Tunnel Failure

Anju Gopan et al Int.
Journal of Engineering Research and Applications

ISSN : 2248-9622, Vol. 4, Issue 3( Version 1), March 2014, pp.862-865
RESEARCH ARTICLE
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A case study on failure of a tunnel intake

Anniamma Chacko**, Akhila Padanattil*, Anju Gopan*,
Chandana Venugopal*, Fasnamol T M*
** (Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Mar Athanasius College of Engineering, Kothamangalam)
* (Civil Engineering VIII Semester Students, Mar Athanasius College of Engineering, Kothamangalam)
ABSTRACT
This paper deals with the study of causes of failure of a tunnel during excavation and the design of pre-support
system for proceeding the tunneling. The tunnel, 3396m long, driven by full face method, encountered a failure
at the intake during the course of tunneling. Soil tests were carried out to identify the type of soil. The most
probable reason for the failure was identified .A pre-support system known as pipe roofing or umbrella arch
method was suggested to recover from failure and for proceeding the tunneling. It was modelled using Creo
Parametric 1.0 and analysed using ANSYS 12.0 software. This paper concludes that pipe roofing is a practically
feasible pre-supporting technique recommended at the site for carrying out further excavation by means of
conventional method of tunneling.
Keywords Tunnel failure, pre-support system, pipe roofing, Creo Parametric, ANSYS
I.
Introduction
Many cases of tunnel failures have been

reported recently. An engineer who designs or
constructs underground works probably encounters
more uncertainties than those dealing with structures
above the earth surface. It behoves the creator of
underground structures to observe past failures, to
understand their causes and to device precautions
against their recurrence.
A case of tunnel failure occurred in Pallivasal, near
Munnar, Kerala. The history of hydro power
development in Kerala begins with commissioning
of Pallivasal hydroelectric project in 1940.The
Construction of a tunnel as a part of Pallivasal
extension scheme (PES) encountered a failure 550m
ahead of exact intake pool location.
This study deals with engineering analysis of its
cause and establishment of pre-supporting technique
for the collapsed section.
II.
Literature Review
Jerome.C.Neyer[1] reported many cases on

soft ground tunnel failures in Michigan. Failures
were due to ground settlement over tunnel, change
in geological formation, improper preliminary
investigation and ground water overflow.
Schubert W [2] inferred that freezing of the ground
is a pre-support method.
According to R.R Osgoui, A.Poli[3], Hannes
Gamsjager, Marcus Scholz[4], the roof pipe
umbrella is a tunnel pre-support technique
recommended
in case of difficult ground
conditions..
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M.Pescara[5],Volkmann [6], pipe diameters 200mm

or lower is recommended in most of the ground
conditions.
Harazake[7] presented the result that pipe roofing or
umbrella arch method is an effective method for the
stability of tunnel face and for the improvement of
ground in front of tunnel face by measuring the
surface settlement and stress on steel pipe.
Design criteria for tunnel construction were selected
as per Tunnel design guidelines.
III.
Methodology
Method of tunneling employed at the site
was Full face method which is suitable only for
tunneling through self supporting rock strata. During
the course of tunneling, failure was encountered at
about 550m ahead of the exact intake pool location.
Any type of construction whether underground or
not depends primarily on soil properties. Soil tests
were conducted to identify the soil properties. The
results obtained are given in TABLE 1.
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Anju Gopan et al Int. Journal of Engineering Research and Applications

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TABLE 1. SOIL PROPERTIES
PREPROCESSOR
Particle size distribution

Gravel, %
12.2
Sand, %
83.7
Coarse Sand, %
16
Fine sand, %
30
silt, %
4.1
Type of soil
Well graded sand
Specific gravity
2.56
Permeability (cm/s)
8.99x10-4
Angle of internal friction ()
30
POSTPROCESSOR
Due to the presence of unexpected sandy strata in

the course of tunneling, heavy soil inflow resulted
which lead to the failure of tunnel at that region.
Further tunneling requires a suitable pre- supporting
system to avoid the soil inflow during underneath
excavation. Pipe roofing is one such pre supporting
system which was found to be most effective with
regard to the weak ground conditions of the site. In
this system, steel pipes of specific diameters
(ranging from 89mm to 200mm) and length 6m to
9m are installed at the crown of the tunnel. Grouting
is done in the annular gaps of the pipes and between
the ground and pipes.
Considering the structural action, it is a pre-support
system with longitudinal beam action in the
direction of tunnel excavation. Installed steel pipes
are interconnected to form a roof-like structure,
called a pipe roof, above the tunnel excavation. In
soil ground condition, pre reinforcement of the core
which has to be excavated, using longitudinal steel
pipes grouted into the ground, allows the excavation
of tunnels in very difficult ground conditions.
Inorder to suggest a suitable diameter and length for
the pipes to be used in the system, pipes of different
diameters (101.6, 152.4,165.1,193.7,219.1) mm and
length 6m were analysed for the same loading
condition using ANSYS 12.0. As an initial step,
modeling was done using Creo Parametric 1.0. The
modeled figure was imported to the ANSYS 12.0
software, then the analysis was carried out and the
diameter showing minimum deflection on loading
was finalized for using in the system. In ANSYS,
the general process of finite element analysis is
divided into three main phases, preprocessor,
solution, and postprocessor.
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SOLUTION
1. Preprocessing: Defining the problem; the major

input data given in preprocessing stage are given
below:
Type of analysis (structural)
Element type
Real constants
Material properties
Geometric model
Meshed model
Loadings and boundary conditions
The amount of detail required will depend on the
dimensionality of the analysis. (i.e. 1D, 2D, 3D, axisymmetric).
2. Solution: Assigning loads, constraints and
solving. Here we specify the loads (points or
pressure), constraints (translational and rotational)
and finally solve the resulting set of equations.
Solution phase is completely automatic. The output
from the solution phase (result data files) is in the
numerical form and consists of nodal values of the
field variable and its derivatives.
3. Post processing: Further processing and viewing
of the results; in this stage one may view:
Deflection plots.
Stress contour diagrams
IV.
Results and Discussions
Results obtained in the form of deflection
and stress intensities, on analysing pipes of different
diameters using ANSYS for the same loading
conditions are given in TABLE 2.From the results
obtained, it was observed that pipes of diameter
165.1 mm and length 6 m gave minimum deflection
and uniform stress distribution (stresses within the
permissible limit)without any concentration of stress
at a particular point of the pipe, which means that
pipe section is most effective in resisting the earth
load due to overburden. Figures showing the
deformation and the stress distribution in the case of
863 | P a g e

pipe diameter corresponding to the best section
Sl.No
Pipe
diameter
(mm)
101.6
152.4
165.1
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(165.1 mm dia) are given below (Fig.1to3).
TABLE 2. RESULTS FROM ANALYSIS

Stress
Length
Deflection intensity
of pipe
Remarks
(mm)
(N/mm2)
(mm)
0.001913
15.094
0.001711
5.059
0.001662
6.425
6000
7.349
193.7
0.002556
219.1
0.003694
13.647
Fig. 1 Pipe roof model in ANSYS
When pipe dia = 165.1mm

Min. deformation and
uniform stress distribution
on the system.
ECONOMICAL SECTION
:
PIPE DIA = 165.1 mm
LENGTH = 6m
Fig.2 Deformed shape
Fig.3 Stress distribution
V.
Conclusions
From the soil tests conducted on the sample

of soil collected from the location of failure, the soil
at the site was found to be well graded sand. As the
tunneling method employed at the site was full face
method which is suitable only for self supporting
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hard rock, tunnel driving failed when they

encountered sandy strata near the intake region. A
suitable pre-supporting system has to be
implemented at the site for carrying out further
tunnling process. From the detailed study conducted
on various types of pre supporting systems used in
tunnels such as ground freezing, pipe roofing etc.,
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the most feasible method that can be employed

conveniently in the field was found to be pipe
roofing method. The design of pipe roof support
system consists of selecting the diameter and length
of pipes to be used. From the results obtained from
analysis, a section which showed minimum
deformation was selected as the best section.
Pipe roofing is a practically possible method which
is recommended at the site because of its simplicity
in design and implementation.
VI.
Acknowledgement
We thank the authorities of coastal projects limited

for their help in this work
References
[1]. Jerone.C.Neyer,(2013),Soft ground tunnel
failure in Michigan,First International
Conference
on
case
Histories
on
Geotechnical Engineering.
[2]. Sthubert.W,A contribution(2006) to the
design of tunnel supported by a pipe roof in
Golden Rocks,Collarado
[3]. R.R.Usgoui, A.Poli, Challenging features in
design and execution of a low overburden
underpass-A case history from Malasia and
north south highway.
[4]. HannesGasjager,MarcusScholz, Pipe roofing
features and applications.
[5]. M.Pescara,Challenging features in design and
execution of a low overburden underpass-A
case history from Malasia and north south
highway.
[6]. Volkmann,contribution (2006) to the design
of tunnel supported by a pipe roof in Golden
Rocks,Collarado.
[7]. Harazaki et.al, Field observation of large
tunnel supported by umbrella method, Case
of Miko tunnel in Kobe,Japan. Pro. World
tunnel cong.98, on Tunnel and Metropolises,
Vol.2 Page 1009-1014.
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Anju Gopan et al Int.

Journal of Engineering Research and Applications

A case study on failure of a tunnel intake

Many cases of tunnel failures have been

Jerome.C.Neyer[1] reported many cases on

M.Pescara[5],Volkmann [6], pipe diameters 200mm

Anju Gopan et al Int. Journal of Engineering Research and Applications

TABLE 1. SOIL PROPERTIES

Particle size distribution

Well graded sand

Angle of internal friction ()

Due to the presence of unexpected sandy strata in

1. Preprocessing: Defining the problem; the major

Anju Gopan et al Int. Journal of Engineering Research and Applications

(165.1 mm dia) are given below (Fig.1to3).

TABLE 2. RESULTS FROM ANALYSIS

Fig. 1 Pipe roof model in ANSYS

When pipe dia = 165.1mm

Fig.2 Deformed shape

Fig.3 Stress distribution

From the soil tests conducted on the sample

hard rock, tunnel driving failed when they

Anju Gopan et al Int. Journal of Engineering Research and Applications

the most feasible method that can be employed

We thank the authorities of coastal projects limited

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