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Papers from WTC and ITA conferences have been made available as PDF documents.
List of endorsed conferences
World Tunnelling Congress
Abstract: The concept of performance-based design, which mainly focuses on mechanical performance, has become the international standard, as in the case for International Standards organisation (ISO). The standardization of tunnel design has not been achieved because it requires the integration of separate specialized fields, such as geotechnical engineering, structural engineering and concrete...
Abstract: In the southwest of the Netherlands the Sluiskiltunnel is currently under construction. It consists of two machine driven tunnel tubes with an outer diameter of 11 m. At the end of the alignment a 7 m high railway embankment is crossed with an overburden of 9 m. At this location the tunnel is excavated in soft clays and sands, with a peat layer of 50 cm in the tunnel face. Analyses are...
Abstract: The excavation of tunnels in rock masses in which are identified characteristics of tectonic activity requires the adoption of special geological and geotechnical survey procedures. This particular attention arises from the need to prevent any risk of undesirable behaviors during to the excavation works and its following impact on costs and deadlines. Under these conditions is the design of...
Abstract: Mount Ovit Tunnel Ovit Dağı Tüneli), is a highwayunder construction through Mount Ovit which is 2600 m in height and 12.6 km in length. Initially the project faced many problems caused by highly unstable portal batters, and fault zones with high water inflows and difficult rock conditions. Macro synthetic fiber reinforced shotcrete FRS lining was considered to use instead of steel mesh to...
Abstract: In Amsterdam a metro line is being build from North to South. Part of the metro line is realized using immersion techniques. Part of the immersion is done underneath the historic building of Amsterdam Central Station. To make this possible the station building, the railway tracks and platforms had to be given a new foundation and a bridge construction was necessary to create the immersion...
Abstract: This paper is intended to present an integrated design approach to provide a flexible design of pre-cast segmental lining in terms of the quantity of steel reinforcements for an EPB (Earth Pressure Balanced Shield) driven tunnel in urban area. The integrated design approach is based on Analytical Solution, Bedded-Spring Method, and Numerical Analysis. In this way, the solicitations obtained by...
Abstract: The Mose Project is a system of movable barriers which will protect Venice and the lagoon from ever more frequent and intensive flooding. The Chioggia inlet is one of the three gaps between the sea and the lagoon where this barriers will be installed. The barrier of the Chioggia inlet consists of eight caissons, among which are two shoulder caissons and six gate caissons. The caissons...
Abstract: In an underground excavation, damage to the surrounding rock mass not only endan-gers safety of structure but also increases cost of construction and time of completion. Drilling and blasting for excavation of any underground structure should strictly adhere into specialized controlled blasting pattern to minimize damage to peripheral in situ rock mass. Authors carried out experiments to...
Abstract: Over the past decade, extensive tunnel construction for underground Metro rail projects in major world cities has been undertaken with varying degrees of success. This paper analyses the tunnelling cost data from Metro projects in Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, and London. The costs are compared for the key items of civil, architectural, building services, electrical and mechanical, permanent...
Abstract: Thiess is a top tier Australian integrated tunnelling,construction and mining services provider, with more than 75 years of experience. Their tunnelling crew faced numerous challenges while driving the TBM through unchartered geological territory, such as high permeability, high water pressure and sandy gravels. This paper focuses on the different methods, devised by the project team in order...
Abstract: Sierra de Valle Fertil is a mountain range located in the west of Argentina (San Juan province). It is crossed by the National Road 150 by a length of 40 km that includes six bidirectional tunnels with a total length of 2000 meters. All tunnels have the same horseshoe shape cross section with an area of 70 m2. They were designed following criteria given by "Cross Section Design of Bidirectional...
Abstract: Soil pressures were measured on both sides of the cutter wheel of an EPB-shield during tunnelling in saturated sand, using foam for soil conditioning. The measured pressures are compared with the pressures at the pressure bulk head. The pressures are not purely hydrostatic but the results are also influenced by the yield stress in the foam. At the lowest positions, the sensors sometimes...
Abstract: The link from the important central South American region to the Pacific, by means of a 14 km long highway tunnel under the Agua Negra pass, has been subject of studies for a long time. The tunnel is situated at an altitude between 3600 and 4100 m asl. and has to fulfill extreme climatic and operational requirements. The newly undertaken design work focuses on the review of former project...
Abstract: The Rock Mass Rating (RMR) System was introduced over 40 years ago, and since then has become a worldwide reference, along with the Q system, for design applications involving estimation of rock mass properties and tunnel support. A massive database of experience has been recorded in the process. On the 25th anniversary of the last modification of the RMR System in 1989, known as the RMR89, an...
Abstract: In the common view of tunneling experience, discontinuities are considered with downscaling effects on the mechanical properties of rock mass. The effect of discontinuities in mechanized hard rock excavation is of ambivalent nature. The presence of favorable number and orientation of joints leads in general to a reduced effort for TBM excavation and higher advance rates; where else the same...
Abstract: The Vedeggio-Cassarate road tunnel is part of the new Transportation Plan of the city of Lugano (PTL), in the southern part of Switzerland. A section of about 200 m was excavated in soft ground, which presents a very heterogeneous sequence of quaternary glacial lake and fluvial sediments, with artesian groundwater horizons at many different independent levels with pressures reaching up to 20 m...