Analytical solution for seepage pressure of multilayered sand seabed considering interaction between wave-current action and shield tunnel

Abstract

Existing theoretical studies of the seepage field around subsea shield tunnels under wave action take less account of the tunnel lining permeability, especially the effect of wave and current action on tunnel. Moreover, the solutions generally treat the sand as homogeneous and isotropic, ignoring the influence of multilayered seabed. In this paper, the analytical solutions are presented for the seepage pressure and liquefaction evaluation of sand around tunnel in multilayered seabed under wave and current action. The pore pressure response of pure seabed is obtained by the transmission and reflection matrix method. The mirror image method is introduced to establish governing equation of excess pore pressure reflected by tunnel, and the analytical solution of equation is obtained by Fourier series expansion under the condition of continuous seepage between sand and lining. Based on the superposition principle, the seepage pressure and liquefaction evaluation of sand around tunnel in multilayered seabed are obtained. Then the analytical solutions are compared with numerical and experimental results, and good agreement is obtained. In addition, the influencing factors of wave parameters (wavelength, period, current), seabed parameters (permeability, shear modulus, saturation) and tunnel parameters (lining thickness, lining permeability) are analyzed.