Transient response of a concrete tunnel in an elastic rock with imperfect contact

Abstract

The two-dimensional transient response of an imperfect bonded circular lined pipeline lying in an elastic infinite medium is investigated. Imperfect boundary conditions between the surrounding elastic rock and the tunnel are modelled with a two-linear-spring design. The novelty of the manuscript consists in studying at the same time transient regimes and imperfect bonded interfaces for simulating the dynamic response of a tunnel embedded in an elastic infinite rock. Wave propagation fields in tunnel and rock are expressed in terms of infinite Bessel and Hankel series. To solve the transient problem, the Laplace transform and the associated Durbin’s algorithm are performed. To exhibit the dynamic responses, influences of various parameters such as the quality of the interface conditions and the thickness of the lining are presented. The dynamic hoop stresses and the solid displacements of both the tunnel and the rock are also proposed.

Keywords

• Dynamic response
• Imperfect interface
• Circular tunnel
• Semi-analytical approach
• Transient wave propagation