BASICS OF UNDERGROUND

CONSTRUCTION
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IIT-Madras Sep 2015

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Underground Space & Construction

Underground Excavations
Deep open
excavations

Totally Underground
(Tunnels, Caverns)
Access thro vertical or inclined shafts

Geotechnical & Geological conditions pose many

challenges for construction.

Metros Underground

Metro-Underground

Underground Spaces
Purposes:
For Buildings - Basements
For Metros- running stretches, stations
For Hydro-electric power projects, Underground
Power Houses
For Services- pipelines, water-conductors, sewage
pipelines,
For Storage petroleum strategic storage,
defense-related,.

Underground Spaces - Parameters

Type:

Trenches: exposed to outside

Tunnels/ caverns: completely underground
(shallow, deep)
Shafts: access (vertical shaft, inclined ramp)

Terminology
Ground Level

Shaft

Different Types of Underground Works

Excavation / Trench for transition from Ground
level to underground tunnel
Tunnel Completely below ground- shallow
depths or deeper, below ground/ river/ sea,
below other tunnels
Cavern Larger tunnel usually with greater
heights & shorter lengths; generally rectangular
plan shape with vaulted ceiling; for stations/
maintenance facilities/ power houses
Shaft- For access to underground tunnels/
caverns or for ventilation/ lighting rarely/
emergency escape; generally circular in cross
section; vertical or inclined

Geological/ geotechnical
Investigations

Geological Log of Tunnel Alignment

TRENCHES

Trench Excavation

Ground Support Methodologies

Cut & Cover Stabilising the sides

Soil Nails
Wire mesh
Steel beams/ Lattice girders & Lagging
Guniting/ shotcreting
Rock bolting
Rock anchors/ Soil anchors
Grouting
Sides Covering- shoring (& strutting), sheetpiling,
diaphragm walling, secant piling,.

Cut & Cover- Open Cut Method

Nailing works carried for Soil Stabilization

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Struts
Ground Level
Struts

Earth pressure
D.Wall

Rock/ Soil
Anchor

Excavation
Grouted
Anchorage

Cut-and-Cover Excvation- Strutted

Construction inside excavation

Shaft in progress

Underground Metro Project

Various soil / rock

supporting
arrangements

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Muck removal from Shaft

Cut & Cover excavation - Instrumentation

Well Point Dewatering System

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Visual Modflow -3D Numerical Ground water

Modeling

To estimate the number

of deep wells required
To determine the
drawdown.

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GCT- Technical
Symposium GEOFEST
05 - Inaugural

Reinforced Earth Walls

Simple stem walls
Counterfort walls
Reinforced Earth walls

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Sheetpiling

Sheet piles

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Contiguous/ Secant/ Tangent Piles

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Diaphragm Walls

Diaphragm Walls

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Diaphragm Walling

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Trench Cutter for Diaphragm Wall

Other Methods- Freezing, Grouting

Tunnels

Tunnels
Three basic types of tunnel construction in
common use:
Cut and cover tunnels, constructed in a
shallow trench and then covered over.
Bored tunnels, constructed in situ, without
removing the ground above. They are usually
of circular or horseshoe cross-section.
Immersed tube tunnels, sunk into a body of
water and sit on, or are buried just under, its
bed.

Tunnels - Methodologies
Drilling & Blasting
Mechanical Methods Cutters, Road
Headers,..
Pipe jacking/ pushing
Tunnel Boring Machines

Tunnel
Completely underground structure
In soil or in rock (hard or soft)
May require to be lined for preventing side
collapse or water ingress, aesthetics, easy
maintenance, etc
Shapes: usually circular for better design,
rectangular also; single tube with side-by-side
tracks or one-over-the-other tracks, or
multiple tubes; horse-shoe for better
strucurals

Tunnels - Advantages

The boring work would not affect the

underground utilities like sewerage, electric
cables, telephone cables and water lines since
construction of tunnels will run well below
surface level, much below the cables and
pipes.
Also, surface structures will not be affected

Tunnel Shapes

D-Shape

Modified Horse-shoe

Horse shoe

Circular

Egg shape

Typ. Highway Tunnel

Half Tunnel

Tunnel with Metro tracks one over another

Drilling Common Equipment

Jack Hammers; Pusher legs

Drill Jumbos mounted on trucks
Boomers
Single Boom Assembly;
Twin Boom Assembly;
Multi - Boom Assembly.

Wagon Drills.

BOOMERS

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Scaling

Tunnel supporting Steel Ribs

Shotcrete - Robot application

Basic Principle of Rock Bolting

Regular testing necessary- Proof Testing

& Routine Testing

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BOLTEC MACHINE FOR PLACING ANCHOR BOLTS

Finishing - Tunnel Lining

Ventilation for Tunnels

In-place Tunnels

Box pushing

TBM (Tunnel Boring Machine)

Need for TBM

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TBM- Getting inside Tunnel

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Open type/ Double-shielded TBM

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Cutter Head of a TBM

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TBM being assembled

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Inside the TBM

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Break-out/ day-lighting!

Lined Tunnel

Caverns

Storage Cavern

Access Shaft (AS)

Lower connection (LC)

Operation Shaft (OS)

Water Curtain Gallery

(WCG

Access Ramp (AR)

4m x 4m, 232 m long

Water Gallery Access
Shaft Connection (WAC)

Water Gallery Operation

Shaft Connection (WOC)
Intermediate connection
(IC)

Upper Connection (UC)

Upper Shaft Connection (USC)

Sump which houses the
submersible pumps

Isometric View of New

Shape

Lower Shaft Connection

(LSC)

Cavern: 2 limbs 200m x 20m x 19m

200 m below GL
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AS: 6.5 m dia, OS: 4 m dia

View of the Operation

Shaft. The Shaft is
almost 150 meters deep.

Work inside the Access

shaft

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The LHD in the Access

shaft, at Upper shaft
connection invert level (170 m)

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Oresund Tunnel

55,000t
Element
being towed!

SAFETY --Personal Protective Equipment, Accessories

Fluorescent Clothing

Thank you

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