Tweet Share

• Send by email

  Send by email

  

  Assessing the impact of a deep basement excavation on old rail tunnels in Sydney, Australia

  The use of the underground space in major cities often involves excavating in complex settings where interaction with existing structures such as buildings and old tunnels may be expected. The feasibility of an iconic new 32-storey tower in the heart of Sydney required the excavation of three basement levels in the vicinity of rail tunnels built in the 1930’s. Due to the high traffic volume of the operating rail lines, the rail authority imposed strict conditions where the excavation should not induce new cracks in the tunnel liners nor increase the width of existing cracks. This poses a significant challenge due the high horizontal rock stresses observed in Sydney, often exceeding six times the vertical stress. This paper discusses some of the rock mechanics assumptions regarding the effect of stress distribution and the rock constitutive model on the excavation performance which were then used in a 3D numerical model carried out for assessing the impacts of the excavation on the tunnel liners. 7 m rock pillar

  Recipient :

  Name ^* :

  E-mail address ^* :

  ^* Required fields

  Send   or  Cancel

• Print