1.

TUNNEL FOR WATER CONDUITS

Underground water conduits are built or water supply and water power plants. For hydro electric power supply the water is conducted from an elevated water reservoir to low a lying powerhouse. Generally the conduits divided in a more less horizontally headrace tunnel an inclined or vertical shaft. Figure below show possible arrangement of conduits.

Figure 1 possible arrangement of conduits.

2.

TERZAGHIS ROCK LOAD THEORY

Terzaghi (1946) combined the results of his trap-door experiments and the estimated rock loads from Alpine tunnels to compute rock load factors Hp in terms of tunnel width B and tunnel height Ht of the loosened rock mass above the tunnel crown which loads the steel arches. Such rock load factors for all the nine rock classes are listed in Table below For obtaining the vertical support pressure from the rock load factor Hp, Terzaghi suggested the following equation:

Figure 2 Terzaghis (1946) rock-load concept in tunnels.

Table 1 Rock load in tunnels within various rock classes (Terzaghi, 1946).

Table 2 Terzaghis rock load concept as modified by Deere et al. (1970).

3.

PROPERTIES OF DISCONTINUITIES IN TUNNEL

Rock mass is a heterogeneous, anisotropic and discontinuous mass. When civil engineering structures like dams are founded on rock, they transmit normal and shear stresses on discontinuities in rock mass. Failure may be initiated by sliding along a joint plane, near or along the foundation or along the abutments of dam. For a realistic assessment of the stability of structure with wedge, estimation of the shear resistance of a rock mass along any desired plane of potential shear or along the weakest discontinuity becomes essential. The shear strength of discontinuities depends upon the alteration of joints or the discontinuities, the roughness, the thickness of infillings or the gouge material, the moisture content, etc. To quantify the effect of these on the strength of discontinuities, various researchers have proposed different parameters and correlations for obtaining strength parameters. Barton et al. (1974), probably for the first time, have considered joint roughness (Jr) and joint alteration (Ja) in their Q-system to take care of the strength of clay-coated discontinuities in the rock mass classification. Later, Barton and Choubey (1977) defined two parameters joint roughness coefficient (JRC) and joint wall compressive strength(JCS) and proposed an empirical correlation for friction of rock joints without fillings, which can be used for predicting the shear strength data accurately. 3.1 Joint Wall Roughness Coefficient (JRC)

The wall roughness of a joint or discontinuity is potentially a very important component of its shear strength, especially in the case of undisplaced and interlocked features (e.g., unfilled joints). The importance of wall roughness declines as the thickness of aperture filling or the degree of any previous shear displacement increases.

Barton and Choubey (1977) have proposed the following non-linear correlation for shear strength of natural joints which is found surprisingly accurate.

The effect of mismatching of joint surface on its shear strength has been proposed by Zhao (1997) in his JRCJCS shear strength model as,

3.2

Effect Of Intermediate Principal Stress On Tangential Stress At Failure In Tunnels

The intermediate principal stress (2) along the tunnel axis may be of the order of half the tangential stress (1) in some deep tunnels . According to Wang and Kemeny (1995), 2 has a strong effect on 1 at failure even if 3 is equal to zero. Their polyaxial laboratory tests on hollow cylinders led to the following strength criterion:

Figure 3 (a) Anisotropic rock material with one joint set (slate, schist, etc.), (b) mode of failure in rock mass with 2 joint sets, (c) phorizontal >> pvertical and (d) direction of 1, 2 and 3 in the tunnel.

For unsupported tunnel span used equation as follows:

For high confining pressure:

4.

STRUCTURALLY CONTROLLED INSTABILITY IN TUNNELS

In tunnels excavated in jointed rock masses at relatively shallow depth, the most common types of failure are those involving wedges falling from the roof or sliding out of the sidewalls of the openings. These wedges are formed by intersecting structural features, such as bedding planes and joints, which separate the rock mass into discrete but interlocked pieces. When a free face is created by the excavation of the opening, the restraint from the surrounding rock is removed. One or more of these wedges can fall or slide from the surface if the bounding planes are continuous or rock bridges along the discontinuities are broken. Unless steps are taken to support these loose wedges, the stability of the back and walls of the opening may deteriorate rapidly. Each wedge, which is allowed to fall or slide, will cause a reduction in the restraint and the interlocking of the rock mass and this, in turn, will allow other wedges to fall. This failure process will continue until natural arching in the rock mass prevents further unraveling or until the opening is full of fallen material.

The steps which are required to deal with this problem are: Determination of average dip and dip direction of significant discontinuity sets. Identification of potential wedges which can slide or fall from the back or walls. Calculation of the factor of safety of these wedges, depending upon the mode of failure. Calculation of the amount of reinforcement required to bring the factor of safety of individual wedges up to an acceptable level. Support to control wedge failure A characteristic feature of wedge failures in blocky rock is that very little movement occurs in the rock mass before failure of the wedge. In the case of a roof wedge that falls, failure can occur as soon as the base of the wedge is fully exposed by excavation of the opening. For sidewall wedges, sliding of a few millimeters along one plane or the line of intersection of two planes is generally sufficient to overcome the peak strength of these surfaces. This dictates that movement along the surfaces must be minimized. Consequently, the support system has to provide a stiff response to movement. This means that mechanically anchored rock bolts need to be tensioned while fully grouted rock bolts or other continuously coupled devices can be left untensioned.

Figure 4 Rockbolt support mechanisms for wedges in the roof and sidewalls of tunnels 5. UNSUPPORTED SPAN

Barton et al. (1974) proposed equation as follows

for estimating equivalent dimension (De) of a self-supporting or an unsupported tunnel. The De is the ratio between tunnel width and ESR. The excavation support ratio (ESR) is given in Table as follows:

Table 3 ESR Number

However, seepage erosion may be serious after a few decades in the initially self-supporting tunnels in water-soluble rocks near slopes.

Figure 5 Chart for the design of SFRS support (Grimstad & Barton, 1993). 6. 6.1 TEMPORARY SUPPORTS Conventional shotcrete

A temporary support designed to prevent loosening must attain a high carrying capacity as quickly as possible, and it must be strong and adhesive so that it seals off the surface closely and almost hermetically. The carrying capacity of a temporary support is determined by the material as well as by its structural design. Timber, especially when humid, is by far the worst; as it combines low physical properties with a great tendency for the structure to yield. Although steel has much better physical properties, the efficiency of steel-arch depends mainly on the quality of packing between the arches and the rock face, which is always unsatisfactory. On the contrary, concrete, particularly shotcrete, meets all the requirements for an ideal temporary support. Shotcrete high early strength is of the greatest importance in attaining a high support capacity rapidly, and this is particularly true of its early flexural (tensile) strength, which amounts to 30 and 50 percent of the compressive strength after one-half and two days. A recently introduced hardening accelerating admixture based on silicification gives still better results. The setting time for shotcrete is 3 min now. The most conspicuous feature of shotcrete as a support against loosening and stress rearrangement pressure lies in its interaction with the neighboring rock. A shotcrete layer applied immediately after opening up a new rock face acts as an adhesive surface by which a jointed rock of weak strength is transformed into a stable one. The shotcrete absorbs the tangential stresses which build up to a peak close to the surface of a cavity after it is opened

up. As a result of the close interaction between shotcrete and rock blocks, the neighboring portions of rock mass remain almost in their original undisturbed state and are thus enabled to participate effectively in the arch action

Figure 6 The main load carrying member is the rock mass. . The statically effective thickness of the zone of arch action is in this way increased to a multiple of that of the shotcrete. In this way, tensile stresses due to bending are diminished and compressive stresses are easily absorbed by the surrounding rock mass. The thickness zone of arch action can be increased at will by rock bolting. Disintegration always starts by the opening of a thin surface fissure; if this movement is prevented at the outset by applying a shotcrete layer, the rock mass behind the shotcrete remains stable. This explains why cavities in weak rock mass lined with a skit of only a few centimeters of shotcrete remain in perfect equilibrium. Shallow tunnels in rock of medium quality built by conventional methods need a fairly strong temporary support and concrete lining. Thus only a thin layer of shotcrete, possibly locally strengthened by rock bolts, may provide both temporary support and a satisfactory permanent lining.

Figure 7 Maintenance Of Original Rock Mass Strength.

Figure 8 Loosening Must Be Prevented As It Reduces Strength.

6.2

Rock bolts

Rock bolts and dowels have been used for many years for the support of underground excavations and a wide variety of bolt and dowel types have been developed to meet different needs which arise in mining and civil engineering. Rock bolts generally consist of plain steel rods with a mechanical anchor at one end and a face plate and nut at the other. They are always tensioned after installation. For short term applications the bolts are generally left ungrouped. For more permanent applications or in rock in which corrosive groundwater is present, the space between the bolt and the rock can be filled with cement or resin grout. Expansion shell rock bolt anchors come in a wide variety of styles but the basic principle of operation is the same in all of these anchors. As shown in Figure below the components of a typical expansion shell anchor are a tapered cone with an internal thread and a pair of wedges held in place by a bail. The cone is screwed onto the threaded end of the bolt and the entire assembly is inserted into the hole that has been drilled to receive the rock bolt. The length of the hole should be at least 100 mm longer than the bolt otherwise the bail will be dislodged by being forced against the end of the hole. Once the assembly is in place, a sharp pull on the end of the bolt will seat the anchor. Tightening the bolt will force the cone further into the wedge thereby increasing the anchor force.

Figure 9 Components Of a Mechanically Anchored Rock bolt With Provision For Grouting.

Table 4 Typical rockbolt and dowel applications to control different types of rock mass failure during tunnel driving.

6.3

Shotcrete support

The use of shotcrete for the support of underground excavations was pioneered by the civil engineering industry. Reviews of the development of shotcrete technology have been presented by Rose (1985), Morgan (1992) and Franzn (1992). Rabcewicz (1969) was largely responsible for the introduction of the use of shotcrete for tunnel support in the 1930s, and for the development of the New Austrian Tunneling Method for excavating in weak ground. While steel fiber reinforced shotcrete has been widely accepted in both civil and mining engineering, mesh reinforced shotcrete is still widely used and is preferred in some applications. In very poor quality, loose rock masses, where adhesion of the shotcrete to the rock surface is poor, the mesh provides a significant amount of reinforcement, even without shotcrete. Therefore, when stabilising slopes in very poor quality rock masses or when building bulkheads for underground fill, weld mesh is frequently used to stabilize the surface or to provide reinforcement. In such cases, plain shotcrete is applied later to provide additional support and to protect the mesh against corrosion. Recommended Shotcrete Applications In Underground Opening, For Different Rock Mass Conditions.