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Numerical Analyses of the Influence of Blast-Induced Damaged Rock Around Shallow Tunnels in Brittle Rock

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Abstract

Most of the railway tunnels in Sweden are shallow-seated (<20 m of rock cover) and are located in hard brittle rock masses. The majority of these tunnels are excavated by drilling and blasting, which, consequently, result in the development of a blast-induced damaged zone around the tunnel boundary. Theoretically, the presence of this zone, with its reduced strength and stiffness, will affect the overall performance of the tunnel, as well as its construction and maintenance. The Swedish Railroad Administration, therefore, uses a set of guidelines based on peak particle velocity models and perimeter blasting to regulate the extent of damage due to blasting. However, the real effects of the damage caused by blasting around a shallow tunnel and their criticality to the overall performance of the tunnel are yet to be quantified and, therefore, remain the subject of research and investigation. This paper presents a numerical parametric study of blast-induced damage in rock. By varying the strength and stiffness of the blast-induced damaged zone and other relevant parameters, the near-field rock mass response was evaluated in terms of the effects on induced boundary stresses and ground deformation. The continuum method of numerical analysis was used. The input parameters, particularly those relating to strength and stiffness, were estimated using a systematic approach related to the fact that, at shallow depths, the stress and geologic conditions may be highly anisotropic. Due to the lack of data on the post-failure characteristics of the rock mass, the traditional Mohr–Coulomb yield criterion was assumed and used. The results clearly indicate that, as expected, the presence of the blast-induced damage zone does affect the behaviour of the boundary stresses and ground deformation. Potential failure types occurring around the tunnel boundary and their mechanisms have also been identified.

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Abbreviations

σ i :

intact compressive strength (MPa)

σ m :

compressive strength of the undamaged rock mass (MPa)

E m :

deformation modulus of the undamaged rock mass (GPa)

ϕ m :

frictional strength of the undamaged rock mass (°)

c m :

cohesive strength of the undamaged rock mass (MPa)

σ tm :

tensile strength of the undamaged rock mass (MPa)

D :

disturbance factor

σ d :

compressive strength of the damaged rock mass (MPa)

E d :

deformation modulus of the damaged rock mass at the tunnel boundary (GPa)

E d(ij) :

deformation modulus of the damaged rock mass at point i, j (GPa)

ϕ d :

frictional strength of the damaged rock mass (°)

c d :

cohesive strength of the damaged rock mass (MPa)

σ td :

tensile strength of the damaged rock mass (MPa)

L d :

total thickness of the damaged rock zone (m)

L d(ij) :

thickness of the damaged rock zone at point i, j (m)

σ UBd :

upper bound compressive strength of the damaged rock mass

σ BCd :

base case compressive strength of the damaged rock mass

σ LBd :

lower bound compressive strength of the damaged rock mass

c UBd :

upper bound cohesive strength of the damaged rock mass

c BCd :

base case cohesive strength of the damaged rock mass

c LBd :

lower bound cohesive strength of the damaged rock mass

σ θ − σ r :

induced differential or deviatoric stress

σ θ :

tangential stress (induced)

σ r :

radial stress (induced)

σ 3max :

maximum confining stress

σ 3min :

minimum confining stress

σ nmax :

maximum normal stress derived from normal stress–shear stress envelope

σ nmin :

minimum normal stress derived from normal stress–shear stress envelope

τ max :

maximum shear stress derived from normal stress–shear stress envelope

τ min :

minimum shear stress derived from normal stress–shear stress envelope

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge the Swedish Railroad Administration (Banverket) for funding this study, and Mr. Peter Lundman and Dr. Finn Ouchterlony for discussing the tunnel and rock excavation guidelines in Sweden. Doctors Evert Hoek and Mark Diederichs are sincerely acknowledged for their communications regarding the use of the Hoek–Brown criterion for shallow excavations and the use of disturbance factor descriptions for estimating the deformation modulus for the damaged rock.

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  1. Division of Rock Mechanics, Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, Sweden

    David Saiang & Erling Nordlund

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  1. David Saiang
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Correspondence to David Saiang.

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Saiang, D., Nordlund, E. Numerical Analyses of the Influence of Blast-Induced Damaged Rock Around Shallow Tunnels in Brittle Rock. Rock Mech Rock Eng 42, 421–448 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-008-0013-1

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