Numerical analysis of surface subsidence in asymmetric parallel highway tunnels

Abstract

Tunnelling related hazards are very common in the Himalayan terrain and a number of such instances have been reported. Several twin tunnels are being planned for transportation purposes which will require good understanding for prediction of tunnel deformation and surface settlement during the engineering life of the structure. The deformational behaviour, design of sequential excavation and support of any jointed rock mass are challenging during underground construction. We have raised several commonly assumed issues while performing stability analysis of underground opening at shallow depth. For this purpose, Kainchi-mod Nerchowck twin tunnels (Himachal Pradesh, India) are taken for in-depth analysis of the stability of two asymmetric tunnels to address the influence of topography, twin tunnel dimension and geometry. The host rock encountered during excavation is composed mainly of moderately to highly jointed grey sandstone, maroon sandstone and siltstones. In contrast to equidimensional tunnels where the maximum subsidence is observed vertically above the centreline of the tunnel, the result from the present study shows shifting of the maximum subsidence away from the tunnel centreline. The maximum subsidence of 0.99 mm is observed at 4.54 m left to the escape tunnel centreline whereas the maximum subsidence of 3.14 mm is observed at 8.89 m right to the main tunnel centreline. This shifting clearly indicates the influence of undulating topography and in-equidimensional noncircular tunnel.