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Stability Analysis of Deep Rectangular Tunnels Using Adaptive Finite Element Limit Analysis with Hoek–Brown Failure Criterion

  • Research Article-Civil Engineering
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Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the stability of deep rectangular tunnels excavated in a jointed rock mass using adaptive finite element limit analysis (AFELA) method. The rock mass is assumed to obey the generalized Hoek–Brown failure criterion. The numerical results from parametric studies are presented in the form of dimensionless tables and figures concerning stability numbers (Ns). Typical failure mechanisms are depicted and discussed based on visualized results from AFELA. The results demonstrate that Ns decreases with geological strength index (GSI), increases with disturbance factor (D), stays nearly unchanged with the intact rock yield parameter (mi) and is less sensitive to GSI as D decreases. Besides, an analytical upper bound limit analysis method is also applied to provide a check on the validity of the results from AFELA. The influence of the excavation-induced disturbance on the stability of deep rectangle tunnels is investigated by introducing a disturbance coefficient (ζ).

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Data Availability Statement

All data included in this study are available upon request by contact with the corresponding author.

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Funding

The research reported herein was sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Numbers 51478477, 51878668); the Guizhou Provincial Department of Transportation Foundation (Grant Number 2018123040); the Hunan Provincial Department of Transportation Foundation (Grant Number 201828); and the Key Program of Department of Transportation of Jiangxi Province (Grant Numbers 2019C0011, 2019C0010). All financial support is greatly appreciated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Civil Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, 410075, Hunan, People’s Republic of China

    Shan Huang, Shihong Hu, Lianheng Zhao & Zhonglin Zeng

  2. Key Laboratory of Heavy-Haul Railway Engineering Structure, Ministry of Education, Central South University, Changsha, 410075, People’s Republic of China

    Lianheng Zhao

  3. Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory for Disaster Prevention and Mitigation of Rail Transit Engineering Structure, Central South University, Changsha, 410075, Hunan, China

    Lianheng Zhao

Authors
  1. Shan Huang
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  2. Shihong Hu
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Writing-review & editing, data collection and analysis were performed by Shan Huang. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Shan Huang, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lianheng Zhao.

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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.

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Huang, S., Hu, S., Zhao, L. et al. Stability Analysis of Deep Rectangular Tunnels Using Adaptive Finite Element Limit Analysis with Hoek–Brown Failure Criterion. Arab J Sci Eng 46, 10931–10941 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-021-05632-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-021-05632-5

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