Tunneling

Definition
Tunnels are artificial underground
passages opened at both ends constructed

for different purposes.

Required for highways, railways,
sewerage, water supply, public utilities
and canals.
Necessitated when open excavation of
strata becomes uneconomical, not only
construction cost but for maintenance as
well.

History
The oldest tunnel was constructed 4000 years
ago in ancient Babylon to underpass the bed
of river Euphrates and to establish an

underground connection between the royal

palace and Temple of Jove.
The length of the tunnel was 1 km and it was
built with the considerable cross-section
dimensions of 3.6 m by 4.5 m.
In the second half of the 20th century, with
the progress in development of both
explosives and equipment, underground
construction became feasible.

Geological Considerations or ground

properties before constructing any tunnel
project:
The engineering properties of a rock
generally depend not only on the matrix

(structure formed by the minerals) but

also imperfections in the structure such
as voids (pore space ),cracks ,inclusions,
grain boundaries and weak particles.
Pore spaces are largely made up of
continuous irregular capillary cracks
separating the mineral grains.

 Physical discontinuities are present in all

rock masses as a result of geological

activities.
Introduction of defects into the rock mass
due to human activities that alter the
properties of the rock material.
The mechanical breaks in the rock have
zero or low tensile strengths, increase rock
deformability and provide pathways for
water to flow.

Springline : The
line at which the
tunnel wall breaks
from sloping
outward to
sloping inward
toward the crown

Terminology:
Crown: The uppermost
part of the tunnel

Transportation tunnel cross-sections

Top heading

Core (strozze)

Springline

Wall

Crown

Bottom

Invert

Circular
Invert : The bottom
(floor) of the tunnel

Horseshoe

Vertical walls arch roof

Heading : The excavated face of the tunnel

Station : The distance measured from the portal (chainage)

Wall : The side of the tunnel

Bench

Portal : The tunnel entrance

Drift : A
horizontal
excavation

The choice of tunnelling method

may be dictated by:
geological and hydrological
conditions
Weak rock under high stresses

leads to squeezing ground

conditions.
Brittle strong rock high stress
conditions may lead to rockbursting.

cross-section and length of

continuous tunnel
local experience and time/cost
considerations (what is the value

of time in the project)

limits of surface disturbance, and
many others factors

Choice of method
depends upon
nature of strata
and geometry of
tunnel section

Classification of Tunnelling
Methods based on type of strata:
Methods divided into three categories
Firm ground- reasonable time available for

installing conventional support.

Soft ground- Conventional support can not be
installed.
Running ground- Special treatment required
before starting excavation

Tunnelling Methods
Rough classification of methods
Excavation: An excavation process without

removing the overlying rock or soil

Steps: excavating-remove muck-supportinglining-ventilation-draining

Drill & Blast, hammer, roadheader, ....

Cut and cover: trenching to excavate and construct a

tunnel, and then backfilling earth over it.

Immersed tunnel: lowering prefabricated tunnel
elements into a dredged channel and joining them
up under water
Concrete
Steel

 Bottom-up method: The main site is excavated,

with ground support as necessary, and the tunnel

is constructed within. The tunnel may be of in situ

concrete, precast concrete, precast arches, or
corrugated steel arches. The trench is then
carefully back-filled above the tunnel roof and the
surface is restored.

Coffer Dam and

hydroelectric Tunnel

 Top-down method: Here side support walls and

cap beams are constructed from ground level

typically with slurry walls, or secant piling. Then a
shallow excavation allows making the tunnel roof
of precast beams or in situ concrete. The surface is
then restored except for access openings. This
allows early reinstatement of roadways, services
and other surface features. Excavation then takes
place under the permanent tunnel roof, and the
base slab is constructed.

 Tunnelling in Firm ground

Traditional methods. Involving drilling and blasting

Full Face Method. In firm soils where full

face excavation can hold it self for
sufficient time to allow mucking and
supporting operations.
In the full-face method, workers excavate
the entire diameter of the tunnel at the
same time.
This is most suitable for tunnels passing
through strong ground or for building
smaller tunnels.

Top Heading and benching. When full face

excavation is not possible. Heading should be
sufficient distance ahead of benching.

In this technique, workers dig a smaller tunnel known

as a heading. Once the top heading has advanced
some distance into the rock, workers begin excavating
immediately below the floor of the top heading; this is
a bench.

One advantage of the top-heading-and-bench

method is that engineers can use the heading tunnel
to gauge the stability of the rock before moving
forward with the project.

 Excavation by tunnelling Methods

Drift Method. In case of large or pilot tunnel , Drift is made
and then expanded. There can be more than one drifts.
Different drift methods depending on location of drift can
be used.

Tunnelling in Soft Strata

Tunnels constructed in soft materials

require temporary support immediately or

shortly after excavation. Way to provide
support are:
Suitably spaced bents of wood
Suitably spaced bents of steel for lagging
(covering)
Liner plates
Fore poling placed to retain material
between adjacent bents
Temporary supports must be designed for
higher working stress compared to those in
permanent designs.

 Tunnelling in Soft Ground

Instantaneous support is required
No drilling and blasting.
Forepoling is done.

Boards are driven ahead of the last rib, around

periphery
Forepoles act as cantilevers beyond breasting
Soil is excavated after removing the breast board and
new rib is erected

 Because stand-up time is generally short when

tunneling through soft ground, cave-ins are a constant

threat. To prevent this from happening, engineers use
a special piece of equipment called a shield.
A shield is an iron or steel cylinder literally pushed
into the soft soil. It carves a perfectly round hole and
supports the surrounding earth while workers remove
debris and install a permanent lining made of cast iron
or precast concrete.
When the workers complete a section, jacks push the
shield forward and they repeat the process.

 Tunnelling in Running Ground

Many methods
Principle is, Linear plates are pushed in starting
from crown
Cavity is excavated
Additional linear plates are pushed one by one and
bolted
Arch section gradually widened down to springing
line.

Tunnelling in Rocks
Tunnels are driven in rocks by drilling holes in the

rock face, loading the holes with explosives, blasting

and removing the broken rock
Each sequence full cross section of the tunnel may be
excavated, or one or more drifts may be there.
Drilling pattern for holes of explosives may differ
depending upon rock type, cross section, experience
expertise and type of explosive suggested.
Methods are similar in principle like

Full Face Method

Top Heading and benching
Drift Method

 Tunneling through hard rock almost always involves

blasting. Workers use a scaffold, called a jumbo, to place

explosives quickly and safely.
The jumbo moves to the face of the tunnel, and drills
mounted to the jumbo make several holes in the rock. The
depth of the holes can vary depending on the type of rock,
but a typical hole is about 10 feet deep and only a few
inches in diameter.
Next, workers pack explosives into the holes, evacuate the
tunnel and detonate the charges. After vacuuming out the
noxious fumes created during the explosion, workers can
enter and begin carrying out the debris, known as muck,
using carts.
Then they repeat the process, which advances the tunnel
slowly through the rock.

 Fire-setting is an alternative to blasting. In this technique,

the tunnel wall is heated with fire, and then cooled with
water. The rapid expansion and contraction caused by the
sudden temperature change causes large chunks of rock to
break off. The Cloaca Maxima, one of Rome's oldest sewer
tunnels, was built using this technique.
The stand-up time for solid, very hard rock may measure in

centuries. In this environment, extra support for the tunnel

roof and walls may not be required. However, most tunnels
pass through rock that contains breaks or pockets of
fractured rock, so engineers must add additional support in
the form of bolts, sprayed concrete or rings of steel beams.
In most cases, they add a permanent concrete lining

 Sequence of operation in Rocky

Strata (Drill and Blast)
Marking tunnel profile.
Setting up and drilling
Loading explosive and blasting

Removing the foul gases

Checking
Scaling

Mucking
Rock bolting and lining

Modern Tunnel Construction Methods:

Drill and blast
Mechanical drilling/cutting
Cut-and-cover
Immersed tunnels
Tunnel boring machines (TBMs)
New Austrian Tunnelling Method
(NATM)

Road headers

Types of support
Steel arches
Steel ribs are used for reinforcement of weaker tunnel

sections, and give rigid to semi-rigid support. The ribs are

made from I-beam or H-beam structural steel bent to
conform to the requirements of a particular tunnel crosssection.
Timber may be used for packing between the beams and
the rock. However, providing continuous bedding against
the rock may considerably increase the load-bearing
capacity of the arches.

Rock bolts
Steel bolts are frequently set in holes drilled into the rock

to assist in supporting the entire roof or individual rock

slabs that tend to fall into a tunnel. Rock bolts maintain
the stability of an opening by suspending the dead
weight of a slab from the rock above

Shotcrete

Pneumatically applied mortar and concrete are

increasingly being used for the support of underground

excavations.
A combination of rock bolts and shotcrete has proved an
excellent temporary support for all qualities of rock.
Shotcrete is best known in tunnelling as an integral
component of the NATM (New Austrian Tunnelling
Method).
Quick-setting concrete is sprayed onto the bare rock
surface immediately after excavation, and rapidly hardens
to form a preliminary support until the final lining of
conventional poured concrete can be installed.

Wire mesh
Wire mesh is used to support small pieces of loose rock

or as reinforcement for shotcrete.

Two types of wire mesh
chain link mesh commonly used for fencing and it
consists of a woven fabric of wire, tends to be flexible
and strong
weld mesh. commonly used for reinforcing shotcrete
and it consists of a square grid of steel wires, welded
at their intersection points.

Ventilation during construction

Why required?
To furnish fresh air for the workers
To remove the dust caused by drilling, blasting,

mucking, diesel engines, and other operations

To remove obnoxious gases and fumes of explosives
How done?
Mechanical ventilation is usually supplied by electric
fans, as for example axial flow pressure fans.

If air is blown into a tunnel, it may be forced through a

lightweight pipe or fabric duct.
If air is exhausted, it is necessary to use a rigid duct that
will not collapse.

The exhaust method has the advantage of more

quickly removing objectionable air from spaces

occupied by the workers.

Ventilation of tunnels

Mechanical ventilation systems provide the temperature,

humidity and air velocity conditions necessary to give

tunnel users a reasonable degree of comfort during normal
operation.
When a fire occurs in a tunnel, the system must also
provide a safe evacuation route for tunnel users and access
for fire fighting services.
The choice and design of a ventilation system depends on
these main factors:
tunnel length and volume
admissible air pollution around tunnel portals
fire safety considerations.
Key pollutants include carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides,
nitrogen dioxide, hydrocarbons PM10 and lead.
Better understanding of ventilation techniques
Awareness of new safety and environmental legislation.

Geological Survey For Tunneling

A geological survey is the systematic investigation
of the subsurface and surface of a given piece of
ground for the purpose of creating a geological map
,model and feasibility studies.
A geological survey employs techniques from the
traditional walk-over survey, studying outcrops and
landforms, to intrusive methods, such as hand
auguring and machine driven boreholes, use of
geophysical techniques and remote sensing
methods, such as aerial photography and satellite
imagery etc.

Types Of Geological Survey

Mainly geological surveys are classified into two
types:
Surface Geological Survey
Subsurface Geological Survey
Surface Geological Survey: includes on land

geology and geological

structures,landforms,hydrology,outcrop pattern
,engineering properties etc
Subsurface Geological Survey: : includes on
underground geology and geological
structures,Geo-hydrogeology,subsurface rock or
soil pattern etc

Surface Geological Survey

Geological profile is prepared along line of tunnel.
Geological observations are done along this
profile like engineering properties of rock/soil,
geological structures like
fold,faults,joints,spring,stream,river alignment and
any seepage etc
Trial boring plan is prepared along the tunnel line.

Subsurface Geological Survey

Trial boring is done along the tunnel line.
Different rock and soil samples are collected
from subsurface and their physical and
chemical properties are observed.
Some samples are sent to laboratory for
determination of engineering properties like
shearing,strenght,permeability,porosity,compre
ssive strenght,and other test are performed.
GWT(Ground Water Table) is noted and water
bearing strata is marked in geological profile.

 Different geophysical surveys like refraction,

resistivity, GPR(Ground Penetrating Radar) and

bor hole logging etc are also done.
In situ testing like Packer-testing, hydro fracturing,
load-testing etc are performed.
A geological/feasibility report comprising all
information ,photographs, profile and others
necessary data are presented for final tunnel design
and construction.

Subsurface
Profiling/3 D
modelling