Convergence-Confinement Method for Tunnel Design

This book presents the theoretical bases and the application tools for using the 'convergence-confinement' method which is a rational method largely used in design engineering for tunneling. Until recently, the stability conditions of underground works and the choice of support methods were essentially defined on the basis of good practice or empirical methods. The progress made, on one hand on the knowledge of the constitutive laws of soils and rocks and, on the other hand on the numerical modeling of the interaction between the ground and the structures have led to the development of robust design tools for tunnels supports. The convergence-confinement method makes it possible to simulate the excavation of a tunnel and the installation of the support using a simple plane strain model. The book presents the theoretical bases of the method and its most recent developments. Closed-form solutions for stress and displacement fields around tunnels are provided for elastic, viscoelastic andelasto-plastic behavior of the ground. More generally, the principles for applying the method in numerical models are presented.

Provides a clear presentation of a rational method for tunnel design Presents useful analytical solutions for preliminary design of the support structures Includes the developments of the convergence-confinement methods for tunnel excavation in complex conditions

Autorentext

Jean Sulem is professor of Rock Mechanics at Ecole des Ponts ParisTech, France. He is past-president of the French Society of Rock Mechanics, and served as core member of the Technical Committee on large deformations of the International Society of Soil Mechanics (2006-2010). He currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of Springer journal Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering.

Inhalt
Introduction.- Methods of support.- The convergence-confinement method for a tunnel driven in an elastic medium.- The convergence-confinement method for a tunnel driven in an elasto-plastic medium.- The convergence-confinement method for a tunnel driven in an elastic medium.- The convergence-confinement method and the time-dependent behavior of the rock mass.- Use of numerical models.