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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Built Environ.
Sec. Geotechnical Engineering
Volume 11 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fbuil.2025.1493402

Three-dimensional tunnel face stability analysis with gate layout by discretization-based kinematic approach

Provisionally accepted
Benchao Zhao Benchao Zhao 1Gonglei Chen Gonglei Chen 2Zhengwei Xu Zhengwei Xu 3Haining Liu Haining Liu 4*Hongyu Wang Hongyu Wang 4Bohui Xing Bohui Xing 4
  • 1 Henan Haihe basin water conservancy affairs center, Xinxiang, China
  • 2 Henan Shuitou Xiaolangdi North Bank Irrigation District Engineering Co., Ltd., Zhengzhou, China
  • 3 Central Plains Regional headquarters of China South-to-North Water Transfer Group Co., Ltd, Zhengzhou, China
  • 4 College of Geosciences and Engineering, North China University of Water Conservancy and Electric Power, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Existing approaches for tunnel face stability analysis usually apply for circular crosssections and solutions for tunnel face stability evaluation with city gate cross-sections by kinematic approach of limit analysis have not been reported. The present study developed a kinematic approach on tunnel face stability analysis for city gate sections by using spatial discretization technique. Rigorous upper-bounds on critical support pressure on tunnel excavation face and corresponding failure profiles are derived by equating the work rate of external forces to the internal energy dissipation rate. To validate the proposed method, numerical study by finite element limit analysis (FELA) is also conducted. Parametrical analysis is carried out to discuss the effect of soil strength parameters and geometric dimensions on tunnel stability.

    Keywords: limit analysis, Tunnel face stability, Spatial discretization, FELA, Critical support pressure

    Received: 10 Sep 2024; Accepted: 23 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Zhao, Chen, Xu, Liu, Wang and Xing. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Haining Liu, College of Geosciences and Engineering, North China University of Water Conservancy and Electric Power, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.