Abstract
Sandy cobble strata with large granular particles are typically traversed by shield tunnels, leading to high tool wear and excessive surface settlement. Soil conditioning in the laboratory removes large particles owing to test device limitations and may not reflect field tunneling involving large cobbles and boulders. This study proposes a hybrid experiment/theory method for soil conditioning in sandy cobble strata having large particles. Viscosity, stirring, and slump tests are conducted to obtain suitable parameter ranges of different soil conditioning agents for soil samples (< 30 mm). To consider large particles, the average liquid bridge force per unit length \(F/d\) and the liquid flow velocity u in the foam’s Plateau border are chosen to represent the static and motive characteristics of the samples. The calculation method for the liquid flow velocity in the Plateau border is determined, and a relationship between the particle clearance and the soil sample porosity ratio is proposed. Finally, the suitable parameter range for soil conditioning is revised by the theoretical part considering particles larger than 30 mm. The hybrid method was applied to two shield construction cases in Chengdu and Lanzhou, China. The results indicate that the bentonite injection ratio \({I}_{b}\) and the foam injection ratio \({I}_{f}\) should be increased by 42.7% and 60.6% on average for the two cases, respectively. The proposed soil conditioning hybrid approach provides a beneficial effect in the form of stable construction parameters while improving cutting tool life and can be used to guide soil conditioning in sandy cobble strata.
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The authors wish to thank the National Natural Science Foundation of China for their financial support (No. 51978523).
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Yao, Q., Ji, C., He, C. et al. A hybrid experiment/theory method for soil conditioning in sandy cobble strata with large cobbles and boulders. Bull Eng Geol Environ 80, 8189–8209 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-021-02418-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-021-02418-9