Experimental study on the effect of flexible joints of a deep-buried tunnel across an active fault under high in-situ stress conditions

Abstract

During dislocation, a tunnel crossing the active fault will be damaged to varying degrees due to its permanent stratum displacement. Most previous studies did not consider the influence of the tunnel’s deep burial and the high in-situ stress, so the results were not entirely practical. In this paper, the necessity of solving the anti-dislocation problem of deep-buried tunnels is systemically discussed. Through the model test of tunnels across active faults, the differences in failures between deep-buried tunnels and shallow-buried tunnels were compared, and the dislocation test of deep-buried segmental tunnels was carried out to analyze the external stress change, lining strain, and failure mode of tunnels. The results are as follows. (1) The overall deformation of deep-buried and shallow-buried tunnels is both S-shaped. The failure mode of deep-buried tunnels is primarily characterized by shear and tensile failure, resulting in significant compressive deformation and a larger damaged area. In contrast, shallow-buried tunnels mainly experience shear failure, with the tunnel being sheared apart at the fault crossing, leading to more severe damage. (2) After the segmental structure design of the deep-buried tunnel, the “S” deformation pattern is transformed into a “ladder” pattern, and the strain of the tunnel and the peak stress of the external rock mass are reduced; therefore, damages are significantly mitigated. (3) Through the analysis of the distribution of cracks in the tunnel lining, it is found that the tunnel without a segmental structure design has suffered from penetrating failure and that cracks affect the entire lining. The cracks in a flexible segmental tunnel affect about 66.6% of the entire length of the tunnel, and cracks in a tunnel with a short segmental tunnel only affect about 33.3% of the entire length of the tunnel. Therefore, a deep-buried tunnel with a short segmental tunnel can yield a better anti-dislocation effect. (4) By comparing the shallow-buried segmental tunnel in previous studies, it is concluded that the shallow-buried segmental tunnel will also suffer from deformation outside the fault zone, while the damages to the deep-buried segmental tunnel are concentrated in the fault zone, so the anti-dislocation protection measures of the deep-buried tunnel shall be provided mainly in the fault zone. The results of the above study can provide theoretical reference and technical support for the design and reinforcement measures of the tunnel crossing active fault under high in-situ stress conditions.

Keywords

Tunnel project / Crossing active fault / High in-situ stress / Segmental structure design / Flexible joint

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Jiawei Zhang: Writing - original draft, Investigation, Data curation. Zhen Cui: Writing - review & editing, Supervision, Funding acquisition, Conceptualization. Qian Sheng: Project administration. Wanhua Zhao: Resources. Liang Song: Visualization.

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.

Acknowledgement

The work is supported by the National Key R&D Programs for Young Scientists of China (Grant No. 2023YFB2390400), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. U21A20159, 52079133, 52379112, and 41902288), Key Research Program of First Survey and Design Institute (Grant No. 2022KY56(ZDZX)-02), Key Research Program of the Ministry of Water Resources of China (Grant No. SKS-2022103), and Yunnan Major Science and Technology Special Program (Grant No. 202102AF080001).

References

[1] Allen, C. R., Luo, Z. L., Qian, H., Wen, X. Z., Zhou, H. W., & Huang, W. S. (1991). Field study of a highly active fault zone: The Xianshuihe fault of southwestern China. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 103(9), 1178-1199.

[2] Ansari, A., Rao, K. S., & Jain, A. K. (2023a). Seismic response and fragility evaluation of circular tunnels in the Himalayan region: Implications for post-seismic performance of transportation infrastructure projects in Jammu and Kashmir. Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology, 137, 105118.

[3] Ansari, A., Rao, K. S., Jain, A. K., & Ansari, A. (2023b). Deep learning model for predicting tunnel damages and track serviceability under seismic environment. Modeling Earth Systems and Environment, 9(1), 1349-1368.

[4] Ansari, A., Rao, K. S., Jain, A. K., & Ansari, A. (2023c). Formulation of multi-hazard damage prediction (MhDP) model for tunnelling projects in earthquake and landslide-prone regions: A novel approach with artificial neural networking (ANN). Journal of Earth System Science, 132(4), 164.

[5] Ansari, A., Rao, K. S., & Jain, A. K. (2024). Seismic microzonation of the Himalayan region considering site characterization: application toward seismic risk assessment for sustainable tunneling projects. Natural Hazards Review, 25(1), 04023052.

[6] Ansari, A., Rao, K. S., & Jain, A. K. (2023d). An integrated approach to model seismic loss for the Himalayan infrastructure projects: decisionmaking and functionality concept for disaster mitigation. Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment, 82(10), 393.

[7] Dalgıç S. (2002). Tunneling in squeezing rock, the Bolu tunnel, Anatolian Motorway, Turkey. Engineering Geology, 67(1-2), 73-96.

[8] Douglas, W. S., & Warshaw, R. (1971). Design of seismic joint for San Francisco bay tunnel. Journal of the Structural Division, 97(4), 1129-1141.

[9] Ha, D., Abdoun, T. H., O’Rourke, M. J., Symans, M. D., O’Rourke, T. D., Palmer, M. C., & Stewart, H. E. (2008). Buried high-density polyethylene pipelines subjected to normal and strike-slip faulting—a centrifuge investigation. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 45(12), 1733-1742.

[10] Hashash, Y. M. A., Hook, J. J., Schmidt, B., & Yao, J. I. C. (2001). Seismic design and analysis of underground structures. Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology, 16(4), 247-293.

[11] Kiani, M., Akhlaghi, T., & Ghalandarzadeh, A. (2016). Experimental modeling of segmental shallow tunnels in alluvial affected by normal faults. Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology, 51, 108-119.

[12] Kiyomiya, O., Nakamichi, M., Yokota, H., & Shiraishi, S. (2004). New type flexible joint for the Osaka Port Yumeshima Tunnel Osamu Kiyomiya. In Proceedings of the Oceans’ 04 MTS/IEEE Techno- Ocean’04 (IEEE Cat. No. 04CH37600) (pp. 2086-2091).

[13] Kontogianni, V. A., & Stiros, S. C. (2003). Earthquakes and seismic faulting: effects on tunnels. Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences, 12(1), 153-156.

[14] Lai, J. X., He, S. Y., Qiu, J. L., Chen, J. X., Wang, L. X., Wang, K., & Wang, J. B. (2017). Characteristics of seismic disasters and aseismic measures of tunnels in Wenchuan earthquake. Environmental Earth Sciences, 76(2), 94.

[15] Lin, M. L., Chung, C. F., Jeng, F. S., & Yao, T. C. (2007). The deformation of overburden soil induced by thrust faulting and its impact on underground tunnels. Engineering Geology, 92(3-4), 110-132.

[16] Liu, X. Z., Li, X. F., Sang, Y. L., & Lin, L. L. (2015). Experimental study on normal fault rupture propagation in loose strata and its impact on mountain tunnels. Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology, 49, 417-425.

[17] McGarr, A., & Fletcher, J. B. (2003). Maximum slip in earthquake fault zones, apparent stress, and stick-slip friction. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 93(6), 2355-2362.

[18] Ren, R., Zhou, H., Hu, Z., He, S. Y., & Wang, X. L. (2019). Statistical analysis of fire accidents in Chinese highway tunnels 2000-2016. Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology, 83, 452-460.

[19] Roy, N., & Sarkar, R. (2017). A review of seismic damage of mountain tunnels and probable failure mechanisms. Geotechnical and Geological Engineering, 35(1), 1-28.

[20] Russo, M., Germani, G., & Amberg, W. (2002). Design and construction of large tunnel through active faults: a recent application. In Proceedings international conference of tunneling and underground space use (pp. 1-14).

[21] Sabagh, M., & Ghalandarzadeh, A. (2020). Centrifugal modeling of continuous shallow tunnels at active normal faults intersection. Transportation Geotechnics, 22, 100325.

[22] Shen, Y. S., Wang, Z. Z., Yu, J., Zhang, X., & Gao, B. (2020). Shaking table test on flexible joints of mountain tunnels passing through normal fault. Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology, 98, 103299.

[23] Sibson, R. H. (1977). Fault rocks and fault mechanisms. Journal of the Geological Society, 133(3), 191-213.

[24] Sun, F., Zhang, Z. Q., & Yi, Z. W. (2019). Model experimental study of the influence of normal fault with stick-slip dislocation on subway tunnel structure. Rock and Soil Mechanics, 40(8), 3037-3053 (in Chinese).

[25] Wang, Y. Q., Ma, C. B., & Wang, Z. F. (2019a). Prediction of landslide position of loose rock mass at mountain tunnel exit. Advances in Civil Engineering, 2019, 3535606.

[26] Wang, Y. Q., Chang, H. T., Wang, J. Y., Shi, X. L., & Qiu, J. L. (2019b). Countermeasures to treat collapse during the construction of road tunnel in fault zone: a case study from the Yezhuping Tunnel in south Qinling, China. Environmental Earth Sciences, 78(15), 464.

[27] Wang, W. L., Wang, T. T., Su, J. J., Lin, C. H., Seng, C. R., & Huang, T. H. (2001). Assessment of damage in mountain tunnels due to the Taiwan Chi-Chi earthquake. Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology, 16(3), 133-150.

[28] Wang, T. Q., Geng, P., Li, P. S., Wang, Q., & Wang, L. J. (2022). Deformation and failure of overburden soil subjected to normal fault dislocation and its impact on tunnel. Engineering Failure Analysis, 142, 106747.

[29] Wang, T. Q., Geng, P., Liu, G. G., Chen, C. J., & Gu, W. Q. (2023). Performance-based three-level fortification goal and its application in anti-dislocation countermeasures: a case study of Shantou Submarine Tunnel. Underground Space, 12, 251-270.

[30] Yan, G. M., Zhao, B. M., Wang, Z. J., & Gao, B. (2022). Simplified analytical solution for responses of fault-crossing tunnels with flexible joints under fault movement. Structures, 45, 984-998.

[31] Zaheri, M., Ranjbarnia, M., Dias, D., & Oreste, P. (2020a). Performance of segmental and shotcrete linings in shallow tunnels crossing a transverse strike-slip faulting. Transportation Geotechnics, 23, 100333.

[32] Zaheri, M., Ranjbarnia, M., & Dias, D. (2020b). 3D numerical investigation of segmental tunnels performance crossing a dip-slip fault. Geomechanics and Engineering, 23(4), 351-364.

[33] Zhang, Y., Zhang, Z. Q., Yin, C., Wei, R. H., & Zhang, H. (2023). Experimental study on forced response characteristics and antidislocation performance of articulated tunnel structure under dislocation action of normal fault. Structures, 48, 867-881.

[34] Zhang, C. Q., Liu, X. Y., Zhu, G. J., Zhou, H., Zhu, Y., & Wang, C. (2020). Distribution patterns of rock mass displacement in deeply buried areas induced by active fault creep slip at engineering scale. Journal of Central South University, 27(10), 2849-2863.

[35] Zhen, C., Sheng, Q., Zhang, G. M., Zhang, M. C., & Mei, X. C. (2022). Response and mechanism of a tunnel subjected to combined fault rupture deformation and subsequent seismic excitation. Transportation Geotechnics, 34, 100749.

[36] Zhou, G. X., Sheng, Q., Cui, Z., Wang, T. Q., & Ma, Y. (2021). Investigating the deformation and failure mechanism of a submarine tunnel with flexible joints subjected to strike-slip Faults. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 9(12), 1412.

[37] Zhou, W. H., Qin, H. Y., Qiu, J. L., Fan, H., Lai, J., Wang, K., & Wang, L. X. (2017). Building information modelling review with potential applications in tunnel engineering of China. Royal Society Open Science, 4(8), 170174.