Engineering tunnels for 100 years of

life: A designer’s perspective

Sustainable Concrete Technology for
Tunnel & Bridges
Concrete Show India 2018 (24-26th May
2018, Mumbai)
Overview
 Durability ?!
 Reasons to have a (permanent) Tunnel Lining
 Types of tunnel lining
 Provisions for Concrete Linings

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Design Life
 The EUROCODE knows “structural classes”,
reflecting the importance and usage of structures
 The usual design life is 50 years, however the
highest structural class assumes 100 years
 Infrastructure buildings, like tunnels, fall in this
category
 The design life is then one of the inputs for the
durability considerations

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Durability - Concrete
 IS456 defines the Environmental Exposure
Conditions
 EC2 defines the Exposure Classes
 All codes recognize that Concrete is exposed to
chemical attacks (chloride, sulphate), and that the
deterioration of the concrete may lead to unsafe
conditions and reduced design life.
 The requirements on the mix design, components
and concrete cover derive from durability
considerations

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Attack and consequences – e.g. carbonisation

 Concrete cover is reducing over time

 Reinforcement is then exposed to environmental attack
 Oxidation sets in – rust has a higher volume than steel
 Spalling, leading to higher exposure
 Loss of steel area = loss of structural safety
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Reasons for a permanent tunnel lining
 Long-term stability of the excavation
 Waterproofing
 Protection of installations (cables etc can be put in
a protected area) – mechanical impact and fire
 Smoothness of the surface
 Desired inner geometry of a structure deviates from
the excavated geometry
 Protection of the installations inside the
underground opening

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Historical Image – Tunnelling / Masonry Lining

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Lining - New Austrian Tunnelling Method
Rabcewicz 1944 (Patent 1948):
 First flexible, thin support to allow the rock mass the possibility
of deformation to reduce rock pressure
 After reduction of rock pressure installation of final support
 Optimisation of this process by means of observation and
monitoring
 Waterproofing may be installed before installation of final lining

1. Excavation
2. Primary lining
3. Invert in final thickness
4. Final Lining
5. Abutments for final lining
6. Waterproofing

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Typical lining of a Road Tunnel

From: NATM – The Austrian way for Conventional Tunnelling

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Segmental Lining Types
Single Shell Segmental – Double Shell Segmental -
Metro Railway

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Issues to be tackled
 Tunnel linings are always in contact with the
ground
 Tunnel linings are exposed to groundwater
 The “air side” of tunnel linings may be exposed to
other agents, i.e. freezing / thawing in cold
climates, sea salt, heat, and the residuals of
seepage water that evaporated (!)
 Different lining types have different requirements

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Segmental Lining (single shell)
 Is usually reinforced
 Is precast (means lesser variation in cover)
 Highly controlled environment for production (lesser
variation in cover)
 Must withstand directly all exposures, including
water pressure
 Durability criteria ensured inter alia through
prescribed maximum RCPT value
 Cover is in line with codal provisions (like EN206)

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Exposure – Single Shell

Extrados – Groundwater, Ground

Intrados – Air, Seepage water, Humidity

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Cast insitu lining
 Invert is usually reinforced
 In the overt reinforcement is avoided if possible
 Due to site casting, more cover requirement
especially on the ground face
 However waterproofing membranes are reducing
the exposure, and drainage systems reduce
exposure to water pressure
 Cover is in line with codal provisions (like EN206)

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Cast-insiut lining - exposures

From: NATM – The Austrian way for Conventional Tunnelling

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Example for Design Check (Segment)

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Exposure to Fire
 Apart from chemical attack, a tunnel may
experience during the 100 year lifetime tunnel fires
 The impact on the lining depends on the fire load
(metro tunnel – highway tunnel with petroleum
tanker incident)
 Spalling of the concrete leads to loss in cross
section and eventually complete loss of lining
 Can be tackled through prescribed cover (IS) or by
mixing fibres into the concrete
 Fire resistance checks are part of the design

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Destroyed Lining after fire in Road Tunnel

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 THANKS
FOR YOUR
ATTENTION !

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