Study on the Face Stability of a Metro Tunnel in a Silty Clay Layer Constructed Using the Full-Face Method

Abstract

The horizontal displacement of the soil at the face of the subway tunnel is symmetrically distributed along the central axis of the tunnel, which is larger in the middle and smaller at both sides. The displacement is related to the size of the excavation face. If the excavation area is too great, the horizontal displacement of the tunnel face will be too large, easily leading to tunnel face collapse. For this reason, tunnel builders often use the core-keeping ring-cut method to build subway tunnels. A large section is divided into several small sections to reduce the soil displacement caused by soil excavation. With the continuous promotion and application of mechanized construction in the field of tunnels, mechanized full-section construction will gradually be performed in urban subway tunnels. Once the change in construction method from the core-keeping ring-cut method to the full-face method is made, the issue of how to maintain the stability of the tunnel working face (especially the soft soil stratum) becomes the focus of attention. Taking silty clay as the research object, this paper studies the displacement law of core soil with regard to the tunnel face under the condition of full-face excavation by using theoretical analysis, numerical simulations, and outdoor tests. According to the research results, the extrusion displacement of the tunnel face is the main cause of tunnel displacement. We optimize the construction parameters of glass fiber anchors to strengthen the tunnel face and provide theoretical guidance for the safe construction of subway tunnels.

Keywords

• metro tunnel
• full-face excavation
• displacement of core soil
• supporting mechanism