Analysis of tunnel collapse disasters during operation and exploration of disaster damage mechanisms

Abstract

Highway tunnel collapse during the operation period is a serious threat to the stability of tunnel operation. Thus, it is important to investigate the disaster-causing mechanism to prevent the occurrence of disasters. In this paper, based on 155 cases of domestic and foreign highway tunnel collapses during operation, we statistically analyze the causes of the collapses and the year of occurrence, and we explore the disaster-causing mechanism of tunnel collapses through numerical simulation. Tunnel collapses in operation period are affected by geological factors, lining factors, and accidental factors. The primary causes of tunnel collapses are determined to be the post-lining cavity, lining crack expansion, and fire. A single factor cannot lead to tunnel collapse, and the probability of collapse increases under the coupling of multiple factors. Through a numerical simulation method, the evolution mechanism of tunnel collapse caused by the post-lining cavity is analyzed, which lays the foundation for establishing the tunnel collapse prediction model and qualitative risk assessment system of highway tunnel collapse.