Underground Passageways Research Articles

Jam in the Tunnel: On Urban Freight Tunnels, Their Operational Scheduling, and Unused Transport Capacity

Underground passageways for the transport of goods and people have fascinated mankind throughout the centuries. Recent initiatives in different parts of the world aim at rekindling the freight tunnel concept for urban logistics. According to this concept, freight is lifted into a tunnel, moved via electrically powered vehicles, rail cars, or maglev shuttles toward inner-city microhubs, and finally delivered with environmentally friendly vehicles to urban recipients. The main justification for this concept to outweigh the huge tunnel boring cost is a substantial reduction of road-based urban freight traffic. To warn about unfulfilled expectations, however, we show that the combination of time-critical goods, small inner-city hubs with restricted storage capacity, and the wrong booking procedure can hinder a loading of tunnel vehicles to capacity. To do so, we consider a polynomially solvable scheduling problem where due date-restricted shipments are to be assigned to tunnel vehicles and delivered to a given set of microhubs with limited storage capacity. Scarce hub capacities, tight due dates, and the wrong booking policy may not only lead to unused tunnel capacity but also to shipments that cannot be feasibly transported through the tunnel. If they are handed over to trucks as a fallback option, we show that a Braess-like paradox can occur: The time-critical, small-lot transports of the leftover shipments can produce even more surface traffic than trucking all shipments right from the start without the tunnel. Supplemental Material: The online appendices are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/serv.2023.0005 .

Development of a Novel Quantitative Risk Assessment Tool for UK Road Tunnels

Some of the most critical transportation infrastructures are road tunnels. Underground passageways for motorists are provided through this cost-effective engineering solution, which allows for high traffic volumes. A crucial aspect of the operation of road tunnels is fire safety. Risk assessments have been established to ensure the level of safety in tunnels. As the existing quantitative risk analysis (QRA) models are inapplicable to assess the fire risk in UK road tunnels, this paper presents a novel QRA model, named LBAQRAMo, for UK road tunnels. This model consists of two main sections: quantitative frequency analysis, to estimate the frequency of fire incidents via an event tree; and quantitative consequences analysis, to model the consequences of fire incidents. LBAQRAMo covers the risk to tunnel users. The result of the risk analysis is the expected value of the societal risk of the investigated tunnel, presented via F/N curve. Another major result of this model is the estimation of the number of fatalities for each scenario based on the comparison between required safe egress time (RSET) and available safe egress time (ASET). Risk evaluation was carried out by comparison of the tunnel under study with the UK ALARP limit. The operation of the model is demonstrated by its application to the Gibraltar Airport Tunnel as a case study. Simulation of 34 different possible scenarios show that the tunnel is safe for use. The sensitivity of the model to HGV fire incident frequency and basic pre-movement times was studied as well.

Automatic tunnel lining crack evaluation and measurement using deep learning

A tunnel is an imperative underground passageway that supports fast and uninterrupted transportation. Over time, various factors, such as ageing, topographical changes, and excessive force, slowly affect the tunnel's internal structure, which causes tunnel defects that can reduce the structure's stability and eventually lead to enormous damage. Therefore, the tunnels need to be checked regularly to detect and fix the cracks promptly. Earlier inspection approaches mainly relied on the operators who directly observed videos to detect the cracks and determine their seriousness, which is laborious, error-prone, and tedious. This research suggests a deep learning-based tunnel lining crack segmentation framework for tunnel images taken by high-resolution cameras. The primary contributions are (1) a lining crack segmentation framework, which is motivated by U-Net architecture, where the encoder is replaced by a ResNet-152 model, (2) the automated measurement of the segmented cracks, which include length, thickness, and type, and (3) a huge lining crack segmentation database. The experimental results showed that the framework obtained comparable performance compared to existing crack segmentation models and supported the automated measurement of the segmented cracks.

Burrowing in blindsnakes: A preliminary analysis of burrowing forces and consequences for the evolution of morphology.

Burrowing is a common behavior in vertebrates. An underground life-style offers many advantages but also poses important challenges including the high energetic cost of burrowing. Scolecophidians are a group of morphologically derived subterranean snakes that show great diversity in form and function. Although it has been suggested that leptotyphlopids and anomalepidids mostly use existing underground passageways, typhlopids are thought to create their own burrows. However, the mechanisms used to create burrows and the associated forces that animals may be able to generate remain unknown. Here, we provide the first data on push forces in scolecophidians and compare them with those in some burrowing alethinophidian snakes. Our results show that typhlopids are capable of generating higher forces for a given size than other snakes. The observed differences are not due to variation in body diameter or length, suggesting fundamental differences in the mechanics of burrowing or the way in which axial muscles are used. Qualitative observations of skull and vertebral shape suggest that the higher forces exerted by typhlopids may have impacted the evolution of their anatomy. Our results provide the basis for future studies exploring the diversity of form and function in this fascinating group of animals. Quantitative comparisons of the cranial and vertebral shape in addition to collecting functional and ecological data on a wider array of species would be particularly important to test the patterns described here.

Historical Underground Structures as 3D Cadastral Objects

The need for accurate registration of underground objects in the 3D cadastre is becoming increasingly common throughout the world. Research studies conducted in this area mostly focus on objects related to transportation or other public utilities and services. However, in settlements with a long history, apart from new objects, there are also various historical objects underground. Such places are not fully discovered, and sometimes they are not even fully inventoried with surveying methods. The aim of this work therefore is to try to describe the possibility of introducing historical undergrounds to the real estate cadastre created for three dimensions, in case of its creation, and to check ground laser scanning as a method of measuring such objects in order to introduce them to the 3D cadastre. Considerations on the inclusion of underground historical objects into the three-dimensional cadastre database began with conceptual considerations. Their result is the elaboration of UML schemas describing relationships among 3D cadastre objects including underground objects. According to the authors, such underground objects should constitute a completely new class called ‘EGB_BuildingBlockUnderground3D’ and be part of the legal space of the entire building represented by the class ‘EGB_BuildingLegalSpace3D’ (the prefix EGB is an acronym of Polish cadastre name ‘Ewidencja Gruntów i Budynków’; in English, it stands for ‘Land and Building Cadastre’). In order to verify in practice the possibility of introducing historical underground objects into the 3D cadastre database, the inventory of the Underground Tourist Route in Rzeszów (Poland) was used. This route consists of a network of underground passageways and cellars built between the 14th and 18th centuries. The measurement was carried out with the application of the Faro Focus 3D terrestrial laser scanner. The underground inventory showed that at the time the current cadastre of land and buildings in Rzeszów was being founded, the boundaries of the cadastral parcels were established without knowing the location of the underground passageways under the Main Market Square. This resulted in a situation in which the objects located underground became parts of more than one cadastral parcel. If a 3D cadastre is created, such a situation must of course be recorded accordingly. The article proposes solutions for such situations.

EXCAVATION SITE IN OKTYABRSKAYA STREET (TOBOLSK)

The article gives a historical interpretation of a stakewall with an underground passageway found in the cen-tral part of the upper posad drawing on the materials from the excavation site in Oktyabrskaya Street (204 m2). The thick log wall consisted of vertical posts erected at the bottom of a specially dug ditch. The underground pas-sageway constituted a manway, starting on one side of the stakewall and ending on the other. Its ceiling and walls were covered with planks supported by low half-logs, thick planks and small logs. The plank ceiling of the under-ground tunnel was just below the base of the log wall, with the horizontal adit being so small that one could only crawl through it. In order to determine the absolute age of the stakewall, we carried out the dendrochronological and radiocarbon studies of its logs. For the purpose of identifying this object with one of those mentioned in writ-ten sources, we reconstructed the history of fortification construction and localisation by performing a detailed analysis of historical data and all known plans of the city. As a result, it was established that the wall found during the excavation in terms of its location and orientation better correlates with the building shown on S.U. Remezov’s plans, which was located in the central part of Trinity Cape and surrounded by a rectangular stakewall, rather than with the posad fortifications. On the plans of 1687 and 1688 from the Chorographic Drawing Book, the object in question was captioned as ‘prison’ and ‘prison yard’. This assumption allows us to date the log wall discovered in Oktyabrskaya Street at 1687, or, quite possibly, at an earlier time. This prison yard fence could be used after 1714 and, judging by the stratigraphic and planigraphic observations made at the excavation site in Oktyabrskaya Street, until the period of stone construction in the upper posad.

Роль споруд підземного простору в сучасному місті

В статті розглянуті питання освоєння підземного простору в міських умовах, проаналізовані історичні етапи розвитку підземної урбаністики. Аналіз досвіду проектування і будівництва підземних споруд дає можливість виявити еволюцію їх формування в структурі міста. Виявлені переваги та недоліки використання підземного простору міста. Визначені способи ефективного використання об’єктів підземного простору в подальшому.

Smartphone-based localization for blind navigation in building-scale indoor environments

Continuous, accurate, and real-time smartphone-based localization is a promising technology for supporting independent mobility of people with visual impairments. However, despite extensive research on indoor localization techniques, localization technologies are still not ready for deployment in large and complex environments such as shopping malls and hospitals, where navigation assistance is needed most. We identify six key challenges for accurate smartphone localization related to the large-scale nature of the navigation environments and the user’s mobility. To address these challenges, we present a series of techniques that enhance a probabilistic localization algorithm. The algorithm utilizes mobile device inertial sensors and Received Signal Strength (RSS) from Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons. We evaluate the proposed system in a 21,000 m2 shopping mall that includes three multi-story buildings and a large open underground passageway. Experiments conducted in this environment demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed technologies to improve localization accuracy. Field experiments with visually impaired participants confirm the practical performance of the proposed system in realistic use cases.

BEZPIECZEŃSTWO TRANSPORTU KOLEJOWEGO

Kolejowy transport zbiorowy jest obecnie w Polsce jedną z bardziej dynamicznie rozwijających się gałęzi. Wzrost liczby obsłużonych pasażerów, którzy korzystają najczęściej z pociągów, elektrycznych zespołów trakcyjnych czy też szynobusów, powoduje, że wzrastają także zagrożenia zaliczane do szeroko rozumianego bezpieczeństwa publicznego. Dotyczy to zarówno bezpieczeństwa w pojazdach ruchomych, jak też w obiektach stacjonarnych (np. stacje kolejowe, perony, przejścia podziemne pomiędzy peronami, itp.). Dlatego też tak istotne staje się stosowanie nowoczesnych elektronicznych systemów bezpieczeństwa, które mają na celu wykrywanie i zapobieganie zdarzeniom niebezpiecznych.

Spatial Distribution of Fine Particulate Matter in Underground Passageways.

The unfavorable locations of underground infrastructures and poor ventilation facilities can result in the deterioration of enclosed air quality. Some researchers have studied air quality and ventilation measures in different types of underground buildings. However, few studies have investigated the pollution in pedestrian passageways connecting underground structures. Hence, in this paper, we attempted to investigate the spatial distribution of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in underground passageways. First, measurements were designed and conducted in a pedestrian passageway beneath the Shanghai South Railway Station, Shanghai, China. Second, numerical simulations were performed based on computational fluid dynamic (CFD) technology. Finally, the numerical simulations were extended to examine impacts of the ventilation measures on PM2.5 concentration with different inlet positions and air velocity in underground passageways. The simulation results showed good agreement with the experimental data, and the numerical model was validated to be an effective method to investigate the spatial distribution of PM2.5 in underground passageways. Results suggest that building additional entrances is an advisable method for improving air quality in the underground passageways of the Shanghai South Railway Station, while jet fans are not recommended. Findings of this study offer suggestions for mitigating PM2.5 pollution in underground passageways.

Pedestrian monitoring techniques for crowd-flow prediction

The high concentration and flow rate of people in train stations during rush hours can pose a prominent risk to passenger safety and comfort. In situ counting systems are a critical element for predicting pedestrian flows in real time, and their capabilities must be rigorously tested in live environments. The focus of this paper is on evaluating the reliability of two alternative counting systems, the first using an array of infrared depth sensors and the second a visible light (RGB) camera. Both proposed systems were installed at a busy walkway in London Bridge station. The data were collected over a period of 2 months, after which, portions of the data set were labelled for quantitative evaluation against ground truth. In this paper, the implementation of the two different counting technologies is described, and the accuracy and limitations of both approaches under different conditions are discussed. The results show that the developed RGB-based system performs reliably across a wide range of conditions, while the depth-based approach proves to be a useful complement in conditions without significant ambient sunlight, such as underground passageways.

Towards a Comprehensive Ray-Tracing Modeling of an Urban City With Open-Trench Drains for Mobile Communications

This paper investigates the impacts that open-trench drains make on the accuracy of radio propagation prediction in an urban city environment. Compared with conventional prediction styles that assume the ground to be flat, in this paper, we have considered for the first time the real scenario in many Asian cities to make open-trench drains inclusive in radio propagation modeling. The aims of this paper are twofold. First, to scrutinize one narrow L-shaped structure, modeled after an open-trench drain, by means of comparing ray-tracing simulation results with the actual field measurement results at 2.4 and 5.8 GHz. Second, to compare one city model built without and with the inclusion of open-trench drains for running ray-tracing simulation in yielding radio propagation prediction results. The findings from this paper are especially beneficial to the improvement of mobile communications in extraordinary environments such as open-trench drains, caves, coal mines, underground passageway, and others. Besides, they provide a unique insight into how the presence of the open-trench drains may affect radio wave propagation in an urban city environment.

네트워크형 터널의 환기해석 방법에 대한 기초연구-비 Hardy-Cross 방법을 중심으로

Recently, various forms of diverging sections in tunnels have been designed as the demand for underground passageway in urban areas increases. Therefore, the complexity of the ventilation system in tunnels with diverging sections requires a ventilation analysis method different from the conventional method for the straight tunnels. None of the domestic and foreign tunnel ventilation design standards specifies the method for the ventilation network analysis, and the numerical analysis methods have been most widely used. This paper aims at reviewing the ventilation network analytical method applicable as the design standard. The proposed method is based on the characteristic equations rather than the numerical analysis. Thanks to the advantages of easy application, the Hardy-Cross method has been widely applied in the fields of mine ventilation and tunnel ventilation. However, limitations with the cutting errors in the Taylor series expansion and the convergence problem mainly caused by the mesh selection algorithm have been reported. Therefore, this paper examines the applicability of the ventilation analysis method for network-type tunnels with the gradient method that can analyze flow rate and pressure simultaneously without the configuration of mesh. A simple ventilation analysis method for network-type tunnels is proposed.

Rancang Bangun Robot 6WD Sebagai Alat Pemantau Kebocoran Gas Berbahaya Berbasis Komunikasi Wireless XBee-PRO Series1 60mW

The aim of this study is to help a company gas or chemical companies to determine the point of a gas leak. To find out the point of the gas leak, it is necessary to create a robot capable of exploring the underground passageway and has the ability to detect scent strength of gas, so that the point of the leak can be found .. One of the application of robotics technology in accordance with the conditions of underground passageways are a robot that has a combination of Wheeled Robot Arm Robot and 6WD. Due to the design of the robot can roam the surface conditions are not flat and has the ability to balance its body. The results achieved in this study is that the robot can detect the presence of butane gas use TGS2600 sensor. In addition, the transmission of information from the robot to use XBee interface software has been successfully carried out. So that the operator controls the robot can monitor the condition of the robot. Delivery of image information from the robot to the operator can be performed via the S-video channel then transferring images from the camera to the laptop.

New York City Panel on Climate Change 2015 Report. Chapter 3: Static coastal flood mapping.

New York City Panel on Climate Change 2015 Report. Chapter 3: Static coastal flood mapping.

Study on Structural Design and Driving Process of Subway Station Passageway Crossing Urban Trunk Road by Tunneling Method

On the basis of unfavorable geology of a passageway in subway station to cross urban trunk road with heavy traffic flow in Chengdu city, the comparison of two different driving methods for the underground passageway with three arches and two pillars is carried out in the paper. The result shows that both center drift-pillar method and partial bench-cut method can be used to build the passageway in the subway station. But the latter is superior to the former in reducing construction cost, risk and timescale. While the former is more efficient in controlling ground subsidence. The tubular roof protection is also designed to reinforce the shear strength of soil above the crown of the passageway before excavating the poor surrounding soil. The inventive driving procedure of partial bench-cut method presented in the paper can be utilized to guide the rational design and economical construction of shallow passageway for subway station to cross urban trunk road in weak geological strata.

Uncertainty Propagation in Quantitative Risk Assessment Modeling for Fire in Road Tunnels

Road tunnels are critical transportation infrastructures that provide underground passageways for motorists and commuters. Fire in road tunnels in combination with tunnel safety provisions failure may lead to catastrophic consequences, and thus, necessitates a robust and reliable approach to assess tunnel risks. This article proposes a quantitative risk assessment model for fire in road tunnel by taking into consideration two types of uncertainties. A Monte Carlo-based estimation method is developed to propagate parameter uncertainty in quantitative risk assessment model consisting of event tree analysis as well as consequence estimation models. The percentile-based individual risks and α-cut-based societal risks are put up and the risk indices are proven to be very useful for tunnel operators with distinct risk attitudes to assess the safety level of a road tunnel. Finally, the proposed research methodology is applied to Singapore KPE road tunnels.

Robotic mapping of underground mine passageways

The ability to determine the position and orientation of vehicles in real time is a key enabling technology for automation, traffic management, and to ensure safety in the presence of multiple operating vehicles. As explained in this paper, despite some misguided advertising within the mining community, a technology comparable to the satellite based global positioning system (GPS), does not yet exist for underground operations. This paper reports on the preliminary results of a study to develop a relatively low cost and robust method for obtaining globally consistent maps of underground mine environments, the purpose of which is to support the creation of a map based underground positioning technology. The described mapping technique is based on an approach from the mobile robotics research literature and is demonstrated by using data acquired with a load–haul–dump (LHD) machine at two Nordic mines.

What's Inside?: Fascinating Structures around the World (review)

Reviewed by: What's Inside?: Fascinating Structures around the World Elizabeth Bush Laroche, Giles What's Inside?: Fascinating Structures around the World; written and illus. by Giles Laroche. Harcourt, 200940p ISBN 978-0-618-86247-4$17.00 R Gr. 3-6 While the titular question and picture-book format suggest a work for primary-schoolers, Laroche deploys the guessing-game structure and fabulously detailed collages to intrigue an older set of readers, particularly those with a budding interest in architecture. He starts off pretty easy, with an archaeologist breaking through the doorway "at the end of a long underground passageway": "What's inside?" Lots of kids will recognize Howard Carter, or at least know there's a mummy tomb on the next page. But how many will correctly guess that there's a jaguar throne inside the stepped pyramid, an entire city beyond a stone gate, or farm animals beneath the "squat wooden cupola" in a round stone building in New England? Even the identifiable structures hold visual surprises, with Laroche providing intricate interiors for each spread and a sidebar of geographical and statistical data for the edifice. A glossary of architectural terms is appended, each with a thumbnail picture of a building sporting that feature, and a partial list of Laroche's sources are included. This is an obvious draw for viewers who delight in fussy, finicky detail, and also an inspiration for kids with scissors, paper, and patience. [End Page 368] Copyright © 2009 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Water management in the Bronze Age: Greece and Anatolia

While the water management systems of Minoan Crete are legendary, water management on the Greek mainland in the Mycenaean period also shows a high degree of technological sophistication. Projects considered in this paper include the draining of the Kopais Lake, generally agreed to be one of the greatest engineering achievements of early antiquity; the cistern at Mycenae with its corbelled access tunnel cut deep into the bedrock of the citadel; the twin springs at Tiryns, with their underground passageways approached through the massive ‘cyclopean’ walls; and the North Fountain on the Mycenaean Acropolis of Athens. These Mycenaean systems are compared with the remarkable underground water supply system at Troy uncovered by the recent excavations led by Manfred Korfmann, a structure which may date to the beginning of the 3rd millennium and which appears to be invoked among the deities of Wilusa (Troy) in the early-13th century treaty between Muwattalli II of Hatti and Alaksandu of Wilusa (and which may be a precursor of the famous Persian qanats).