Analytical solution for tunnelling-induced response of an overlying pipeline considering gap formation

Abstract

Soil-pipeline separation due to tunnelling has been certainly substantiated in previous model tests. However, this phenomenon has seldom been considered in current analytical solutions. This study formulates a tensionless Winkler solution that could make allowance for gap formation in soil-pipeline interaction analyses. The solution is validated by comparisons with existing experimental measurements and two recognized analytical solutions. Also, its advantage over an existing Winkler solution is addressed. Further parametric studies reveal that the effects of gap formation on the response of a pipeline rely largely on the tunnel volume loss and the pipeline’s bending stiffness and burial depth. In general, a pipeline’s bending moments and subgrade reaction forces are more susceptible than its deflections to the gap formation.

Keywords

Soil-pipeline interaction / Tunnelling / Tensionless Winkler model / Ground settlement / Analytical solution / Gap formation

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 52174101 and 52208380), the Department of Science and Technology of Guangdong Province, China (Grant No. 2021ZT09G087), the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation, China (Grant Nos. 2023A1515030243, 2023A1515011634), Zhuhai Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation, China (Grant No. ZH22017003210005PWC), the open fund project of Key Laboratory of Safe Construction and Intelligent Maintenance for Urban Shield Tunnels of Zhejiang Province, China (Grant No. ZUCC-UST-22-03), General Research and Development Projects of Guangdong Provincial Communications Group Co., Ltd., China (Grant No. JT2022YB25), and Highway Projects of Guangdong Provincial Development and Reform Commission, China (Grant No. 2108-441400-04-01-637272).

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