Numerical investigations of stresses and strains redistribution around the tunnel: Influence of transverse isotropic behavior of granitic rock, in situ stress and shape of tunnel

Abstract

In this work, we numerically investigate the redistribution and magnitude of stresses and strains around the opened excavations in transverse isotropic rock of mass, by using CAST 3M software. The particular shapes as horse shoe, trapezium and rectangular are considered and the influence of these shapes on the redistribution of stresses and strains is analyzed. We show that the shape of tunnel affects the redistribution of stress and strain and the horse shoe shape excavation offer the best stability and the best design for engineer. The influence of the isotropic transverse behavior of rock on the redistribution of stresses and strains is also examined. We demonstrate that the isotropic transverse behavior has a little influence on the redistribution of stresses around tunnels opened.