel diameter and depth is suggested. Consequently, the ground surface settlement patterns are significantly similar to actual monitoring data and numerical method result. Thus, as a result, when tunnels are excavated using sheild TBM through rather soft weathered soil & rock layer, prediction of ground surface settlement with excavation using convenient S-model is practicable.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.34 no.11
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• pp.71-80
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• 2018

In this study, the seismic response of cut-and-cover box tunnels is evaluated from pseudo-static analyses and the fragility curves are derived. A series of site profiles were used to evaluate the effect of soil conditions. A total of 20 ground motions were used. The fragility curves were developed as functions of peak ground acceleration for three damage states, which are minor, moderate, and extensive states. The damage indices, defined as the ratio of the elastic moment to the yield moment, correlated to three damage states, were used. The curves are shown to greatly depend on the site profile. The curves are further compared to those derived in previous studies. The widely used empirically derived curves are shown not to account for the site effects, and therefore underestimate the response for soft sites.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.417-422
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• 2015

This paper introduces the design and operational considerations for TBM tunneling in boulder bed which poses significant problems in terms of advance rate and machine wear. Managing these problems is difficult since normal soil investigation techniques do not accurately predict the presence and frequency of boulders. This has leads to considerable extra costs and delays during construction. In this paper, EPBM design and operational parameters, cutter wear characteristics and soil conditioning method in soft ground condition were studied and key successes were highlighted for future projects in similar ground condition.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.285-294
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• 2002

Embankment Piles, which is subjected to damage due to lateral movement of soft ground, can be classified into pile slab, cap beam pile, and isolated cap pile according to the installation pattern of pile cap. In the cap beam pile and the isolated cap pile method, the soil arch is developed by the different stiffness between pile and soil, and most embankment loads are transferred into embankment piles through soil arch. In these two methods, the difference of soil arch is that the soil arch of the cap beam pile method develops like the arch from of tunnel between cap beams and the soil arch of the isolated cap pile method develops like dome between isolated caps. Therefore, theoretical analysis methods on soil arching effect of the cap beam pile and the isolated cap pile method were respectively proposed according to their own arch form considering the limiting equilibrium of stresses in a crown of soil arch. And a series of model tests were performed both to investigate the load transfer by soil arching in fills above embankment piles and to verify the reliability of the theoretical analysis.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.27-41
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• 2023

Submerged floating tunnels must be connected to the ground to connect continents. The displacement imbalance at the shore connection between the underground bored tunnel and submerged floating tunnel can cause stress concentration, accompanying a fracture at the shore connection. The elastic joint has been proposed as a method to relive the stress concentration, however, the effect of the elastic joints on the dynamic behavior should be evaluated. In this study, the submerged floating tunnel and shore connection under dynamic load conditions were simulated through numerical analysis using a numerical model verified through a small-scaled physical model test. The resonant frequency was considered as a dynamic behavioral characteristic of the tunnel under the impact load, and it was confirmed that the stiffness of the elastic joint and the resonant frequency exhibit a power function relationship. When the shore connection is designed with a soft joint, the resonant frequency of the tunnel is reduced, which not only increases the risk of resonance in the marine environment where a dynamic load of low frequency is applied, but also greatly increases the maximum velocity of tunnel when resonance occurs.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.586-597
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• 2022

In this study, a model was developed for the estimating the locational thickness information of the upper clay layer to be used for the consolidation vulnerability evaluation in the Nakdong river estuary. To estimate ground layer thickness information, we developed four spatial estimation models using machine learning algorithms, which are RF (Random Forest), SVR (Support Vector Regression) and GPR (Gaussian Process Regression), and geostatistical technique such as Ordinary Kriging. Among the 4,712 borehole data in the study area collected for model development, 2,948 borehole data with an upper clay layer were used, and Pearson correlation coefficient and mean squared error were used to quantitatively evaluate the performance of the developed models. In addition, for qualitative evaluation, each model was used throughout the study area to estimate the information of the upper clay layer, and the thickness distribution characteristics of it were compared with each other.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.543-561
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• 2020

This paper is the result of the study on the effect of the support structure of the tunnel steel rib. In tunnel excavation, the top and bottom half excavation methods result in subsidence of steel rib reinforcement due to insufficient support of steel rib reinforcement when the ground is poor after excavation. The foundation of the steel rib installed in the upper half excavates the bottom part of the base, causing the subsidence to occur due to various effects such as internal load and lateral pressure. As a result, the tunnel is difficult to maintain and its safety is problematic. To solve these problems, steel rib support structures have been developed. For the purpose of verification, the behavior of the supporting structure is verified by model experiments reduced to shotcrete and steel rib material similarity, the numerical analysis of ΔP and ΔP generated by bottom excavation by Terzaghi theoretical equation. As a result, it was found that the support structure of 20.100~198.423 kN is required for the 10~40 m section of the depth for each soil of weathered soil~soft rock. In addition, as a result of the reduced model experiment, a fixed level of 50% steel rib deposit of steel rib support structure was installed. The study shows that the installation of steel rib support structures will compensate for uncertainties and various problems during construction. It is also thought that the installation of steel rib support structure will have many effects such as stability, economy, and air reduction.