Seismic performance study of immersed tunnel with longitudinal limit device of flexible joint

Abstract

Flexible joints represent the most vulnerable aspect of the immersed tunnel, necessitating effective waterproofing and the transmission of forces between tunnel segments. However, the role of longitudinal limit devices in the seismic behavior of immersed tunnels is frequently overlooked in contemporary research on their seismic robustness. This study develops a longitudinal force model for flexible joints that incorporates the longitudinal limit device, building upon the beam-spring model of the immersed tunnel. Concurrently, a scaled partial experiment on the immersed tunnel’s flexible joint is undertaken, and validated and compared to the theoretical model. Subsequently, this model is utilized in the seismic assessment of the Ruyifang immersed tunnel. The computational findings revealed a considerable improvement in the seismic resilience of the immersed tunnel following the integration of longitudinal limit devices. With the incorporation of these devices, the opening of flexible joints diminished by 20% to 50% compared to scenarios lacking such devices. In addition, the peak acceleration of the tunnel segments’ mid-point structural response decreased by approximately 50%, accompanied by a significant reduction in the internal force response within the tunnel segments. As proposed in this research, the longitudinal force model for flexible joints under longitudinal limit devices represents the behavior of immersed tunnels under seismic stress more accurately. These numerical simulation outcomes also offer valuable insights for designing flexible joints in immersed tunnels.

Keywords

Immersed tunnel / Flexible joint / Force analysis model / Seismic response

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Yadong Li: Writing - review & editing, Validation, Project administration, Funding acquisition, Conceptualization, Writing - original draft. Junjie Lai: Writing - original draft, Software, Methodology, Investigation, Formal analysis, Visualization. Yong Yang: Formal analysis, Resources, Visualization. Jinwen Zhou: Methodology, Software. Yi Shan: Validation, Conceptualization, Data curation, Funding acquisition, Writing - review & editing. Jie Cui: Funding acquisition, Supervision.

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 authors greatly acknowledge the financial support from the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant No. 2022YFC3003600), the Projects of International Cooperation and Exchanges of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (Grant No. 52020105002), NSFC (Grant No. 51991393), and the Basic and Applied Basic Research of Guangzhou School (College) Co-funded Project (Grant No. 202201020155). The test part was guided by Professor Wei Lixin and Senior Engineer Yang Chunshan of Guangzhou Municipal Engineering Design & Research Institute Co. Ltd. and the test materials were provided by Trelleborg Group.

Data availability

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

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