Utility Tunnel Construction Research Articles

Application and Challenges of BIM Technology in China's Integrated Utility Tunnels

In the context of rapid urbanization, integrated utility tunnels present an innovative solution by consolidating various pipelines into a unified underground system, improving construction efficiency and urban management. This paper explores the role of Building Information Modeling (BIM), a breakthrough technology that enhances project design, simulation, and construction efficiency through digital modeling. BIM technology is optimizing utility tunnel construction by enabling better planning, monitoring, and collaboration through 3D and 4D modeling. Using a PESTEL analysis framework, this study evaluates BIM's application in integrated utility tunnels in China and its potential for advancing the digital transformation of urban infrastructure. The research reveals how BIM can enhance the informatization and intelligence of utility tunnels and discusses the future opportunities and challenges for its expansion in China's urbanization efforts.

Challenges in Underground Utility Tunnel Construction and Strategies for Intelligent Management

With the rapid advancement of urbanization, the importance of municipal infrastructure construction is increasingly highlighted. The municipal underground pipeline project, as a key link, aims to optimize the living environment and improve the quality of life services for the people. Given the continuous growth of urban population and the increasingly scarce land resources, the municipal comprehensive underground pipeline project effectively alleviates the pressure on urban land resources by efficiently utilizing underground space. However, the construction of such projects involves complex construction technologies, and scientific and reasonable intelligent management methods are needed to ensure project quality and construction efficiency. In view of this, the author discusses the challenges faced in municipal underground pipeline construction and the intelligent management strategies through participation in the design and construction of several pipeline projects.

Prediction of Jacking Force for Construction of Long-Distance Rectangular Utility Tunnel Using Differential Evolution–Bidirectional Gated Re-Current Unit–Attention Model

Most of the current machine learning algorithms are applied to predict the jacking force required in micro-tunneling; in contrast, few studies about long-distance, large-section jacking projects have been reported in the literature. In this study, an intelligent framework, consisting of a differential evolution (DE), a bidirectional gated re-current unit (BiGRU), and attention mechanisms was developed to automatically identify the optimal hyperparameters and assign weights to the information features, as well as capture the bidirectional temporal features of sequential data. Based on field data from a pipe jacking project crossing underneath a canal, the model’s performance was compared with those of four conventional models (RNN, GRU, BiGRU, and DE–BiGRU). The results indicated that the DE–BiGRU–attention model performed best among these models. Then, the generalization performance of the proposed model in predicting jacking forces was evaluated with the aid of a similar case at the site. It was found that fine-tuning parameters for specific projects is essential for improving the model’s generalization performance. More generally, the proposed prediction model was found to be practically useful to professionals and engineers in making real-time adjustments to jacking parameters, predicting jacking force, and carrying out performance evaluations.

Shaking table tests on transverse seismic performance of a new type of combined prefabricated utility tunnel

Due to the limitation of hoisting weight in the construction site, standard segments of prefabricated utility tunnels usually have only one or two cabins, making it difficult to carry out the multi-cabin prefabricated utility tunnel construction. To solve this problem, two rows of prefabricated utility tunnels are often combined side by side with foam board filled in between them in engineering practice, forming a new type of combined prefabricated utility tunnel. However, there is currently no study on the influence of the interaction between two rows of prefabricated utility tunnels on the seismic performance of combined tunnels. This paper conducted shaking table test of the new type of combined prefabricated utility tunnel under transverse excitation. For the purpose of comparison, shaking table test of single prefabricated utility tunnel was also conducted. To simplify the model making, the combined tunnel was combined by two rows of single-cabin tunnels. Standard segments of utility tunnels were made by microconcrete and assembled longitudinally by bolting. The soil acceleration, utility tunnel strain, and relative displacement between two cabins of the combined tunnel were measured during the tests. Numerical simulation of the test cases was conducted. The numerical results matched the test results well. The research results show that the seismic performance of the combined tunnel is superior to that of single tunnel, because the interaction between two cabins of the combined tunnel reduces the relative deformation between the top and bottom slabs of each cabin. The relative displacement between two cabins of the combined tunnel is much smaller than the initial spacing between the two cabins, and there will be no violent collision between two cabins of the combined tunnel. This study may be of a reference for seismic design of the new type of combined prefabricated utility tunnel.

Thermomechanical performance of energy retaining pile influenced by surrounding utility tunnel via the regression tree model

The thermomechanical performance of energy retaining pile differs from that of axisymmetric energy pile due to utility tunnel excavation. This study presents four field tests of energy retaining pile conducted before and after utility tunnel construction. A regression tree (RT) model for predicting the thermally induced stress of energy retaining pile was established based on the measured water temperature, pile temperature and previous stage thermally induced stress to evaluate the effect of shallow buried utility tunnel on the thermomechanical performance of adjacent energy pile. The established thermally induced stress RT prediction model could acceptably predict the thermally induced stress of the future short-team. Surrounding utility tunnel excavation alters the distribution of the axial thermally induced stress. The axial thermomechanical response of the energy retaining pile after utility tunnel construction is approximately 50% that before utility tunnel construction. The asymmetrical boundary conditions cause a limited bending moment of the energy retaining pile at the top or bottom of the utility tunnel, which is not enough to threaten the pile safety. Moreover, the thermal performance of the energy retaining pile slightly increases due to the heat exchange between the pile and the air in the surrounding utility tunnel.

Experimental and Numerical Investigation into Full-Scale Model of New Type Assembled Integral Utility Tunnel

This article summarizes the current construction methods of prefabricated utility tunnels. (1) The proposed cast-in-place utility tunnel project was used as a background for this study. (2) The original cast-in-place structure was divided into components, and the connection methods of prefabricated composite slabs and mortise and tenon joints were used to propose a new type of prefabricated concrete utility tunnel construction method. After completing the design of the new prefabricated utility tunnel, a numerical simulation analysis of the actual stress situation of the utility tunnel was carried out using ABAQUS finite element software to verify the overall structural performance of the assembled utility tunnel. In addition, after completing the construction of the full-size model of the dual chamber, static load tests were carried out. (3) The test used the method of monotonic static bidirectional loading with a central hydraulic jack and tensioned steel strands, analyzed the cracks, deformation curves, and stress-strain of steel bars and concrete of the overall structure of the utility tunnel, and (4) verified the feasibility of the new assembled integral utility tunnel.

Explosion-prevention strategies of airflow controlling and closed-inerting for hydrogen dilution in utility tunnel

Under the large-scale application of hydrogen energy and the acceleration of utility tunnel construction in China, the hydrogen pipeline would enter the utility tunnel soon. The explosion-prevention strategy is of important to hydrogen transportation in utility tunnel. Thus, a series of comparative studies were carried out in the present study, to explore the high efficiency dilution methods for unexpected hydrogen leak scenarios. (1) Effects of source type and domain extension were further validated based on our previous numerical model. The small-hole model was found to be simple and feasible for pipe release simulation, and has the same high accuracy like the notional nozzle model. The influence of unexpanded domain is acceptable. (2) Investigation of the explosion-prevention strategies was performed based on the finding of the worst leakage case, and hydrogen leaks at the middle of the upwind tunnel with upward leak direction was found to be the worst leakage case for the normal utility tunnel. (3) Compared with the layouts of lateral vents and the single horizontal air distributor, the middle exhaust vent was found to be the optimal airflow controlling strategy. (4) Furtherly, compared to the optimal airflow controlling strategy, closed-inerting was validated to be the most efficient dilution method. In the closed-inerting cases, the peak value of the flammable gas volume which is only ∼40% of the unimproved case appears. After that, the flammable cloud volume decays gradually, while the value increases steadily in the initial unimproved case. No obvious difference was found between the N2 and CO2 injection cases.

Safety evaluation of urban underground utility tunnel with the grey clustering method based on the whole life cycle theory

ABSTRACT The construction of urban underground utility tunnel is a complicated process. With the rapid development of urbanization in China, the safety problem of utility tunnel is becoming more and more prominent. To evaluate the safety of utility tunnel, this study proposed an evaluation model based on the whole life cycle theory. Firstly, combining with the characteristics of utility tunnel, the construction period was divided into four phases: preliminary planning, design, construction and operation and maintenance. Through literature analysis and expert investigation method, 26 evaluation indices were selected, and the whole life cycle safety evaluation index system of urban underground utility tunnel was established; Secondly, the entropy weight method was used to determine the weight of each index; Thirdly, in order to evaluate the security of the utility tunnel in the whole life cycle, a grey clustering evaluation model was constructed. Finally, a case study was conducted to explain the application of the proposed model and to verify the validity of the model, the results indicated that the model could provide a new way to evaluate the safety state of the utility tunnel project.

Failure analysis of urban open-cut utility tunnel under ground fissures environment in Xi’an, China

There are 14 ground fissures covering the urban area of Xi’an, China, which will undoubtedly bring severe challenges to the construction of urban underground utility tunnel. This study focuses on the failure mechanism and deformation characteristics of utility tunnel based on Kunming Road utility tunnel crossing f3 ground fissure by finite difference numerical simulation. The results show that the integral utility tunnel(IUT) is inevitably failure when crossing ground fissure, the void area with the width of 18 m is formed at the floor of IUT on hanging wall, it has the bending failure under the tension and shear force due to too large tensile strain. To ensure the safe construction of utility tunnel, the segmented measures are suggested in this study, and is verified by numerical simulation that the deformation and force of segmented utility tunnel(SUT) can be alleviated after taking the segmented measures, the range of failure area is reduced by 47.7%, the tensile strain of utility tunnel is reduced by 90.3%~92.2%, and the void area of utility tunnel can also be eliminated, which indicates that segmented utility tunnel(SUT) can adapt to the movement of ground fissures without failure. This study can be helpful in developing utility tunnel in ground fissures area.

Design and Application of Mechanized Construction Equipment in Shallow Excavation Precast Utility Tunnel

Traditional open-cut method for utility tunnel has many disadvantages such as long-term occupation and large area of land, great disturbance to urban traffic and environment, high labour intensity of workers and so on. In order to overcome the disadvantages above, a machine for prefabricated utility tunnel construction was designed which drawing on the working principle of shield machine and pipe jacking machine. The above-machine is applied in shulong road utility tunnel of Chengdu. The applicable results show that: (1) The above-machine achieve movable streamlined synchronous construction of earth excavation, components assembling and earth backfill. It improve the shortcoming of traditional open cut method and cancel the majority of foundation pit bracing structure. (2) The above-machine can make mechanized and assemblage construction of shallow excavation precast utility tunnel come true. It effectively control construction quality and reduce difficulty of construction management.

Deformation Control Standard of Utility Tunnel Based on Crack Control Standard

The construction of underground utility tunnel is being carried out on a large scale in China, however there is no corresponding control standard for the structural deformation of utility tunnel, so it is very necessary to establish the deformation standard of utility tunnel. In this paper, the maximum longitudinal bending moment of utility tunnel and the maximum stress of reinforcement controlled by cracks were used to establish the longitudinal deformation standard of utility tunnel structure. In addition, numerical simulation was used to analyze the deformation characteristics of underground composite utility tunnel under different section sizes and soils. And simulation results indicate that the crack reached its maximum of 0.2mm when maximum deformation curvature of utility tunnel was 2.12025*10−5.

A Novel Method for Risk Assessment of Cable Fires in Utility Tunnel

Given the flammability of power cables and the high cost of utility tunnel construction, power cable fires cause serious economic losses and are associated with a negative social impact. In the study, a weighted fuzzy Petri net and an event tree are combined to propose a quantitative evaluation method to mitigate cable fire risks in a utility tunnel. First, cable fire risk factors are analyzed. Given the lack of utility tunnel cable fire historical data, fuzzy theory is used to calculate the failure probability of the primary event. Second, a weighted fuzzy Petri net is used for fuzzy reasoning, and an event tree is used to analyze all possible consequences. Subsequently, the numerical simulation method is used to quantify the loss from the cable fire and thereby quantify the risk of cable fire. Finally, the effect of different risk factors on a cable fire is analyzed to determine the main factors that affect cable fires. Simultaneously, the control ability of different control measures with respect to the fire is analyzed to determine key control measures. A case study of a utility tunnel cable cabin in Liupanshui in Guizhou is employed to validate the utility of the proposed method.

Empirical Study on the Driving Force of Urban Utility Tunnel Development

Urban utility tunnel has been regarded as an important symbol of urban modernization, so it is important to understand the quantized relationship between city development and urban utility tunnel for city management and policy making. In this study, the internal relationship between the development amount of urban utility tunnel and urban population density was discussed, as well as urban GDP per capita, urban construction land area per capita and urban land price index, based on the IBM SPSS platform, through adopting the development amount of urban utility tunnel and the urban development data of the past 46 years of Japan. It was shown that the correlation relationship of the development amount of urban utility tunnel with the density of urban population was comparatively strong negative, and relatively strong positive, comparatively strong positive, relatively strong negative for GDP per capita, urban construction land area per capita and urban land price index respectively, which explained the driving effect that urban development imposed on urban utility tunnel construction in essence. Furthermore, a quantitative model was proposed for the relationship between the development amount of urban utility tunnel and urban development indexes, and the model could be a reference for decision making of urban utility tunnel development in China and other countries.

A brief analysis of the power cable planning and design of the utility tunnel

The urban utility tunnel plays an important role in improving the utilization efficiency of urban underground space. With the vigorous promotion of the construction of urban utility tunnel, the scale of power cable into urban utility tunnel is also increasing rapidly. There are some problems in the planning and design process of utility tunnel, such as the lack of technical specifications or the inconsistency of existing standards and norms. Thus, some detailed design requirements of the overall design, section design and ancillary system design of the power pipeline are proposed in this paper, especially the details of the power cables entering into the utility tunnel are discussed in detail, providing a reference for other engineering. It would be helpful for the electric power cables entering into the utility tunnel in the future.

Cost Allocation Mechanism Design for Urban Utility Tunnel Construction Based on Cooperative Game and Resource Dependence Theory

The urban utility tunnel presents solutions for the sustainable development of urban underground space, and is an important carrier of power distribution network and integrated energy systems. Considering the high investment cost of utility tunnels and the limitations of traditional cost sharing methods (i.e., spatial proportional method, direct-laying cost method and benefit-based proportional method), it is of great significance to establish a fair and practical cost sharing mechanism. First, an improved Shapley value-based spatial proportional method is proposed. A comprehensive decision-making mechanism for utility tunnel construction cost allocation is established by using the improved spatial proportion, the life-cycle direct-laying cost proportion, and the benefit proportion of pipeline companies as the cost allocation indexes. The resource dependence theory is introduced to quantify the bargaining power of each pipeline company in the negotiation of the cost allocation. The weights of the cost allocation indexes in the comprehensive decision-making model are optimized with the objective of maximizing the overall satisfaction of the pipeline companies. Simulations based on the data of utility tunnel pilots in China illustrate that the proposed cost allocation mechanism has the highest overall satisfaction and is more acceptable and more feasible than the traditional cost allocation methods. For power companies, the cost of laying power cables can be significantly reduced by utility tunnels, and laying 10 kV power cables has been shown to have higher economic benefits.

Analysis on the Ownership of Urban Underground Utility Tunnel

The utility tunnel contains important infrastructure such as electricity, communication and heating, which is related to the vital interests of the people. The utility tunnel construction can effectively solve the problem of “road zipper”, make good use of underground space resources and improve the city's comprehensive management capabilities. Based on the observation of theory and practice, the problem of ownership of urban Underground utility tunnel is a prominent problem affecting its development. There is a lot of controversy over ownership issues, and most SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) company want to enjoy it, which is good for bank financing. However, The utility tunnel has special characteristics, and the government enjoys the ownership can better protect the public interest. In most cases of the PPP project, it is based on such considerations that the ownership of the assets belongs to the state. For the better development of underground utility tunnel, it is urgent now that we need to improve the legal system of underground space and set standards for transfer of ownership. In order to facilitate the financing of SPV company, we should improve the the pledge of accounts receivable and the path of asset securitization, instead of relying solely on the traditional real estate mortgage to realize the function of guarantee.

Compilation Standard of Specification for Construction and Quality Acceptance for Urban Utility Tunnel of Shaanxi Province

In order to standardize the related procedures and quality control requirements for the construction and quality acceptance of utility tunnel in Shaanxi province. The relevant departments of Shaanxi province have compiled Specification for Construction and Quality Acceptance for Urban Utility Tunnel of Shaanxi Province (The following is referred as Specification). This paper first systematically summarizes the history and present situation of the construction of utility tunnel at home and abroad. Then it is pointed that the main problems in the construction of the utility tunnel in China are the lack of the basis for the construction. Introduced the establishment background, guidelines, framework, for 3 issues were discussed. These 3 problems are that processing and construction method of foundation is still using the housing construction is reasonable or not, whether the configuration of steel bar of top and bottom panels of utility tunnel can be optimized and it is possible for the waterproof of the structure to replace the outsourced.

装配式综合管廊施工社会经济效益综合分析

装配式综合管廊施工社会经济效益综合分析

The Development of Common Duct in Taiwan and Its Enlightenment to China

Utility tunnel built in the urban underground is used to hold two or more urban pipeline engineering structures and ancillary facilities, that is also known as the common duct in Taiwan. The construction of utility tunnel can effectively eliminate the zipper of the road and reasonably use underground space, which is the important direction of modern smart city in sustainable development. This paper summarizes the development course of common duct in Taiwan area and discusses its accomplishments from construction achievements, the legal system, funding sources, system planning and public pipeline database. On this basis, according to the existing problems in the development of utility tunnel in China, this paper points out some enlightenments that China gets from the development of common duct in Taiwan, so as to provide positive enlightenments for large-scale construction of utility tunnel in our country.

매립지반 지하공동구의 수평이동원인에 대한 수치해석적 분석

Recently reclamation land is largely developed to utilize the land according to economic growth. The soil of landfill is soft, low shear strength, which makes it difficult to use the equipment. A large movement is occurred on the utility tunnel under construction. The inclined land with high water level and underground facilities are widely distributed and the excess pore water pressure may occur under construction similarly to this study. Some different conditions are made to design result, such as 4m of soil piling near the construction area, heavy rainfall during 2nd excavation that may cause flow liquefaction. To analyze the cause of transverse lateral movement, Three dimensional analysis are performed to four load cases, which is original design condition, flow liquefaction by heavy rainfall, unsymmetric lateral soil pressure, and both of them simultaneously. Ten steps of full construction stage, 1st excavation for utility tunnel, construction of utility tunnel, 1st refill, piling soil from 1m to 4 m, 2nd excavation for drainage culvert, liquefaction around the utility tunnel, construction of drainage culvert and 2nd refill, are take into account to investigate the cause of movement.