Mechanical characteristics and stability analysis of an innovative type of steel–concrete composite support in shallow-buried excavation tunnels

Abstract

Under the influence of the principle of New Austrain Tunnelling Method (NATM), the initial support structure of shallow-buried tunnels in urban soft rock mainly adopts the forms of section steel arches or lattice girder arches combined with bolt-mesh-shotcrete. In order to solve the problems of tunnel deformation and collapse caused by untimely support or insufficient support strength during the construction process, the concept of “timely and high-strength support” was put forward, the high-strength steel pipe grid (HSPG) arch was innovatively designed, and the steel pipe grid bolt-shotcrete (SPGB) structure was established. Next, the flexural bearing performance and failure modes of the joint component and jointless component of the HSPG arch were analyzed, and the design scheme was also optimized by finite element simulation. Then, the full-scale model test of steel pipe grid concrete component (SPGC) under the pure bending load was conducted to explore the coupling bearing effect in a laboratory. In addition, relying on the underground excavation tunnel project of urban subway, the characteristic curves and stability coefficient of surrounding rock and SPGB structure were given by using the principle of convergence-confinement method. Theoretical calculations and on-sit measurements showed that SPGB structure had good adaptability in weak surrounding rock tunnel. In general, the research results were of great significance for clarifying the bearing mechanism and applicable conditions of SPGB structure, and also provided a reference for its further application in the tunnel and underground engineering.