• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.275-286
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• 1998

The effective permeability and the representative element volume(REV) of fracture network model were evaluated based on the parameters such as permeability tensor, principal permeability and the direction of principal permeability. The effective permeability ranges between the harmonic mean and the arithmetic mean of the local permeabilities of subdivided blocks. From the numerical experiments, which were for investigating the influence of model volume on the variation of flux for the cubic models, it was found that the variation of flux became reduced as the model volume approached REV. The variation of groundwater flux into the tunnel in the fracture network model was mainly dependent on the ratio of the tunnel length to model size rather than REV. And it was found that groundwater flux into the tunnel was not completely consistent between the fracture network model and the equivalent porous media model, especially when the ratio of the tunnel length to model size is small.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.17 no.3 s.68
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• pp.225-233
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• 2007

Because of Norwegian topography as valleys and fjords, a large number of tunnels has been built and 59 of them have been excavated by TBM for last 30 years. Prognosis technology has been developed and improved through lots of TBM experiences, and the NTNU prediction model has been completed. This paper focuses the improvement of net penetration rate and advance rate in 14 Norwegian and 4 Koran TBM tunnelling sites of which data were reported. Through this period, net penetration rate as well as advance rate were increased to double with the improvement of disc cutter size and cutter arrangement in Norway. These rates in Korea were also increased for 15 years even though the rates were lower compared to Norwegian. It is estimated that these low rates were mainly caused by using disc cutters less than 17 inch diameter. It is expected that net penetration rate and advance rate can be increased by improvement of machine and tunnelling technology, especially by using 17 or 19 inch of the disc cutter size in the Korean full face mechanical tunnelling site.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.20-32
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• 2011

Failure aspects of cut-slope, which induce the sequential collapses during the excavation stage, have been analyzed. Slope rock structures are investigated by examining the orientations and positions of discontinuity planes calculated based on the BIPS image inside the boreholes. Drilled core log has been also used to identify the structural defects. Clay minerals of swelling potentials are detected through XRD analysis. Numerical analysis for slope stability has been performed by utilizing the joint shear strength acquired from the direct joint shear test. Cut-slope collapse characteristics have been studied by investigating the posture of failure-prawn joint planes and the stability of tetrahedral blocks of different sizes. Cross-section analysis has been also performed to analyze the cut-slope behavior and to estimate the amount of reinforcement required to secure the stability of cut-slope. Behavior of reinforced cut-slope is also investigated by analyzing the slope monitoring data.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.341-348
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• 2011

As a result of the detailed site investigation performed for the design of a 4.3 km long tunnel, geological anomalies of four fault zones and a rock boundary were discovered on the tunnel route. Most of all, it was confirmed that pyrite, which may corrode steel material, is contained inside the geological anomalies, and pressured ground water flows out of the fault fractured zone. To overcome these geological conditions, antisulfur concrete for the concrete lining and anticorrosive swelling rock bolts are designed in the pyrite-containing sections. For the sections where a great amount of groundwater outflows, water blocking methods including grouting are applied according to the result of numerical analyses on the seepage. In addition, since the past earthquakes occurred around Korea have take place mainly near fault zones, seismic analyses were performed based on the Soil-Structure Interaction (SSI) concept and the strength of concrete tunnel lining is designed to be 27 MPa from 24 MPa in order to reinforce the tunnel structure.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.651-669
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• 2018

This study suggests the prediction model to estimate the specific energy of a pick cutter using a gene expression programming (GEP) and particle swarm optimization (PSO). Estimating the performance of mechanical excavators is of crucial importance in early design stage of tunnelling projects, and the specific energy (SE) based approach serves as a standard performance prediction procedure that is applicable to all excavation machines. The purpose of this research, is to investigate the relationship between UCS and BTS, penetration depth, cut spacing, and SE. A total of 46 full-scale linear cutting test results using pick cutters and different values of depth of cut and cut spacing on various rock types was collected from the previous study for the analysis. The Mean Squared Error (MSE) associated with the conventional Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) method is more than two times larger than the MSE generated by GEP-PSO algorithm. The $R^2$ value associated with the GEP-PSO algorithm, is about 0.13 higher than the $R^2$ associated with MLR.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.478-490
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• 2022

TBM disc cutter, which is the main cutting tool of tunnel boring machine (TBM), is replaced when it is excessively worn during the boring process. Disc cutters are usually monitored by workers at cutterhead chamber, and they check the status and wear amount of cutters. Because cutterhead chamber is usually in dangerous circumstance due to high pressure and instability of excavation surface, the measurement by manpower occasionally results in inaccuracy of measurement result. In order to overcome the limitations, the real-time disc cutter monitoring techniques have been developed in some foreign countries. This paper collected the current status of disc cutter monitoring system from the literature. Several types of sensors are used to measure the cutter wear, and it is believed that the collected information can be useful reference when similar domestic technologies are developed in the future.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.549-557
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• 2022

Tunnel face mapping involves the determination of rock discontinuities or weak rock conditions where extra support might be required. In this study, we investigated the application of Lidar scanning and photogrammetry to quantitatively characterize discontinuities of the rock mass on the tunnel face during excavation. The 3D models of tunnel faces generated by using these methods enable accurate and automatic discontinuity measurement to overcome the limitations of manual mapping. The results of this study show that both photogrammetry and Lidar can be used to reconstruct the 3D model of the tunnel face, although the photogrammetric 3D model is less detailed than its counterpart produced by Lidar. Given acceptable accuracy and cost-effectiveness, photogrammetry can be a fast, reliable, and low-cost alternative to Lidar for acquiring 3D models and determining rock discontinuities on tunnel faces.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.244-254
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• 2023

The disc cutter mounted on the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) is subjected to cutting forces in three dimensions during rock excavation process. It is widely known that the cutting forces increased with the strength of the rock mass, while the rolling force can be significantly increased when the disc cutter encounters abnormal rotation. Therefore, the cutting force acts on the disc cutter provides important information because it represents the conditions of the rock mass and the disc cutter. For these reasons, several studies have been conducted to measure the cutter forces in real-time. This paper introduces the current status of research on the cutter force measurement of TBM disc cutters, which has been reported in the literature. It is judged that this paper can be a useful reference material when similar technologies are developed in Korea in the future.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.339-347
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• 2023

As the jacks provide a thrust force on the inclined surface, bending deformations by a side force occur in the pedestal and rod parts. This can induce disorder or degradation of the thrust module, buckling stability on the inclined compression condition should be clarified to secure the reliability of shield TBM. For analyzing the stability, a buckling testing method for hydraulic cylinder was investigated and compression testing system was installed. Before the test, a numerical analysis was conducted to check the stress concentration parts. The maximum allowable force was loaded on the cylinder specimen at 0 degree surface condition as a preliminary test. After the test, plastic deformations or hydraulic leakage was not observed. The static stability of it was verified at 0 degree condition.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.39 no.12
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• pp.103-114
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• 2023

Monitoring the site of an underground construction wall is crucial to confirm the stability of the supports and ground due to excavation. In particular, it is essential to maintain the accuracy of a load cell gauge, which identifies the load of the support transmitted from the excavated ground. However, research on verification methods and regulations that can identify the accuracy of load cell gauges at construction sites is inadequate, which is a problem as load cell gauges are installed without proper performance inspections. In this study, performance tests were conducted by a complete investigation of load cell gauges sold in Korea and comparing them with foreign products to determine defect causes. In addition, the criteria for selecting a load cell gauge were presented, and the results of this study were considered to help select a highly reliable load cell gauge.