In the construction of shield crossing existing mined tunnel without load, it is imperative to develop corresponding design standards that reflect actual engineering force characteristics to ensure the successful completion of tunnel construction. This research uses The MIDAS-GTS finite element software to facilitate the creation of a numerical model of the shield structure for an air-push-over mine tunnel project in Changsha, China, investigating the stress field’s evolution during shield construction, and calculating the maximum positive and negative bending moments and maximum axial forces for different structures and other force states under various construction conditions. This study's findings informed the design and construction optimisation of the shield tunnelling empty-push method. The outcomes of this numerical simulation led to several key findings: (1) The soil density exerted a significantly greater impact on the internal forces of the initial support structure than both the tunnel depth and soil Poisson's ratio. Additionally, a sudden shift in internal forces occurred within the 300-350 mm range when the lining thickness was altered. (2) Factors such as the tunnel depth, soil density, soil Poisson's ratio μ, and lining thickness have a similarly influenced internal forces of the segment and the initial support. Notably, the backfill layer thickness significantly affected the segment’s maximum axial force causing an abrupt change of approximately 300 mm. (3) Under the shield machine equipment’s weight constraint, it is essential to control the guide rail’s thickness, to prevent it from becoming overly large.
Tridimensional cross tunnels usually manifest the vulnerable components of a high-speed railway caused by the sophistication of the structural pattern and the continuous shock from the train. The frequent defect of tunnel lining at the intersection would affect the safe operation of the two rails. As a result, attention has been paid to fatigue damage caused by the long-term dynamic load from a running train, in order to ensure the safety and serviceability of the cross tunnel lining. However, an influence zoning method with respect to tunnel crossing for the direct estimation of whether the lining structure is damaged due to the train load, and to what extent, is unavailable. In this paper, a systematic study that consists of numerical simulation and fatigue damage experiment is conducted to develop an approximate method to enable practicing engineers to evaluate reasonable design parameters. The initial static stress, which corresponds to the static tensile stress of secondary lining under the stratum load, and the maximum dynamic stress, which refers to the maximum dynamic tensile stress under the train load, are estimated according to the numerical simulation. A simplified damage evolution model and its parameters are identified on the basis of a systematic fatigue damage experiment. Finally, the influence zoning method is conducted on the basis of two criteria, namely (1) that initial stress level should not exceed 0.6, and (2) that load cycles should not exceed N = 2 × 106 times. Thus, the practicing parameters during the cross tunnel design, such as surrounding rock mass, cross angle, rock pillar thickness between two tunnels, and train speed can be utilized conveniently by using the proposed calculation charts, according to the identification of initial stress level and the magnitude of dynamic stresses caused by the train load.
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