1/10/2019

CVL713 : ANALYSIS AND DESIGN OF

UNDERGROUND STRUCTURES
3 Credits (3-0-0) Coordinator : K.G. Sharma
Course Content

Introduction.
Types and Classification of underground structures. Factors
Affecting design. Design methodology. Functional aspects.
Sizes and shapes. Support systems. Codal provisions.
Analysis: Stresses and deformations around openings,
Stresses and distributions around tunnels and galleries with
composite lining due to internal pressure, Closed form
solutions, BEM, FEM.

Course Content Contd.

Design: Design based on analytical methods; Empirical

methods based on RSR, RMR, Q systems; Design based
on Rock support interaction analysis; Observational
method- NATM, Convergence-confinement method.

Design based on wedge failure and Key block analysis.

Design of shafts and hydraulic tunnels.
Stability of excavation face and Tunnel portals.

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References
Szechy, K.: The Art of Tunnelling.

Obert, L. and Duvall, W.I. (1967). Rock Mechanics & the Design of
Structures in Rock. John Wiley & Sons.

Poulos, H.G. and Davis, E.H. (1974). Elastic Solutions for Soil and
Rock Mechanics. John Wiley & Sons.

Jaeger, C. (1979). Rock Mechanics and Engineering. Cambridge

University Press.

Bieniawski, Z.T. (1984). Rock Mechanics Design in Mining and

Tunnelling. Balkema.

Singh, B. and Goel, R.K. (2011). Engineering Rock Mass

Classification. Elsevier.

Hoek, E. and Brown, E.T. (1980). Underground Excavations in Rock.

The Institution of Mining & Metallurgy, London.

Goodman, R.E. (1980). Introduction to Rock Mechanics. Wiley.

Ramamurthy, T. (2007). Engineering in Rocks for Slopes, Foundations

and Tunnels. Prentice-Hall of India Private Limited.

Relevant Technical papers and Ph.D. Theses.

Evaluation:
Minor Test I : 20%
Minor Test II : 20%
Major Test : 50%
Assignments : 10%
Note: Students having less than 75% attendance will be given
one grade less than the grade scored by them.

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UNDERGROUND STRUCTURES:
INTRODUCTION

Prof. K. G. Sharma
Department of Civil Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, India

Underground Structures

Tunnels
Underground passage constructed for the
purpose of direct traffic or transportation
connection between two points (without
removing the overlying soil or rock).

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Rock Tunnels
Tunnel engineering involves design and analysis of tunnel
excavation and support, and construction.

Rock Tunnels
Rock tunnel is a general term. It includes tunnels,
caverns, and shafts, and for various applications.

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Underground Structures

Cavern

Tunnel Shaft

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Types of Underground Structures

Barton et al. (1974)
A. Temporary mine openings
B. Vertical shafts
C. Permanent mine openings, Water tunnels for
hydroelectric projects, Pilot tunnels, Drifts and
headings for large excavations
D. Storage rooms, Water treatment plants, Minor road &
Railway tunnels. Surge chambers and Access tunnels
in H.E. projects.
E. UG Power station caverns, Major road & Railway
tunnels, Civil defence chambers, Tunnel portals and
Intersections
F. UG nuclear power stations, Railway stations, Sports
& public facilities, UG factories
Stability requirement increases from A to F.

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Types of Underground Structures

Dry Underground Excavations
† Caving Mines: Room & Pillar or Longwall Mining (Coal),
Excavation & Supports
† Stable Mines: Metals, Geologic structures (Faults), Rock
bursts, Excavation & Supports
† Tunnels: Geologic structures (Faults), Rock bursts,
Excavation & Supports
† Underground Chambers: Shelter homes, Offices,
Warehouses, Recreation centres, Stadia, Geologic
structures (Faults), Rock bursts, Excavation & Supports
† Defense Works: Deep basing of Strategic Missiles,
Underground chambers for invulnerable facilities, Geologic
structures (Faults), Rock bursts, Excavation & Supports

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Types of Underground Structures

Energy Development
† Petroleum: Faults, Rock bursts, Deep holes in shales,
evaporates, Hydraulic fracturing
† Geothermal: Exchange earth’s heat as an energy source
in dry hot rocks, Circulate cold water to hot rocks by
hydraulic fracturing
† Hydroelectric/Nuclear Power Plants: Geologic structures
(Faults, Shear zones, folds), Landslide
† Nuclear Waste Disposal: Underground repositories for
nuclear waste disposal, High Temperature (200°C), No
leakage, Environmental hazard. Geologic structures
(Faults, Shear zones)
† Energy Storage Caverns: Storage of Oil, LPG, LNG,
Faults, Low Temperature (-200°C)

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Types of Underground Structures

Transportation Routes
Highways, Railways, Subways, Metro, Canals, Pipe
Lines, Water Conveying, Sanitation, HRT, Penstocks

Design of Underground Structures

Conventional Design
External Loads calculated, Materials prescribed with
appropriate strength and deformation characteristics
and then design.
Underground Structures
Complex rock mass and specific material properties
cannot be prescribed. External loads are not as
important as forces resulting from redistribution of
original (insitu) stresses.

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Underground Structures

† River Valley Projects

† Rail & Road Tunnels
† Metros
† Underground Mines
† Underground Parking, Warehouses
† Tunnelling for Sewerage & Water Supply
† Underground Oil/Gas Storage
† Underground Nuclear Waste Storage
† Defense

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Major Tunnelling Activities in India

† India’s hydropower potential is 1,50,000 MW

besides 96,000 MW for pumped storage and
15,000 MW for Small Hydro
† Present installed capacity of hydro is 37,000 MW
† More than 500 hydroelectric projects are in
progress, to add hydropower capacity of about
50,000 MW by end of March 2017
† New projects involve construction of more than
2000 km length of tunnels
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Major Tunnelling Activities in India (contd…)

† Metro Rail Projects: Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur,

Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Chandigarh, Lucknow
† Jammu-Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla
Railway Line
† Highway Tunnel under Rohtang Pass
† Underground Oil/Gas Storage
† Tunnels & Caverns for Defence

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Rock Characterization

† Intact Rock (Rock Material)

† Joint Sets
† Scale Effect
† Continuum - Discontinuum
† Joints: Relative Displacements
† Insitu Stress

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Rock Characterization

Conceptual Models relating Rock Structures to Excavation

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Rock Mass

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Design Philosophy

† Design of Tunnels different from Super-

Structures
† Conventional: External loads calculated,
Materials prescribed with appropriate
strength and deformation characteristics,
then design the conventional structures.

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Rock Tunnels – Design

Underground Structures: Complex rock mass and

specific material properties cannot be prescribed.
External forces are not that important as the forces
resulting from excavation of the underground
structure.
Geological Features, Insitu Stress- Magnitude &
Direction, Geometry- Size & Shape

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E. Hoek

† The basic aim of any underground excavation design

should be to utilize the rock itself as the principal
structural material, creating as little disturbance as
possible during the excavation and adding as little as
possible in the way of concrete and steel support. In
their intact state and when subjected to compressive
stresses, most hard rocks are far stronger than
concrete and many are of the same order of strength
as steel. Consequently, it does not make economic
sense to replace a material which may be perfectly
adequate with one which may be no better.

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Continued..

† The design of underground excavations is, to a large

extent, the design of underground support systems.
These can range from no support in the case of a
temporary mining excavation in good rock to the use
of fully grouted and tensioned bolts or cables with
mesh and sprayed concrete for the support of a large
permanent civil engineering excavation.

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Continued..

A good engineering design is a balanced design in

which all the factors which interact, even those
which cannot be quantified are taken into account.
The duty of the design engineer is not to compute
accurately but to judge soundly.

But there is no substitute for Engineering

Judgement and each new tunnel is still a
challenge to the perseverance and ingenuity of
men.
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Rock Tunnels – Geometry

Shapes
¾ Circular
¾ Horse-shoe, Modified Horse-shoe
¾ D-Shaped
¾ Rectangular, Square
¾ Elliptical
¾ Oval
Shallow and Deep Tunnels
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Rock Tunnels – Excavation

Methods of Excavation
¾Cut and Cover

¾Drilling and Blasting

¾Shield Method

¾Caisson Sinking

¾Tunnel Boring Machine

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Rock Tunnels – Rock Types

Competent: If rock is able to bridge across an opening
of ≥ 20 m without appreciable support ELASTIC

Layered Rocks: Elastic Beam/Plate

Weak Rocks: Plasticity, Squeezing

Time Dependent Behaviour: Viscoplasticity- Creep

Jointed Rocks: Block Theory

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Design Components

† Planning the location

† Dimensions and shape
† Orientations and layout
† Excavation procedures
† Support selection
† Instrumentation

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Rock Tunnels – Failure Mechanisms

Failure of Rock Tunnels

Overburden soils and heavily weathered rock:

squeezing and flowing ground, short stand-up time.
Blocky jointed and partially weathered rock:
gravity falls of blocks from roof and sidewalls.
Massive rock with few unweathered joints: no
serious stability problems.
Massive rock at great depth: stress induced
failure, spalling and popping with possible
rockburst.

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Rock Tunnels – Failure Mechanisms

Failure in Overburden Soils

At shallow depth in overburden soil or

heavily weathered poor quality rock,
excavation problems are generally associated
with squeezing or flowing ground and very
short stand-up times. Either cut and cover or
soft ground tunnelling techniques have to be
used and adequate support has to be provided
immediately behind the advancing face.

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Rock Tunnels – Failure Mechanisms

Failure in Blocky Jointed Rock at

Shallow Depth

Stability problems in blocky jointed rock

mass are generally associated with gravity
falling and sliding of blocks from roof and
sidewalls. Rock stress at shallow depth are
generally low that does not control the failure
mechanism.
Structurally controlled failure can be analysed by projection
method. The optimum orientation and shape of an excavation
should have the smallest volume of potentially unstable wedges.

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Rock Tunnels – Failure Mechanisms

Failure in Massive Rock at

Intermediate Depth

Excavation in unweathered massive rock

mass with few joints do not usually suffer
from serious stability problems when the
stresses in the rock surrounding the
excavations are less than approximately 1/5
of the uniaxial compressive strength of the
rock material.

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Rock Tunnels – Failure Mechanisms

Failure at Great Depth

At depth, rock stress increases to a level at

which failure is induced in the rock
surrounding the excavation. This stress
induced failure can be ranged from minor
spalling or slabbing in the surface rock to
major rockbursts.
Shape of the excavation open can be
optimized to minimize the potential of
stress induced failure.

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Rock Tunnels – Failure Mechanisms

† Falling or sliding of
wedges or blocks
released by intersecting
discontinuities.
† This type of failure is
structurally controlled
failure, generally occurs
in hard rock at
relatively shallow
depth.

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Rock Tunnels – Failure Mechanisms

† Spalling, popping and

rockbursts of rock
caused by high insitu
stresses.
† This type of failure is
stress induced failure,
occurs in highly stressed
brittle rock.

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Rock Tunnels – Failure Mechanisms

† Squeezing is the large

deformation resulting
from “plastic” failure
of relatively ductile
rock masses when the
ratio of rock mass
strength to insitu stress
falls below about 30%.

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Rock Tunnels – Support Types

¾Sprayed Concrete (Shotcrete)

¾Rock bolts and Cables

¾Lattice Girders

¾Concrete Lining

¾Steel Lining

¾Steel Sets

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Rock Supports
Purpose

¾ Preserve the integrity of rock mass

¾ Provide safe and secure work area

¾ Maintain an opening in the rock

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Rock Supports
Principle

¾ Support the rock mass (passive systems)

OR

¾ Reinforce or support the rock mass so that it can

support itself

The Stabilization Strategy
Reinforcement
Primary objective is to mobilise and
conserve the inherent strength of
rock mass so that it can become self-
supporting

Support
Primary objective is to truly support the
rock mass by structural elements
which carry, in whole or part, the
weights of individual rock blocks
isolated by discontinuities or of zones
of loosened rock

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The Stabilization Strategy‐ Reinforcement
Reinforcement

¾ In case of reinforcement, steel

cables or bolts grouted within
boreholes are used to minimise
displacements occurring along
the discontinuities so that the
rock mass can support itself

¾ In conjunction with bolting,

shotcrete is used to protect the
surface and inhibit minor rock
movements

The Stabilization Strategy‐ Support
Support
¾ In case of support, structural elements, such as, steel ribs, lattice
girders or concrete rings are introduced to inhibit rock
displacements at the periphery

¾ These elements, which are external to rock mass, provide load

bearing capacity with the result that the rock is partially supported

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Rock Support Types

ƒ Initial or temporary rock support

ƒ Final or permanent rock support

Initial or Temporary Rock Support 

ƒ Usually installed concurrently with

excavation

ƒ Drill and blast – installed after blasting and

mucking before drilling the next round

ƒ TBM – installed as the TBM advances near

the back of the machine or shield

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Final or Permanent Rock Support 
ƒ If no additional support or lining is required,
then initial support may also be final support

ƒ Typically final support involves a cast-in-

place or precast concrete lining

Rock Tunnels – Support Design

Support of Rock Tunnels

Support design are primarily based on two approaches:

† Using rock mass classification to design support, for
rock masses of all qualities.
† Design support based on controlled deformation and
observation, generally for poor rock masses.

For good rock mass, where wedge/block falling or sliding is

identified, design to support blocks.

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Rock Tunnels – Support Design

Basis of Support Design

† Rock is used as a structural material, i.e., often rock

masses are not supported but primarily reinforced.
† Support design is based on rock mass quality and
precedents, i.e., empirical methods, with deformation as
design control/criterion.
† Numerical methods are used to predict problem areas and
to extrapolate experience.
† Monitoring is used to verify and modify support.

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Rock Tunnels – Support Design

Reinforcement and Support Mechanisms

Rock mass surrounding the excavation is reinforced or

supported to stabilise the rock excavation:

† Stabilising falling and sliding blocks.

† Reinforcing rock in the over-stressed zones.

† Forming an arch at the tunnel roof.

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Supporting individual blocks

Building up slab and column

Limiting plastic zone

Building up arch or ring

Controlling yielding

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Engineering Constraints
Function, Size, Shape, Layout, Method of Excavation

Objectives
Safety, Stability, Economy

Determination of Input Data

Geologic Structure
(engineering geological mapping and geotechnical core logging)

Rock and Rock Strata Properties

(strength, deformability and factors of influence)

Groundwater In Situ Stress Field

Design Methods

Analytical, Empirical, Observational

Output Specifications
•Roof Span
•Support Guidelines for Roof, Rib and Floor
•Effect of Intersections and Adjacent Excavations

Feedback

•Instrumentation for Performance Monitoring

•Remedial Measures in Case of Instability

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Detailed Design Procedure for Rock Tunnels

PRELIMINARY DATA COLLECTION

FEASIBILITY STUDY feedback

loop
DETAILED SITE
CHARACTERIZATION

STABILITY ANALYSIS

FINAL DESIGN AND

CONSTRUCTION

Design Methods
Design methods to assess the stability of Underground
excavations:
† Analytical & Numerical methods
„ Closed form solutions
„ Numerical methods- FEM, BEM, DEM
„ Physical modelling, Key block analysis (Wedges)
† Empirical methods- RMR & Q Systems
† Observational methods
„ Rock-Support interaction analysis, NATM, NTM

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Rock Tunnels – Support Design

Analytical and Numerical Methods in Design

Analytical and numerical methods in tunnel engineering can be

divided into the following classes:

(a) Closed form solutions

(b) Limit equilibrium methods for discrete blocks and wedges.

(c) Statistical-analytical methods, e.g., key block analysis.

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Rock Tunnels – Support Design

Analytical and Numerical Methods in Design

(d) Numerical continuum methods, e.g., finite element

methods and boundary element methods.
(e) Numerical discontinuum methods, distinct element
methods and discontinuous deformation analysis.

Numerical models are used to extrapolate, and occasionally to

check, the empirical methods and designs. Such modelling can
increase confidence in a particular design and in interpreting
instrumentation results.

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Underground Structures

Cavern

Tunnel Shaft

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3D layout of a underground repository

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Components of a Repository

Storage of Nuclear Waste

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3-D layout of the underground storage caverns

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Vizag Crude Oil Storage in Underground Rock Cavern  Project

Entrance

Dumping yard 

HCC site office

EIL site office

B.P

ISPRL Cavern
Equip. W/S

The underground works include creation of two compartments one for storing 0.3
MMT of crude oil having two galleries and another for storing 1.03 MMT of crude oil
having three galleries. In addition to the caverns the works include creation of access
tunnels,10 January 2019
water curtains, vertical30shaft
th IGS Annual Lecture
etc. 68/186

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Caverns for LAGUNA in Fréjus (Physics

Research Facility

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Width and Overburden of Various Caverns

70

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Some of the types of structures on, in or of rock

(after Brown, 1993)
Field of Application Types of structures on, in or of rock

Mining • Surface mining- slope stability; rock mass

diggability; drilling and blasting;
fragmentation.
• Underground mining- shaft, pillar, draft and
stope design; drilling and
• blasting; fragmentation; cavability of rock
and ore; amelioration of rockbursts;
mechanized excavation; in situ recovery.
Energy Development Underground power stations (hydroelectric and
nuclear); underground storage of oil and gas;
energy storage (pumped storage or
compressed air storage); dam foundations;
pressure tunnels; underground repositories for
nuclear waste disposal; geothermal energy
exploitation; petroleum development including
drilling, hydraulic fracturing, wellbore stability.
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Some of the types of structures on, in or of rock

Field of Application Types of structures on, in or of rock
Transportation Highway and railway slopes, tunnels and
bridge foundations; canals and
waterways; urban rapid transport tunnels and
stations; pipelines.
Utilities Dam foundations; stability of reservoir slopes;
water supply tunnels; sanitation
tunnels; industrial and municipal waste
treatment plants; underground
storages and sporting and cultural facilities;
foundations of surface power stations.
Building Construction Foundations; stability of deep open
excavations; underground or earth sheltered
homes and offices.
Military Large underground chambers for civil
defense and military installations; uses of
nuclear explosives; deep basing of strategic
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Rock versus Other Materials

† Rock differs from other engineering materials:
Contains discontinuities such as joints, bedding
planes, folds, sheared zones and faults which
render its structure discontinuous.
† We cannot prescribe strength & modulus
values. Whereas for concrete & steel we can
prescribe the values.

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S: Single occurring Discontinuities

M: Multiple occurring Discontinuities

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Components of a General Rock Mechanics Program (after Brady & Brown, 1985)

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Suggested Levels of Accuracy Required for Rock Mass Properties in Different

Applications (after Pine & Harrison, 2003)

Application Strength Deformability Permeability/Hydraulic

Conductivity
Mining Pillars Shafts (25%) Total inflow rates (50%)
Walls (10%)
Roofs

Civil excavations Tunnels (25%) Tunnels (25%) Total inflow rates (50%)
Caverns (10%) Caverns (25%) Total leakage rates (25%)
Pressure tunnels and
shafts (10%)

Nuclear/radioactive Mass transport (factor of 10-2

waste to 102)
Oil and gas Borehole stability Reservoir subsidence Connectivity/transmissivity
(10%) (25%) (50%)
Civil foundations/ Settlement (25%)
pile sockets

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