DESIGN OF LINING

Arvind Kumar Mishra, MD, MHPA

Vinod Kumar Formerly E D Konkan Railway
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BASIC BACKGROUND:
Design of Concrete lining in the tunnel is an important aspect and this
demands study of the following points of the Tunnel.

q Based on the geological data available while boring of tunnel, divide

the tunnel in those reaches where only plain concrete lining will be
necessary.
q Rock Class - I & II are competent rock and plain concrete lining will
be sufficient.
q Rock Class - III, IV & V where rock mass rating is not good or
reaches having cavities or over excavation in the crown due to the
cavity formation then the concrete lining requires nominal
reinforcement

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q In those reaches where convergence in the tunnel section is observed then we
must go for doubly reinforced concrete lining.
q Zero tolerance should be observed to achieve thickness as per the design, while
placing the concrete lining.
Thus, while looking for RCC lining, some considerations are important and some are
as follows,
1) Working Stress Design
2) Ultimate Load Design
3) Probabilistic Design
4) Limit States Design
For sufficiently long duration, Designers were following the working stress design
method and for RCC structures and lining. Now there is much more improvement in
the production of reinforcing steel, therefore, design could also be made cost
effective by adopting limit states.

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DESIGN OPTIONS:
Therefore, it would be prudent that all the structures i.e. RCC Concrete Lining
and other RCC components shall be designed on the limit states.

Now under limit states, the following 2 options are available:

q Limit state of Collapse
q Limit state of Serviceability
The maximum Stresses in the characteristic curve is restricted to 0.67 fck for
concrete.
Further for design purpose in Limit States Design, the 0.67 fck is further
divide by γm i.e. partial factor of safety (1.5) Thus, design fc = 0.447 fck
0.80 X 0.87 fy
Similarly, for HYSD bars of Fe 415 the εyd =
Es
εyd = 0.00144

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For designing the Concrete lining, the following points are to be kept in
consideration,
1. σt is basically tangential stress responsible for mobilising the shear stress on the
inner and outer faces of the lining.
2. σθ is the radial stress responsible for mobilisation of bending moments which is
prime input for fixing up the thickness of the concrete lining.
3. Once σθ is calculated than to fix up the thickness and concrete lining, either we
have to follow working stress design or limit state design, possibly ignoring the
curvature of concrete lining.
The effects of curvature in the lining, could also be considered but the analysis and
design will become slightly complex and thickness of lining could be optimum in
comparisons to the thickness of concrete lining obtained by the procedure described as
Sl. No. 3 as above.
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Similar to above, the designing of lining thickness for shotcrete and steel liner, is
based on the following,

i. How much hoop stress (tension) is on the outer side of concrete & steel
lining is taking place.
ii. Similar check is required for compressive stress on the inner side of the steel
lining.
iii. As far as shotcrete is concerned, it is considered the part of Primary support
placed soon after the excavation.

Usually SFRS (Steel Fibre Reinforced Shotcrete) is considered for lining in place of
concrete lining but this is placed only in those tunnels which are excavated in
very good rock and primary support as above is subjected to local shear loads
only.

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Tunnel lining is not an independent structure; its most
important part is the ground surrounding it and the ground
water. The objective is to stabilize the ground movements
but not to carry ground loads. It is a safety as well the
requirement for the smooth ventilation too in long rail-road
tunnels. Tunnel linings sometimes fail during operation of
hydraulic tunnels or during sequential emptying process for
the checkups or the maintenance. Its restoration is a very
tedious and revenue losing proposition while the reasons for
the failure could be many. Therefore never compromise
on the quality of lining in hydro projects or water
conveyance tunnels.
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CONSIDERATIONS FOR LOADS:
Tunnels in hydro projects especially the Head Race Tunnel is subjected to the following
loads,
(i) Head Race Tunnel when excavated is subjected to the σ′θ and σ′t that is radial stress
and tangential stress but these stresses stabilize with passage of time. By the time
tunnel excavation phase is completed, the entire tunnel length comes to equilibrium
condition.
(ii) Once Head Race Tunnel is concrete lined and filled with water the concrete lining is
subjected to internal hydraulic pressure. The acceptable limit of internal hydraulic
pressure is usually kept within 5-6 kg/cm2. However, Mangdechhu Project, Bhutan
Head Race Tunnel is subjected to almost 10 kg/cm2 which is slightly on the higher
side, keeping in view the grade of concrete used i.e. M25/M20.
(iii)The typical loading comes on concrete lining when Head Race Tunnel is dewatered,
either for inspection after some time or there is sign of damage in concrete lining. At
this juncture, the concrete lining is subjected to high external water pressure.

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Among the 3 conditions stipulated, the most serious condition is when
tunnel is dewatered.
Now when tunnel is subjected to internal pressure, theoretically
tension comes on the outer face of concrete lining, but when the
tunnel is dewatered the high compressive stress is experienced by the
concrete lining.
Therefore, the concrete lining is designed to sustain the tensile stress
on outer surface and also compressive stress of high magnitude when
the tunnel is dewatered.
Now, the slides which are showing the 2 conditions where in first
condition stipulates when the concrete lining cracks and in other
condition the surrounding rock cracks. Both are important to calculate
to design the thickness of concrete lining required.

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“Heim” in year 1912 suggested that the inability of rock to
support large stress differences together with the effects of
time-dependent deformation of the rock mass can cause lateral
and vertical stresses to equalize over periods of geological time.
At shallow depth’s there is a considerable amount of scatter
which may be associated with the fact that these stress values
are often close to the limit of the measuring accuracy. It is
established that K, ratio of average horizontal to vertical stress,
follows that the limit as given here,

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At Depths of less than 500 m, the horizontal stresses are significantly greater
than vertical stress.

For depth is excess of 1 km, the average horizontal stress and the vertical
stress tend to equalize, as suggested by Heim’s rule.

If very high horizontal stress existed at depth in excess of 1 km, then it

would induced fracturing, plastic flow and time dependent deformation in the
rock, and all of these processes would tend to reduce the difference between
horizontal and vertical stresses.

Concrete lining design has to consider the horizontal (σh) and vertical stress
(σv) stresses as external loading.

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Internal water head and water hammer induced additional head i.e.
2.5 to 3 times of static head is always considered.

The lining thickness with reinforcement at both the faces of the

concrete lining is required to be calculated based on working stresses
or by limit state method.

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TYPICAL DERIVATION FOR
RADIAL STRESS AND σ • “r ” is radius from center of
TENGENTIAL STRESS IN THE
TUNNEL
circular, Concrete Lined pressure
tunnel to any point of interest
(in the lining or rockmass).
ri ra
• “r”i is the radius to the inside
concrete surface
σ σ
σi • “r”a is the radius to the outside

concrete surface.
• ra - ri is the
i concrete thickness.
• a = ra
Concrete Lining
ri
σ

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 σ • “σi ” is water pressure in the Tunnel
• “ δ ” is the displacement of point on the
bi
inner (water) side of Concrete Lining
• “ δ ba” is the displacement of point on the
outer side of Concrete Lining
ri ra • “ V b ” is poisson’s ratio of Concrete
• “ V g ” is poisson’s ratio of rockmass
σ σ • “mb” is Vb-1 is poisson’s number for
σi Concrete
• “E b” is young’s modulus of rock
• “σr ” is radial stress
• “σ”
θ circumferential (hoop) stress
Concrete Lining
• “Eθ ” is hoop strain

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• Considering the problem in plane strain axisymmetric about center
of the tunnel,
RADIAL STRESS
• σr = ri2 ra2 (σi- σ) 1 σra2- σiri2 ….. (i)
. +
ra2- ri2 r2 ra2- ri2
HOOP STRESS
• σθ = - ri2 ra2 (σi- σ) 1 σra2- σiri2 ….. (ii)
ra2- ri2 . r2 + ra2- ri2

Equations (i) or (ii) show that σr for positive , σθ is negative. Thus

for comprehensive positive water pressure inside the Tunnel, a

Concrete Lining goes into a hoop tension.

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q If there is no external rock pressure to resist lining dilation associated with the
hoop tension then the concrete lining must support this tension on its own.
Therefore, an initial conservative approach is to design the lining on the basis of this
condition, that is, no interval compressive pressure external to the Tunnel lining,

• σr = ri2 ra2 σi 1 σiri2

. - ….. (iii)
(ra 2- r i2 ) r2 (ra 2- r i2 )

• σθ = - ri2 ra2 σi 1 σiri2

. - ….. (iv)
(ra 2- r i2 ) r2 (ra 2- r i2 )

the above elastic analysis takes no account of constraint to dilation offered by the
surrounding rock.

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q Charles Jaeger (1979) has shown that hoop stresses at inner faces σr (θ) a of lining would be

• at inner face σri = σi

• σr(θ)i = ra2 + ri2 - 2 kra2

- (σi) ….. (v)
ra2- ri2

• at outer face σra = k.σi

• σr(θ)a = -2ri2 -k ( ra2+ ri2)

….. (vi)
- (σi)
ra2- ri2

k is the proportion of the internal pressure σi

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• that is transferred to the lining outer face.

2ri2
σa Eb (ra2 - ri2 )
k = = ….. (vii)
σi mg+ I (mb - I) ra + (mb+ I)
2 ri2
+
Eg mbEb (ra2 - ri2 )

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• The Concrete Lining may contain cracks, generally in radial direction,
resulting perhaps from thermal gradients during curing and also perhaps
squeezing compressive pressures from the rock after construction and
before the internal water pressure is applied in the tunnel.

• Assuming that the cracking is uniform, then a pressure

= ri σ
σr
ra i
is applied to the rock and the stress on the rock surface is of the same
magnitude in Tension (- σt = σr)

• If the water pressure is sufficiently wide then water will penetrate from
the inside to the outside of the lining, so causing σr = - σt = σr

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• Discontinuities in rock mass, generally tight and relatively impermeable as a
result of geostatic stress, will be loosened in the vicinity of Tunnel.

• Let r = rd be the distance into the rock at which the construction-imposed

disturbance ceases.

• For r < rd with in the more open rock mass structure,

ri
σr = σi ….. (viii)
rd
• and because the cracks are open and are assumed not close under the stress
imposed by the tunnel internal water pressure σi

σt = 0 ….. (ix)

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• assuming also that the cracks are not full of ground water nor have they been
penetrated by water from tunnel through cracked lining.

• If water is present,

-σr < σt < 0

• Beyond the cracked rock annulus and into the intact rock,

rird2 rird
σr = -σt = . σi = . σi ….. (x)
rd r2
r2

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Conclusion:
Design of Concrete Lining/ Steel Liner needs the consideration about the probable
loads likely to come on the lining/ steel liner after the tunnel is filled with water.
The most important condition of the tunnel design is basically when the tunnel is
subjected to dewatering after some years for a periodic check/ expected collapse
of the tunnel lining. The external load due to high water table, and the external
load created by the big cavities which happened during the excavation phase of
the tunnel.
In addition to above, a typical condition happens in the tunnel when the
overburden depth is less then the internal hydraulic pressure which most of the
time, responsible for the collapse of the concrete lining. In this typical condition,
usually the steel liner is provided to counter the internal pressure that is hoop
stresses getting created but steel liner is the only solution to sustain such high
hoop stresses.
Therefore, the importance of tunnel concrete lining design is very high to keep
the tunnel safe, even under odd conditions.
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Typically, doubly reinforced concrete lining is provided in the tunnels to counter
the hoop stress as well as the external loadings. Most of the designers preferred
the PCC in place of RCC in the tunnel lining but that is a serious design
consideration because most of the external loads are not known in the magnitude
and any assumption made by the designer may or may not fulfil the design
conditions. Therefore, it is always better to propose doubly reinforced concrete
lining in place of PCC in the typical tunnel sections.
However, steel liner placement in the reaches where overburden is less, is the
best solution to save the tunnel from collapse. Special steel liner is always
proposed which is often imported from Europe/ US so that no compromise is
made in the metallurgy of the steel liner.
Participants may refer books and specific technical papers authored by the
eminent engineers and published in the proceedings of the ITA conferences and
seminars.

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