Modeling of the Stress-Strain State of a Transport Tunnel Under Load as a Measure to Reduce Operational Risks to Transportation Facilities

Abstract

In many countries economic policy has been paying increasing attention to the modernization and development of transport infrastructure as a measure of macroeconomic stimulation. Tunnels as an important component of transport infrastructure save a lot of logistical costs. It stimulates increasing freight and passenger traffic as well as the risks of the consequences of unforeseen overloads. The objective of the paper is to suggest the way to reduce operational risks of unforeseen moving load by modeling of the stress-strain state of a transport tunnel under growing load for different conditions and geophysical parameters. The article presents the results of a study of the stress-strain state (SSS) of a transport tunnel exposed to a mobile surface load. Numerical experiments carried out in the ANSYS software package made it possible to obtain diagrams showing the distribution of equivalent stresses (von Mises – stresses) according to the finite element model of the tunnel. The research results give grounds to assert that from external factors the stress state of the tunnel is mainly influenced by the distance to the moving load. The results obtained make it possible to predict in advance the parameters of the stress-strain state in the near-contour area of the tunnel and use the results in the subsequent design of underground facilities, as well as to increase their reliability and operational safety. This investigation gives an opportunity not only to reduce operational risks at the design stage, but to choose an optimal balance between investigation costs and benefits of safety usage period prolongation.