Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
AITES
ITA
INTERNATIONAL
TUNNELLING
ASSOCIATION
Towards an
improved use
of underground
Space
Topic
SHOTCRETE USE
Title
Lining of tunnels under groundwater pressure
Author
T. Franzn, T.B. Celestino
published
in "ITA - AITES Downunder 2002",
Vol. 1, pp. 481 - 487, Year 2002
by EA Books, Crows Nest, Australia, www.bookshop.engaust.com.au
Working Group: WG 12 - "Shotcrete Use"
Open Session, Seminar, Workshop: Others:
Paper
Abstract: Since the 1980s there has been a promising development worldwide towards more efficient lining techniques ,
where heavy cast concrete linings have been substituted by single shell, mesh or fibre reinforced shotcrete
linings. However, under certain circumstances cast concrete linings including sealing membranes are still
needed, for example under high water pressure, strict demands on sealing or a long service life. Some design
aspects that are not very well resolved for such cases are related to durability, water infiltration, design
calculations with respect to membranes, stress relaxation in concrete etc. A short survey of typical solutions is
given for waterproofing for functional reasons and for water sealing to prevent water inflow, usually in order to
maintain an existing groundwater level. Design considerations are briefly illustrated by references to the
Channel tunnel crossover, the Hallandss railroad tunnel in Sweden and tunnels for the So Paulo ring road and
others in soft rock.
Rsum:
Remarks: -
ABSTRACT: Since the 1980s there has been a promising development worldwide towards more efficient
lining techniques , where heavy cast concrete linings have been substituted by single shell, mesh or fibre
reinforced shotcrete linings. However, under certain circumstances cast concrete linings including sealing
membranes are still needed, for example under high water pressure, strict demands on sealing or a long
service life. Some design aspects that are not very well resolved for such cases are related to durability, water
infiltration, design calculations with respect to membranes, stress relaxation in concrete etc. A short survey of
typical solutions is given for waterproofing for functional reasons and for water sealing to prevent water
inflow, usually in order to maintain an existing groundwater level. Design considerations are briefly
illustrated by references to the Channel tunnel crossover, the Hallandss railroad tunnel in Sweden and
tunnels for the So Paulo ring road and others in soft rock.
1 INTRODUCTION
Water sealing of tunnels is done for two main
reasons, either functional or for preventing a
lowering of the ground water level above the tunnel.
In cases where leakage cannot be tolerated from the
roof or the walls for functional reasons, a drained
tunnel can be accepted as long as dripping or
disturbing moisture can be avoided, i e an umbrella
solution. What must be evaluated then, is the cost
for drainage, which must be acceptable during
construction as well as the permanent stage, where
pumping costs as well as maintenance of the
drainage system must be thoroughly considered.
If maintaining the ground water level is the critical
issue, during or after the construction stage, a strict
limit on tolerable water ingress to the tunnel is often
set in the specifications. An alternative would be to
specify an acceptable lowering of the ground water
table, but very few contracts are made that way. For
shallow tunnels, cement grouting of the rock mass,
in combination with a high standard sprayed
concrete lining, may be sufficient to meet such
requirements. In urban areas in Sweden infiltration
rates are often set in the order of 2-5 l/min per 100 m
of tunnel. For deeper tunnels with a ground water
pressure of more than a few bars, or a water head of
10-30 m, a full sealing structure is often necessary.
This implies that the sealing and supporting structure
must be designed to stand full water pressure.
(a)
(b)
(c)
3 TYPICAL CASES
A simplified structure of cases, which call for
different solutions is illustrated in Figure 1. The
referred cases above could be classified as types (b)
and (c) respectively. Below, cases falling under (c) (d) are discussed.
4 TWO CASES WHICH NEED WATERPROOFING AND SEALING
Two current examples are of interest for
comparison. The Channel tunnel, 50-100 m below
the sea, including a crossover chamber of substantial
dimensions, and the 2x8 km long parallel rail
tunnels, through the Hallandss ridge, with a ground
water head of up to 150 m above the tunnel.
4.1 UK Crossover
The crossover section on the UK side of the Channel
tunnel is a shotcrete supported, membrane and
concrete lined tunnel chamber. It is 165 m long, 22
m wide and 15 m high, with 35 m of rock cover and
above that 35 m of seawater, an unlimited source
of potential leakage. Most of the tunnel, including
the crossover, is situated in chalk marl, a rock mass
which is favourable for machine excavation as well
(d)
6 DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
It is important to note that different design
philosophies have been adopted in different parts of
the world, and some times by different agencies in
the same country, leading to different concepts of
safety and prices. Pttler & Klapperich (2001), for
instance, present data about lining thickness, type of
Graund
Mass
t= 0
2nd Layer(0.15m)
(a)
h = 0.45
200
(b)
h = 0.40
Md (kN.m/m)
C3
100
E : Portal
C : Central
1 : end of
construction
2 : long term
3 : 2+ water pressure
E3
h = 0.25
C2
C1
E2
Nd (kN/m)
E1
500
1000
1500
(c)
Figure 5. Definition of shotcrete lining thickness for a double
track tunnel. From Domingues & Palermo 1985.
7 CONCLUSIONS
Reading the papers referred to above, as well as
personal communications with people involved in
this kind of design issues, one can find several
matters which are not fully understood. Therefore,
solutions on the safe side have to be chosen. We
would very much like to see more international
exchange of ideas which govern specifications for
waterproofing, as well as design concepts, which
could lead to cheaper tunnel construction under
complex hydrogeological conditions and in
environmentally sensitive areas.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The assistance from Sweco, C-O Sder and Mats
Burtu, and the permission from the Swedish
National Rail Administration to use design
documents for the Hallandss tunnels are gratefully
acknowledged.
REFERENCES
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