Abstract
Based on the mirror image method and superposition principle, an analytical model of seepage field for symmetrical underwater tunnels is proposed. The condition is assumed as two-dimensional steady water inflow into symmetrical and horizontal underwater tunnels in a fully saturated, homogeneous, isotropic, and semi-infinite aquifer. Analytical solutions of pore water distribution and water inflow into tunnels are obtained. Two different boundary conditions at the perimeter of symmetrical tunnels are considered, constant total hydraulic head and constant water pressure. Taking the subsea tunnels of Xiamen Xiang’an in China as an example, comparisons between analytical solutions and numerical solutions are analyzed in the case of zero water pressure at the perimeter of symmetrical tunnels. The results show that the analytical solutions for pore pressure distribution and water inflow match well with the numerical solutions and that the relative deviations are all in an acceptable range. The solutions derived from the analytical model in this paper can analyze the steady seepage field of symmetrical underwater tunnels accurately and reasonably.
Highlights
Along with advances in transportation infrastructure, more and more underwater tunnels have been under construction
This paper focuses on the analytical solutions of steady seepage field for symmetrical underwater tunnels
The mirror image method is an effective method for the analysis of steady seepage field
Summary
Along with advances in transportation infrastructure, more and more underwater tunnels have been under construction. It is too hard to find an appropriate conformal mapping function, which makes it difficult to apply the complex variable method to analyze the seepage field for symmetrical underwater tunnels. When it comes to the axisymmetric modeling method, it is often used to analyze the analytical solutions of seepage field for single underwater tunnels because of the simple boundary conditions. Due to the property of superposition for the potential function, the mirror image method can be used to analyze the seepage field for symmetrical underwater tunnels with complex boundary conditions. A series of numerical simulations are conducted to validate the analytical solutions
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