Investigation on Existing Tunnel Response to Piles Construction: A Numerical Study

Abstract

Deep foundations are frequently built close to existing tunnels in the urban environment. Tunnels can only withstand very small movements. The construction of bored piles and/or the subsequent loading of the piles may result in unbearable movements or stresses that could result in cracking of the tunnel linings, which worries obstacles to the tunnel structure. This research presents an understanding of the interaction issue and investigates and evaluates various geometric factors that determine the effect of the construction of the pile on the existing tunnel. However, numerical modeling was established utilizing a modified Mohr-Coulomb constitutive model for the soil strata. Numerous factors have been examined, including different locations of the pile tip to the tunnel centerline as well as variable pile diameters and lengths. The numerical analysis results revealed that the bending moment decreases as the distance from the tunnel increases from 8 to 12 m and then remains constant, while the shear stress is not affected considerably. In addition, the shear stress and bending moment increase with pile diameter and length due to the increased confinement caused by the pile. The spacing has a considerable effect on the horizontal displacement with very little effect on the vertical displacement. Moreover, there is an increase in the shear force developed in the tunnel lining with pile diameter for different spacings between the tunnel and pile. This increase becomes smaller as the pile length increases. At small spacing between the pile and tunnel (8.3 m and 12.5 m), the bending moment in the tunnel lining decreases as the pile length increases. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-SP2023-09-016 Full Text: PDF