PHASED EXCAVATION OF A SHIELD TUNNEL

6 PHASED EXCAVATION OF A SHIELD TUNNEL

The lining of a shield tunnel is often constructed using prefabricated concrete ring
segments, which are bolted together within the tunnel boring machine to form the tunnel
lining. During the erection of the tunnel lining the tunnel boring machine (TBM) remains
stationary. Once a tunnel lining ring has been fully erected, excavation is resumed, until
enough soil has been excavated to erect the next lining ring. As a result, the construction
process can be divided into construction stages with a length of a tunnel ring, often about
1.5 m long. In each of these stages, the same steps are repeated over and over again.
In order to model this, a geometry consisting of slices each 1.5 m long can be used. The
calculation consists of a number of Plastic phases, each of which models the same parts
of the excavation process: the support pressure at the tunnel face needed to prevent
active failure at the face, the conical shape of the TBM shield, the excavation of the soil
and pore water within the TBM, the installation of the tunnel lining and the grouting of the
gap between the soil and the newly installed lining. In each phase the input for the
calculation phase is identical, except for its location, which will be shifted by 1.5 m each
phase.

contraction of shield

final lining grout TBM

pressure

C = 0.5% Cref = 0.5%

Cinc,axial = −0.0667%

Figure 6.1 Construction stages of a shield tunnel model

Objectives:
• Modelling of the tunnel boring process with a TBM
• Modelling of the cone shape of the TBM
• Using Tunnel designer to define geometry, trajectory and sequencing of the tunnel

6.1 GEOMETRY

In the model, only one symmetric half is included. The model is 20 m wide, it extends 80
m in the y-direction and it is 20 m deep. These dimensions are sufficient to allow for any
possible collapse mechanism to develop and to avoid any influence from the model
boundaries.
When starting PLAXIS 3D set the proper model dimensions in the Project properties
window, that is xmin = -20, xmax = 0, ymin = 0 and ymax = 80.

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6.1.1 DEFINITION OF SOIL STRATIGRAPHY

The subsoil consists of three layers. The soft upper sand layer is 2 m deep and extends
from the ground surface to Mean Sea Level (MSL). Below the upper sand layer, there is a
clay layer of 12 m thickness and this layer is underlain by a stiff sand layer that extends to
a large depth. Only 6 m of the stiff sand layer is included in the model. Hence, the bottom
of the model is 18 m below MSL. Soil layer is assumed to be horizontal throughout the
model and so just one borehole is sufficient to describe the soil layers. The present
groundwater head corresponds to the MSL.
Press the Create borehole button and click at the origin of the system of axis to
create a borehole at (0 0 0). The Modify soil layers window will open.
• Define 3 layers: Upper sand with the top at 2 m and the bottom at 0 m, Clay with the
bottom at -12 m and Stiff sand with the bottom at -18 m.
Open the materials database by clicking the Materials button and create the data
sets for the soil layers and the final concrete lining in the tunnel as specified in Table
6.1.
Table 6.1 Material properties for the soil layers
Parameter Name Upper sand Clay Stiff sand Concrete Unit
General
Material model Model Mohr-Coulomb Mohr-Coulomb Mohr-Coulomb Linear elastic −
Drainage type Type Drained Drained Drained Non porous −
Unit weight above γunsat 17.0 16.0 17.0 27.0 kN/m3
phreatic level
Unit weight below γsat 20.0 18.0 20.0 − kN/m3
phreatic level
Parameters
Young's modulus E' 1.3 · 104 1.0 · 104 7.5 · 104 3.1 · 107 kN/m2
Poisson's ratio ν' 0.3 0.35 0.3 0.1 −
Cohesion c 'ref 1.0 5.0 1.0 − kN/m2
◦
Friction angle ϕ' 31 25 31 −
◦
Dilatancy angle ψ 0 0 0 −
Interfaces
Interface strength − Rigid Rigid Rigid Rigid −
Initial
K0 determination − Automatic Automatic Automatic Automatic −

• Assign the material data sets to the corresponding soil layers (Figure 6.2) and close
the Modify soil layers window. The concrete data set will be assigned later.

6.1.2 DEFINITION OF STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS

The tunnel excavation is carried out by a tunnel boring machine (TBM) which is 9.0 m
long and 8.5 m in diameter. The TBM already advanced 25 m into the soil. Subsequent
phases will model an advancement by 1.5 m each.

Create tunnel
In Structures mode both the geometry of the tunnel and the TBM will be defined.
Click the Create tunnel button in the side toolbar.
• Click anywhere on the drawing area to define the insertion point. The Tunnel

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Figure 6.2 Soil layer distribution

designer window pops up.

• In the Selection explorer set the insertion point of the tunnel to (0 0 -13.25) (Figure
6.3).
• In the General tabsheet select the Circular option in the drop-down menu for the
Shape type.
• The left half of the tunnel is generated in this example. Select the Define left half
option in the drop-down menu for the Whole or half tunnel. A screenshot of the
General tabsheet after the proper assignment is given in Figure 6.4.
• Click the Segments tabsheet to proceed to the corresponding tabsheet. A segment
is automatically created. A new box is shown under the segment list where the
properties of the segment can be defined.
• In the Segment box set Radius to 4 m. This is the inner radius of the tunnel.
• Proceed to the Subsections tabsheet.
Click the Generate thick lining button in the side toolbar. The Generate thick lining
window pops up.
• Assign a value of 0.25 m and click OK. A screenshot of the Cross section tabsheet
after the proper assignment is given in Figure 6.5.
• Proceed to the Properties tabsheet. Here we define the properties for the tunnel
such as grout pressure, surface contraction, jack forces and the tunnel face
pressure.
• In the Slice tabsheet, right-click the outer surface and select Create plate from the
appearing menu (Figure 6.6).
Click on the Material in the lower part of the explorer. Create a new material dataset.
Specify the material parameters for the TBM according to Table 6.2.
A soil-structure interaction has to be added on the outside of the tunnel due to the slight
cone shape of the TBM. Typically, the cross-sectional area at the tail of the TBM is about

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Figure 6.3 Insertion point of the tunnel

Hint: In the tunnel, as considered here, the segments do not have a specific
meaning as the tunnel lining is homogeneous and the tunnel will be
constructed at once. In general, the meaning of segments becomes
significant when:
• It is desired to excavate or construct the tunnel (lining) in different
stages.
• Different tunnel segments have different lining properties.
• One would consider hinge connections in the lining (hinges can be
added after the design of the tunnel in Staged construction mode,
Section 7.9.4 of the Reference Manual).
• The tunnel shape is composed of arcs with different radii (e.g. NATM
tunnels).

Table 6.2 Material properties of the plate representing the TBM

Parameter Name TBM Unit
Type of behaviour - Elastic; Isotropic -
Thickness d 0.17 m
Material weight γ 247 kN/m3
Young’s modulus E1 200·106 kN/m2
Poisson’s ratio ν12 0 -
Shear modulus G12 100·106 kN/m2

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Figure 6.4 General tabsheet of the Tunnel designer

Hint: A tunnel lining consists of curved plates (shells). The lining properties can be
specified in the material database for plates. Similarly, a tunnel interface is
nothing more than a curved interface.

0.5% smaller than the front of the TBM. The reduction of the diameter is realised over the
first 7.5 m length of the TBM while the last 1.5 m to the tail has a constant diameter. This
means that the section tail has a uniform contraction of 0.5% and the remaining 5
sections have a linear contraction with a reference value Cref = 0.5% and an increment
Cinc,axial = -0.0667%. The reference is set on the front surface of the excavated slice in
the tunnel during the tunnel construction. This is done while setting the Sequencing
steps. The Cinc,axial = -0.0667%/m and remains the same in every step (1_1 to 1_5). For
further information on Surface contraction refer Section 5.5.4 of the Reference Manual.
• Right-click the same outer surface and select Create negative interface from the
appearing menu to create a negative surface around the entire tunnel.
• Next step is to create Surface contraction for the tunnel. Right-click the outer
surface and select Create surface contraction.
• In the properties box, select the Axial increment option for the contraction
distribution and define Cref = 0.5% and Cinc,axial = -0.0667%/m. The increment must
be a negative number because the contraction decreases in the direction of the
positive local 1-axis. The reference location is (0 28 0).

Grout pressure
The surface load representing the grout pressure is constant during the building process.
In the specifications of the tunnel boring process, it is given that the grout pressure
should be -100 kN/m2 at the top of the tunnel (z = -4.75) and should increase with -20
kN/m2 /m depth. To define the grout pressure:

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Figure 6.5 The Cross section tabsheet of the Tunnel designer

Hint: A surface contraction of the tunnel contour of 0.5% corresponds

approximately to a volume loss of 0.5% of the tunnel volume (applicable only
for small values of surface contractions).
» The entered value of contraction is not always fully applied, depending on the
stiffness of the surrounding clusters and objects.

• Right-click the outer surface and select Create surface load from the appearing
menu to create a surface load around the entire tunnel.
• In the properties box, select Perpendicular, vertical increment from the drop-down
menu for Distribution.
• Set the σn,ref to -100 and σn,inc to -20 and define (0 0 -4.75) as the reference point
for the load by assigning the values to xref , yref and zref (Figure 6.7).

Tunnel face pressures

The tunnel face pressure is a bentonite pressure (Bentonite Slurry, BS) or an earth
pressure (Earth Pressure Balance, EPB) that increases linearly with depth. For the initial
position of the TBM and the successive four positions when simulating the advancement
of the TBM, a tunnel face pressure has to be defined.
• Select the Plane tabsheet above the displayed tunnel cross section.
• Multi-click both the surfaces, right-click and select Create surface load from the
appearing menu to create a surface load around the entire tunnel.
• In the properties box, select Perpendicular, vertical increment from the drop-down
menu for Distribution.
• Set the σn,ref to -90 and σn,inc to -14 and define (0 0 -4.75) as the reference point for
the load by assigning the values to xref , yref and zref (Figure 6.8).

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Figure 6.6 The Properties tabsheet of the Tunnel designer for the creation of a Plate

Jack forces
In order to move forward during the boring process, the TBM has to push itself against
the existing tunnel lining. This is done by hydraulic jacks. The force applied by the jacks
on the final tunnel lining has to be taken into account. This will be assigned to the tunnel
lining in Sequencing tab.

Trajectory
The next step is to create the path of the boring process. The TBM already advanced 25
m into the soil and then proceed from 25 m to 41.5 m excavating slices of 1.5 m each:
• Click the Trajectory tab to proceed to the corresponding tabsheet.
In the Segments tabsheet, click on the Add segment on the left toolbar.
• In the properties box set the length to 25.
• Add the next segment and set the length to 16.5.
• To create the slices, proceed to the Slices tabsheet.
• Click on the second created segment. In the properties box, select Length as the
Slicing method and set the Slice length as 1.5 (Figure 6.9).

Sequencing
In order to simplify the definition of the phases in Staged construction mode, the
sequencing of the tunnel is defined. The soil in front of the TBM will be excavated, a
support pressure will be applied to the tunnel face, the TBM shield will be activated and
the conicity of the shield will be modelled, at the back of the TBM the pressure due to the
back fill grouting will be modelled as well as the force the hydraulic jacks driving the TBM
exert on the already installed lining, and a new lining ring will be installed.
• Click the Sequencing tab to proceed to the corresponding tabsheet.

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Figure 6.7 Slice tabsheet in the Tunnel designer

• In the Sequencing tabsheet, set the Excavation method as TBM.

Step_1_1, face excavation: Select the Slice tabsheet above the displayed tunnel
cross section and select the volumes inside the tunnel. In the Selection explorer,
deactivate the soil and set the WaterConditions to Dry. In the Slice tabsheet again,
select the outer surface. In the Selection explorer, activate the negative interface,
the plate and the surface contraction (Figure 6.10).
Set Cref = 0% (since this is on the front of the excavation).
Select the Plane Front and select all the surfaces. Activate the surface load
corresponding to the face pressure (Figure 6.11).
Step_1_2, TBM with conicity: The difference with the front of the TBM is only the
face pressure. Select the Plane Front and select all the surfaces. In the Selection
explorer, the surface load corresponding to the face pressure is deactivated by
default. Set Cref = 0.1% (on the front surface of the second slice).
From Step_1_3 to Step_1_5, TBM with conicity: click on the Add Step button
thrice to add 3 new steps. These steps are necessary to define the remaining cone
part of the TBM shield (Figure 6.12). Set the following values for the different steps:
Step 1_3: Cref = 0.2% (on the front surface of the third slice) Step 1_4: Cref = 0.3%
(on the front surface of the fourth slice) Step 1_5: Cref = 0.4% (on the front surface
of the fifth slice)
Step_1_6, tail of the shield: The last slice of the shield has a constant diameter.
Hence, from the Slice tabsheet select the outer surface and select the surface
contraction. In the Selection explorer select the Uniform option with Cref = 0.5%
(Figure 6.13).
Step_1_7, grouting and jack thrusting: Select the Slice tabsheet and select the

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Figure 6.8 Plane tabsheet in the Tunnel designer

outer surface. Deactivate the negative interface, the plate and the surface
contraction. In the Selection explorer, activate the surface load corresponding to the
grout pressure (Figure 6.14).
Select the Plane rear tabsheet and select the outer surface to define the jack
thrusting against the final lining. In the Selection explorer, activate the surface load
and select the Perpendicular option for the distribution with σn,ref = 635.4 (Figure
6.15).
Step_1_8, final lining: Select the Slice tabsheet and select the outer surface. In
the Selection explorer, deactivate the grout pressure and activate the negative
interface. In the Slice tabsheet again, select the outer volume. Activate it, click the
material and select the Concrete option from the drop-down menu (Figure 6.16).
Select the Plane rear tabsheet and select the outer surface. In the Selection
explorer, deactivate the surface load corresponding to the thrusting jacks (Figure
6.17).
• Click on Generate to include the defined tunnel in the model.
• Close the Tunnel designer window.
This concludes the model creation in Structures mode (Figure 6.18).

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Figure 6.9 Trajectory tabsheet in the Tunnel designer

Figure 6.10 Slice tabsheet in the Tunnel designer for Step_1_1

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Figure 6.11 Plane Front tabsheet in the Tunnel designer for Step_1_1

Figure 6.12 Slice tabsheet in the Tunnel designer from Step_1_3 to Step_1_5

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Figure 6.13 Slice tabsheet in the Tunnel designer for Step_1_6

Figure 6.14 Slice tabsheet in the Tunnel designer Step_1_7

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Figure 6.15 Plane Rear tabsheet in the Tunnel designer Step_1_7

Figure 6.16 Slice tabsheet in the Tunnel designer Step_1_8

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Figure 6.17 Slice tabsheet in the Tunnel designer Step_1_8

Figure 6.18 The created tunnels in Structures mode

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6.2 MESH GENERATION

In the Mesh mode it is possible to specify global and local refinements and generate the
mesh. The default local refinements are valid for this example.
Click the Generate mesh button in order to generate the mesh. The Mesh options
window appears.
• The default option (Medium) will be used to generate the mesh.
Click the View mesh button to inspect the generated mesh (Figure 6.19).

Figure 6.19 The generated mesh

After inspecting the mesh, the output window can be closed. Mesh generation has now
been finished, and so creating all necessary input for defining the calculation phases has
been finished.

6.3 PERFORMING CALCULATIONS

The excavation of the soil and the construction of the tunnel lining will be modelled in the
Staged construction mode. Since water levels will remain constant the Flow conditions
mode can be skipped. It should be noted that due to the mesh generation the tunnel
effectively has been split into an upper part, located in the clay, and a lower part located
in the stiff sand. As a result, both the lower and the upper part of the tunnel should be
considered.
The first phase differs from the following phases, as in this phase the tunnel is activated
for the first time. This phase will model a tunnel that has already advanced 25 m into the
soil. Subsequent phases will model an advancement by 1.5 m each.

Initial phase
The initial phase consists of the generation of the initial stresses using the K0 procedure.
The default settings for the initial phase are valid.

Phase 1 - Initial position of the TBM

In the first phase, it is assumed that the TBM has already advanced 25 m. The section
next to the first 25 m (section 25 m - 26.5 m), will represent the area directly behind the
TBM were grout is injected in the tail void. In the next 6 sections (26.5 m - 35.5 m) the

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TBM will be modelled.

Add the first calculation phase.
• In the Model explorer expand Tunnels and then expand Tunnel_1. Scroll down the
Model explorer until the option Advancement step and set it to 7 in order to simulate
the advancement of the first 25 m.
The final lining will be activated in the following phase. In order to consider the conicity of
the TBM in the first 25 m, the clusters representing final lining need to be deactivated, the
plates representing the TBM are activated and 0.5% contraction is applied.
Select the right view to reorientate the model in order to obtain a clearer view of the
inside of the tunnel.
• In the drawing area select the soil volumes corresponding to the lining in the first 25
m (Figure 6.20).

Figure 6.20 Selection of soil volumes (0 m - 25 m)

• In the Selection explorer deactivate the soil. The soil is switched off, but the
wireframe representing the deactivated soil is still coloured red as the deactivated
soil is still selected.

Hint: An object that is deactivated will automatically be hidden as a volume or

surface, but a wireframe representing the hidden object will remain. The
visibility of the object not active in a calculation phase can be defined in the
corresponding tabsheet of the Visualization settings window (Section 3.6.3 of
the Reference Manual).

The interface is already activated. To activate the plate and the contraction in the first 25
m of the tunnel:
Select the Select plates option in the appearing menu. Select the surfaces between
0 m and 25 m in the model to which plates are assigned (Figure 6.21).
• In the Selection explorer activate plate and uniform contraction by checking the
corresponding boxes.
• In the drawing area select the lateral surfaces of the outer volume, corresponding to
the last slice of the TBM (grout and jack thrusting) at 25.0 m (Figure 6.22). In the
Selection explorer, deactivate the surface load corresponding to the jack thrusting,
because the TBM is only placed in this phase and it’s not moving.
Click the Preview button to get a preview of everything that has been defined

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Figure 6.21 Selection of plate (0 m - 25 m)

(Figure 6.23). Make sure that both grout pressure and tunnel face pressure are
applied and that both increase from top to bottom.

Figure 6.22 Selection of soil surfaces (25.0 m)

Figure 6.23 Preview of the Phase 1

Phase 2 - TBM advancement 1

In this phase, the advancement of the TBM by 1.5 m (from y = 35.5 to y = 37) will be
modelled.
Add a new phase.
• In the Model explorer expand Tunnels and then expand Tunnel_1. Scroll down the
Model explorer until the option Advancement step and set it to 8 in order to simulate
the advancement of the first 26.5 m.

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Figure 6.24 The Advance to next tunnel step option from Model explorer

Phase 3 - TBM advancement 2

In this phase, the TBM advances from y = 37 to y = 38.5.
Add a new phase.
• In the Model explorer expand Tunnels and right-click Tunnel_1. Then click on
Advance to next tunnel step.

Phase 4 - TBM advancement 3

In this phase, the TBM advances from y = 38.5 to y = 40.
Add a new phase.
• In the Model explorer expand Tunnels and right-click Tunnel_1. Then click on
Advance to next tunnel step.

Phase 5 - TBM advancement 4

In this phase, the final advancement of the TBM is modelled (from y = 40 to y = 41.5).
Add a new phase.
• In the Model explorer expand Tunnels and right-click Tunnel_1. Then click on
Advance to next tunnel step.
Press the Calculate button to start the calculation. Ignore the message "No nodes or
stress points selected for curves" as any load-displacement curves are drawn in this
example, and start the calculation.

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6.4 VIEWING THE RESULTS

Once the calculation has been completed, the results can be evaluated in the Output
program. In the Output program the displacement and stresses are shown in the full 3D
model, but the computational results are also available in tabular form. To view the
results for the current analysis, follow these steps:
• Select the last calculation phase (Phase 5) in the Phases explorer.
Click the View calculation results button in the side toolbar to open the Output
program. The Output program will by default show the 3D deformed mesh at the
end of the selected calculation phase.
• From the Deformations menu, select Total displacements and then uz in order to
see the total vertical displacements in the model as a shaded plot (Figure 6.25).

Figure 6.25 Total vertical displacements after the final phase uz ≈ 3.1cm

In order to see the settlements at ground level make a horizontal cross section by
choosing the Horizontal cross section button. In the window that appears fill in a cross
section height of 1.95 m. The window with the cross section opens (Figure 6.26). The
maximum settlement at ground level is about 1.9 cm.

Figure 6.26 Settlement trough at ground level |u| ≈ 1.9cm

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