Abstract
This paper is an investigation of face stability on a small-scale tunnel model in a geotechnical centrifuge. By making use of symmetry, half of the tunnel cross section was considered. The support at excavation face was provided by a piston, which was adjusted during flight. Some aspects on the collapse at tunnel face are investigated for different overburden pressures: failure mechanism, surface settlement, stress acting at tunnel face, and the required face support counteracting the earth pressure. Ground deformation was observed through a transparent wall and measured by digital image correlation. The results from centrifuge model tests were compared with theoretical models.
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The variation in earth’s gravity, g, according to Newton’s law of universal gravitation, resulting from g ~ r², is negligible for the covered range of radius to earth’s center of mass (i.e. depth).
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Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the Austrian Geomechanics Society (ÖGG). The second author is grateful for the support from the Otto Pregl Foundation for Geotechnical Fundamental Research. The authors are grateful for the support from Malcolm Bolton and Stuart Haigh from Schofield Centre at Cambridge University.
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Idinger, G., Aklik, P., Wu, W. et al. Centrifuge model test on the face stability of shallow tunnel. Acta Geotech. 6, 105–117 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-011-0139-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-011-0139-2