Geohazards, reflection and challenges in Mountain tunnel construction of China: a data collection from 2002 to 2018

Abstract

In face of the complicated and changing geological conditions, safety issue is always a primary concern during the construction phase of tunnel in the mountainous regions of China. This Express Letter reports data collection concerning the geo-hazardous events recorded in tunnel system in the period from 2002 to 2018. These accidents include collapse, water inrush, gas explosion, portal landslide, suffocation and avalanche. A total of 97 geohazard events resulted in 393 deaths, 467 injuries and 51 missing. Statistical results indicate that collapse is the primary geohazard in mountain tunnel construction. The data confirmed a high correlation between the number of casualties and geohazard accidents quantity. It is also observed that water inrush is more likely to happen in karst region, while the collapse is mainly recorded in loess and karst areas. During the period under the review, the data illustrates an overall decrease of casualties and geohazard events, but it still faces a grim situation regarding the geohazard prevention in mountain tunnels construction of China. Hence, countermeasures and future research attempts focusing on geohazards prevention and mitigation are recommended.

Review of Application and Innovation of Geotextiles in Geotechnical Engineering

“…In an internally unstable soil, seepage may cause the phenomenon of suffusion; the transport of fine particles by seepage flow is accompanied by a collapse of the soil structure [28][29][30]. Because geotextiles have positive permeability and air permeability, they can be placed in the soil structure to allow the liquid in the soil to pass through and discharged, and play a role of soil conservation, which can effectively prevent the loss of soil particles, fine sand, and small stones in the upstream, prevent soil damage, and effectively avoid the phenomenon of suffusion [31][32][33].…”

Thermal Conductivity Characteristics of Thermal Insulation Materials Immersed in Water for Cold‐Region Tunnels

“…e trend of change in ambient temperature in the tunnel is described by the sine function ( Figure 16) [45]. When the air temperature in tunnels in cold areas is below zero, the thermal insulation material after water absorption freezes under low-temperature conditions.…”

“…-2.14 -13.54 sin (2π/365 (t + 329.16)) Air temperature at the entrance of the Yuximolegai tunnel[45].…”

A Comparative Study of Protective Schemes for Shield Tunneling Adjacent to Pile Groups

“…e effect of tunneling on existing pile foundations has caused great trouble to the design and construction of urban subway, and many researchers have studied it by numerical and analytical methods [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. Besides, a number of centrifuge model tests [17][18][19][20][21][22][23] and field observations [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31] have been carried out to investigate the influence of tunneling on ground and nearby pile foundations.…”