Modeling of Utility Tunnels as Thin-Walled Beams on an Elastic Subgrade

Abstract

In the construction of municipalities and agglomerations, it is necessary to build utility tunnels and other linking underground structural systems. They enable the interconnection of individual buildings for different types of media. For the purposes of the static analysis, the tunnels’ structure can be considered to be a thin-walled beam on an elastic subgrade. The article deals with the analysis of thin-walled beam loaded by bending and torsion. Differential equations and their software solution using the transfer matrix method have been presented. In conclusion, an example of utility tunnels as thin-walled beams on an elastic subgrade has been shown. A solution of a beam using the theory of thin-walled beams has been compared with the solution of shell finite elements using the Finite Element Method.