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Tunnelling &
Underground Design
Topic 5:
Hard & Weak Rock
Tunnelling
1
Tunnel Excavation in Rock
The tensile strength of rock is
Strength about 1/10th the compressive
strength and the energy beneath
the stress-strain curve is roughly
its square. Therefore, breaking
the rock in tension requires only
1/100th of the energy as that in
compression.
Block Size
The fracturing of rock during
excavation changes the natural
block size distribution to the
fragment size distribution. The goal
therefore is to consider how best
to move from one curve to the
other in the excavation process.
2
Drill & Blast
The technique of rock breakage using
explosives involves drilling blastholes by
percussion or rotary-percussive means, loading
the boreholes with explosives and then
detonating the explosive in each hole in
sequence according to the blast design.
3
Conventional Drill & Blast Cycle
Drill Load
Survey Blast
Bolt Ventilate
Scoop
Scale
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Uniaxial Compressive Strength (MPa)
5
Thuro & Plinninger (2003)
Drilling Rate (m/min)
0
0 100 200 300 400 500
Specific Energy (kJ/m3)
4
Drill & Blast – Drilling Rates
UNIT-NTH (1995)
9 of 59 Tunnelling Grad Class (2015) Dr. Erik Eberhardt
5
Blasting Rounds – Blast Pattern Design
The smooth-wall blast begins by creating a rough opening using a large bulk
blast. This is followed by a smooth-wall blast along a series of closely
spaced and lightly charged parallel holes, designed to create a fracture
plane connecting the holes through by means of coalescing fractures.
6
Blasting Rounds – Fragmentation
How efficiently muck from a working tunnel or surface excavation can be
removed is a function of the blast fragmentation. Broken rock by volume
is usually 50% greater than the in situ material. In mining, both the ore
and waste has to be moved to surface for milling or disposal. Some waste
material can be used underground to backfill mined voids. In tunnelling,
everything has to be removed and dumped in fills – or if the material is
right, may be removed and used for road ballast or concrete aggregate
(which can sometimes then be re-used in the tunnel itself).
7
Machine Excavation in Rock
8
Machine Excavation in Rock
Partial-face machines
are cheaper, smaller
and much more flexible
in operation.
cut
muck
out
scoop
scoop
muck
out
cut
9
Machine Excavation in Rock
Machine Excavation
The advance rate at which the excavation proceeds is a function of the
cutting rate and utilization factor (which is the amount of time that the
machine is cutting rock). Factors contributing to low utilization rates are
difficulties with ground support and steering, the need to frequently
replace cutters, blocked scoops, broken conveyors, etc.
Broken conveyor
10
TBM Operation
Factors that may control
TBM performance include:
• TBM Penetration Rate
(meters/machine hour)
• TBM Downtime (minutes)
• TBM Utilization (machine
hours/shift hours)
• Tool Wear (tool changes per
shift)
11
Mechanics of Rock Cutting
Cutting involves a complex mixture of tensile,
shear and compressive modes of failure. With
thrust, the cutting disc penetrates the rock and
generates extensive crack propagation to the
free surface. Further strain relief occurs as the
disc edge rolls out of its cut, inducing further
tensile cracking and slabbing at the rock surface.
NTNU-Anleggsdrift (1998)
23 of 59 Tunnelling Grad Class (2015) Dr. Erik Eberhardt
uneven
new wear
normal heavy
wear wear
12
Mechanical Excavation – Cutter Heads
Delays: When the tunnel boring machine is inside the tunnel, the cutters
must be changed from the inside the cutting head.
13
Mechanical Excavation – Cutter Heads
14
Mechanical Excavation – Cutter Heads
15
TBM Excavation & Design
“Double”
shield TBM
“Single”
shield TBM
16
TBM Excavation & Design
17
TBM Excavation & Design
TBM insertion through
vertical shaft.
TBM Operation
18
Tunnelling Breakthroughs
19
Sequential Excavation & Design - Benches
Benched excavations are used for large
diameter tunnels in weak rock. The benefits
are that the weak rock will be easier to
control for a small opening and reinforcement
can be progressively installed along the
heading before benching downward. Variations
may involve sequences in which the inverts, top
heading and bench are excavated in different
order.
20
Terzaghi’s Rock Load
Terzaghi (1946) formulated the first rational method of evaluating
rock loads appropriate to the design of steel sets.
21
Tunnelling in Weak Rock
Terzaghi’s ”Rock Load” implicitly relates the
benefits gained through the grounds natural
tendency to arch. The essence of tunnelling in many
respects is to disturb the natural arch as little as
possible while excavating the material.
Besides the strength of the rock mass, a second key factor controlling the
extent of loosening is the size of the excavation. Several difficulties
relating to the size of the face include:
22
Early Tunnel Experiences in Weak Rock
Through much trial and error, the lesson commonly learned was that with
a small tunnel face, the volume of ground moving and relaxing is also
smaller and can often be tolerated or kept within acceptable limits by
relatively simple timbering or other temporary support.
Belgium method
23
Early Tunnel Experiences in Weak Rock
German system
The “German System” introduced the principle of
leaving a central bench of ground to be excavated last
and to use it to support roof and wall timbering.
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Early Tunnel Experiences in Weak Rock
Austrian method
25
The Observational Method in Design
In the 1940’s, Karl Terzaghi introduced a systematic means to manage
geological uncertainty in geotechnical design:
26
Observation Method Example – Jubilee Extension
The Jubilee Line Extension to the London Underground, started in 1994
and called for twin tunnels 11 km long, crossing the river in four places,
with eleven new stations to be built, eight of which were to be
underground. One of the more problematic of these was a station placed
right opposite Big Ben.
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Observation Method Example – Jubilee Extension
To deal with excavation-induced settlements that may irreversibly
damage historic buildings in the area, the design called for the use of
compensation grouting during tunnelling. In this process, a network of
horizontal tubes between the tunnels and the ground surface is
introduced, from which a series of grout holes are drilled. From these,
liquid cement can be injected into the ground from multiple points to
control/prevent movement during excavation of the main tunnels.
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Observation Method Example – Jubilee Extension
Lecture References
Barla, G & Pelizza, S (2000). TBM Tunneling in difficult conditions. In GeoEng2000, Melbourne.
Technomic Publishing Company: Lancaster, pp. 329-354.
Beaver, P. (1972). “A History of Tunnels”. Peter Davies: London. 155 pp.
Burland JB, Standing JR & Jardine FM (2001). Building Response to Tunnelling - Case Studies
from Construction of the Jubilee Line Extension, London. Thomas Telford: London.
Deere, DU, Peck, RB, Parker, H, Monsees, JE & Schmidt, B (1970). Design of tunnel support
systems. Highway Research Record, 339: 26-33.
Harding, H (1981). “Tunnelling History and My Own Involvement”. Golder Associates: Toronto,
258pp.
Hoek, E & Guevara, R (1999). Overcoming squeezing in the Yacambu´-Quibor Tunnel, Venezuela.
Rock Mechanics Rock Engineering, 42: 389–418.
Hudson, JA & Harrison, JP (1997). “Engineering Rock Mechanics – An Introduction to the
Principles ”. Elsevier Science: Oxford, 444pp.
Maidl, B, Herrenknecht, M & Anheuser, L (1996). “Mechanised Shield Tunnelling”. Ernst & Sohn:
Berlin, 428pp.
NTNU (1995). “Tunnel: Blast Design”. Department of Building and Construction Engineering,
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Project Report 2A-95.
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Lecture References
NTNU-Anleggsdrift (1998). “Hard Rock Tunnel Boring: The Boring Process”. Norwegian University
of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Project Report 1F-98.
Sandström, G.E. (1963). “The History of Tunnelling”. Barrie and Rockliff: London. 427pp.
Terzagi, K (1946). Rock defects and loads on tunnel support. In Proctor & White (eds.), Rock
Tunneling with Steel Supports, pp. 15-99.
Terzaghi, K & Peck, RB (1948). “Soil mechanics in engineering practice”. Wiley: New York. 566pp.
Thuro, K & Plinninger, RJ (2003). Hard rock tunnel boring, cutting, drilling and blasting: rock
parameters for excavatability. In: Proc., 10th ISRM Congress, Johannesburg. SAIMM:
Johannesburg, pp. 1227-1234.
UNIT-NTH (1995). “Tunnel: Prognosis for Drill and Blast”. Department of Building and
Construction Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim,
Project Report 2B-95.
Whittaker, BN & Frith, RC (1990). “Tunnelling: Design, Stability and Construction”. Institution of
Mining and Metallurgy: London, 460pp.
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