Numerical Analysis in Geotechnics – NAG2015, 20 August 2015, Hanoi

Physical model test and numerical modeling on the progressive

failure of unsupported horseshoe shaped tunnel

Vu Ba Thao
Hydraulic Construction Institute, Vietnam Academy for Water Resources, Hanoi, Vietnam.
E-mail: vubathao@gmail.com
Dinh Thi Hong Minh
Department of Architectural Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
E-mail: hongminhdinh@yahoo.com
Zhu Hehua
Department of Geotechnical Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
E-mail: zhuhehua@tongji.edu.cn
Xu Qianwei
Urban Rail Transit and Railway Engineering Department, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
E-mail: xuqianwei@tongji.edu.cn

Keywords: progressive failure, horseshoe shaped tunnel, failure pattern, physical model test, FLAC3D

Company name,
ABSTRACT: City, Country.
Investigating the E-mail: email@address.com
instability of unsupported tunnels is a meaningful way to gain insight into
the fundamental mechanisms of progressive failure of the surrounding rocks. Knowing such progressive
failure mechanisms is helpful for designers to choose an appropriate strategy for support design and
excavation sequences. This study aimed to investigate the mechanisms of progressive failure of a
horseshoe shaped tunnel by large-scale physical model test and numerical analyses - FLAC3D code. The
model test results reveal that the progressive failure process could be classified into five major stages:
convergent deformation, cracking and spalling, shear fracture, crown failure, and collapse. The patterns of
maximum shear strain increment attained by numerical analyses were basically consistent with the shear
fracture zones observed in the model test. A closed pattern of maximum shear strain increment forming
around the tunnel would be considered as a criterion to judge the collapsed of tunnel.

an unsupported tunnel. The theoretical methods

1. INTRODUCTION
The collapse of tunnel is a natural progressive
failure process. The failure takes place at the
surrounding rock masses and finally results in the
complete structural failure of the tunnel.
Understanding the mechanisms of such failure is
essential for the optimal design of support systems
and excavation sequence, and also for operational
safety (Gencer, 1985; Martin et al., 1997).
Nevertheless, the progressive failure process of a
tunnel has not been well understood and it is
considered to be a challenging problem for rock
mechanics researchers (Hoek et al., 1980).
There are many complementary methods (e.g.,
theoretical methods, in-situ experiments, laboratory
model tests, and numerical simulations) used to
investigate the mechanism of the failure process of
generally consider the failure process for the ideal
case of a homogeneous, isotropic, and circular
tunnel. The in-situ experiments or full-scale model
tests are visualized and reliable methods to
examine the progressive failure processes
surrounding a tunnel and the formation of the
excavation-disturbed zone. In fact, the in-situ
investigation is very expensive, difficult to run, and
hard to repeat (Meguid et al., 2008). Also, the in-
situ experiments are limited by series of
unchangeable parameters, e.g., rock characteristics
and in situ stress states. Although the advantages of
computational techniques have enabled to conduct
extensive numerical analyses, tunnel engineering
researchers rely highly on laboratory model tests to
understand progressive failure process of rock
masses, because the model tests can be tested till
the collapse stage. As such, the rock masses mechanical parameters of both the prototype rock
undergo elastic, plastic, and failure states. The mass and the model material, including density (),
process of deformation, cracking, spalling, shear elastic modulus (E), cohesion (c), internal friction
fracture, and ultimate collapsed zones can be angle (), and Poison’s ratio (). Five raw
obtained. As a result, the whole progressive failure materials, namely, barite powder, gypsum, fine
process is revealed. sand, laundry detergent, and water were utilized to
Many attempts have been made to investigate the make the model material. Proportion of raw
progressive fracture process around underground material has been selected: Barite powder :
openings by physical model tests (e.g., Hoek, Gypsum : Fine sand : Laundry detergent : Water =
1965; Gay, 1976; Ewy and Cook, 1990a; Cheon et 12:4:1.8:0.33:1. Development process and
al., 2008; Huang et al., 2012), but much fewer characteristics of the model material is presented in
attempts were made for weak rocks. In addition, another article (Vu et al., 2013).
the progressive failure processes of circular, Table 1. Mechanical parameters of the prototype and
elliptical, square and rectangular shaped tunnel the model materials.
have been studied thoroughly, but that of the
Material  E c  
horseshoe shaped tunnel, which is regarded as the
(kN/m3) (MPa (kPa) (o)
most popular in highway construction nowadays, )
has not yet been adequately investigated. Rock mass 20-23 1300- 200- 27-39 0.3-0.35
This study aimed to investigate the progressive 6000 700
1/30 20-23 4-200 7-23 27-39 0.3-0.35
failure of a horseshoe shaped tunnel in weak rock
Model material 21 90 16 35 0.32
by large-scale physical model test. The results of
model test were then verified with numerical
analyses using FLAC3D code. 2.2 Test apparatus
2. PHYSICAL MODEL TEST DESIGN The physical model tests were conducted using a
large scale two-dimensional test rig which was
2.1 Similarity theory and model material developed by the authors' group as shown in Fig. 1.
Model tests must satisfy requirements in terms of The test rig consists of a stiff modular frame and a
geometry, mechanical properties, boundary hydraulic loading system. The load system is able
conditions, and initial stress conditions. The to generate non-uniform loads and automatically
similarity coefficients include geometry (CL), control and stabilize the loading within five days.
The test frame and loading system can provide a
stress (C), strain (C), displacement (C), elastic
maximum load of 4 MPa. Dimensions of the model
modulus (CE), Poisson’s ratio (C), density (C),
test are 2.0 m2.0 m0.4 m, and tunnel profile is
frictional coefficient (C), cohesion (Cc), and
located at the center area of the model (as seen in
compressive strength (CR). The following criteria
Fig. 2a). A transparent glass plate with dimension
must be satisfied in physical modeling (Fumagalli
E., 1979): of 0.8m0.8 m is installed at the center to observe
the deformation of the tunnel profile.
C C This study adopted Particle Image Velocimetry
 1,  1,
C CL C CL (PIV) technical which was developed by White et
al., (2001a) to analyze the shear zone formed
C
around the tunnel during excavation and
 1, C  C  C  1 (1) overloading process. PIV has become a popular
C CE
non-intrusive means by which ground
In scaled model test, Cis determined as 1. displacement around a tunnel can be measured.
Considering the available facilities and resources, Several studies have reported the usefulness of
geometric coefficient CL has been selected as 30. applying the PIV technique to geotechnical
Then other coefficients can be derived from Eq. applications (e.g., White and Take, 2002; Vu et al.,
(1), as C C= C= CC= CE= CR= Cc= 30. 2015).
The rock mass of Grade IV, based on the design The referred prototype for the tests was two-lane
codes of road tunnel in China, has been chosen as a cross sections tunnel; span and height of tunnel
prototype for this study. Table 1 presents the
 Front side of the model test Back side of the model test and loading system
Figure 1. Photographs of the model test
 V

 
V  H  
V
 

 H

 
 
  

1120
2000


223

223
 

372 372
880

   
   
   

Unit: mm
 
V2
1000 1000


V2

Unit: mm 2000  V

(a) Initial in-situ stress. (b) Overloading process

Figure 2. Sketch of applied pressure.

(a) (b) (c) (d)

Figure 3. Excavation sequence. (a) Excavating the left part. (b) Excavating the right part. (c)
Excavating the middle upper part. (d) Excavating the middle lower part.

depth of 30m and the actual excavation process are

were 11.16 m and 6.69 m respectively. By scaling
tested (initial in-situ stress as seen in Fig. 2a).
down with the ratio of 1:30, the tunnel span and
The second stage is conducted to evaluate the
height were 0.372 m and 0.223 m respectively. The
behavior of surrounding rock mass under the
overburden depth of tunnel, H was 30 m.
higher in-situ stresses by increasing the overloads
2.3 Test scheme step by step (overloading process as seen in Fig.
2b). The test moved to the next loading step only
To investigate the whole failure process of tunnel when the failure pattern of rock masses remained
surrounding rock mass, the test process was unchanged as it ensures that the surrounding rock
divided into two stages. In the first stage, the load masses had reached a new stable state. The time
applied on the model equivalent to the overburden required for each loading step was approximately
30 minutes. The test scheme were designed as
follows:
(1) Model construction: The model material was
placed and then compacted homogeneously
inside the test frame. Weight and volume of the
material were parameters to control
homogeneous character of the model material.
(2) Initial in-situ stress: Apply pressures equivalent
to the overburden depth of 30m. To make sure
the model material was homogenous and
undisturbed, the loading process was divided
into several steps; interval time between each
step was 30 minutes.
(3) Excavation: Sequential excavation method was
adopted (as seen on Fig. 3) as it is the most
common practice in practical tunnel
engineering in soft rock mass. The excavation
sequence was: left part – right part – middle
upper part – middle lower part.
(4) Overloading process: The overloading was
increased gradually until the tunnel finally
collapsed. The horizontal and vertical loads
were increased simutaneously with unchanged
ratio, as it guaranteed that the lateral pressure
coefficient remained unchanged during
overloading process.
3. NUMERICAL MODELING
3.1 Model building
Numerical modeling were carried out by the three-
dimensional explicit finite difference program,
FLAC3D (Itasca Consulting Group). In order to
compare the results of numerical analyses and
model tests, boundary conditions, loadings, and
rock properties used in the numerical modeling
were chosen to be the same as those in the model
tests. The numerical analyses considered a mesh
with a width of 2 m, a height of 2 m and a
thickness of 0.4 m, as shown in Fig. 4, which are
the exact dimensions of the model tests. Model
material was treated as an isotropic and elastic
perfectly plastic continuum following the Mohr-
Coulomb failure criterion.
A plane-strain model was used to simulate the
failure process of the tunnel during the excavation
and overloading process. To establish a plane-
strain model by a three-dimensional program,
which are the same as the model tests, the
boundaries of the front and back sides of the model
were fixed in the longitudinal direction of the
tunnel (Y-direction). The left and right boundaries
were fixed in the vertical direction (Z-direction),
and the bottom boundary was fixed in the
horizontal direction (X-direction).
2m
2m
0.4 m
Figure 4. FLAC3D model
3.2 Simulation processes
The procedure of model test included: construction
of model  simulation of initial in-situ stress 
excavation process  overloading process. In
numerical modeling, construction of model and
simulation of initial in-situ stress can be combined
into one stage. The procedure of numerical
modeling was as follows:
(1) In-situ stress simulation: Numerical modeling
was started at a state of geostatic equilibrium
and allowed to come to equilibrium state under
the force of gravity. This step provides an
estimate of the in-situ stress in the rock masses
prior to excavation. The values of in-situ stress
were calculated from the overburden depths
and the stress ratio (K=H/V). Pressure
applied on the boundaries of the model are
illustrated in Fig. 2.
(2) Excavation: Excavation sequence was done
exactly as in the physical model tests, as seen
in Fig. 4. No supported system was considered.
The value of maximum nodal unbalance force
was used to determine if the simulation has
reached equilibrium.
(3) Overloading: Overloading was applied step by
step until the model reached a non-convergent
state. The overloading sequence was exactly as
in the physical model tests. The lateral pressure
coefficient remained unchanged during
 overloading process. Overloading process
moved to the next loading step when an
equilibrium state was reached.
4. RESULTS ANALYSES
4.1 Progressive failure of tunnel obtained by model
test
The failure processes and failure patterns of tunnel
are illustrated in Fig. 5. The convergent
deformation at the crown and the floor increased
gradually during the excavation process. Following
an increase in vertical deformation at the crown
and the floor, the weight of rock masses gradually
exerted pressure on sidewall region causing
overstress in the rock mass. Cracks and shear
fractures occurred at two sidewalls, where stress
concentrated. The span of the opening became
larger due to the failed rocks attempt to cave into
the opening from the fracture zones at two
sidewalls. As a result, vertical deformation of rocks
at the roof and floor increased and cracks
developed over a larger area. Subsequently, the
crown collapsed and the floor got uplifted. When
overloading increased, the weight of rock mass in
the crown area again pressurized on the sidewalls
and it caused the fracture zone to be larger and
expand the span of the opening. It could be seen
that vertical deformation of rocks at the roof and
shear fracture zone at the sidewalls was a
reversible process. Eventually, rock mass
surrounding the opening failed entirely when it was
not able to withstand the ultimate overloading.
The failure processes of the rock masses can be
classified into five major stages: (1) Convergent
deformation, (2) Cracks and spalling, (3) Shear
fracture, (4) Crown failure and remote crack
formation, and (5) Collapse.
Stage 1 Convergent deformation
During and after excavation, the rocks close to
tunnel periphery tended to move towards the
opening (Fig. 5a). The values of tunnel strain were
found to change at different locations on the
boundary of the tunnel. Tunnel strains were visibly
observed at the crown and floor. However,
maximum value of tunnel strain (1.8%) occurred at
the crown. Despite the deformation of the tunnel,
rock mass was in a stable state after complete
excavation.
Stage 2 Micro-cracks and spalling
The tunnel convergent deformation increased with
an increase of applied pressures. Micro-cracks
initiated at compressive zone at the position
between sidewall and corner of tunnel (Fig. 5b).
Although tunnel strain at the crown was
comparatively high at 3.0 %, the tunnel was still in
stable state. Spalling of rock mass took place at
crack zones. The spalling zones at two corners
were seen to be comparatively larger than at two
sidewalls.
Stage 3 Shear fracture
With increase of applied pressures, micro-cracks at
sidewalls initially propagated in both vertical and
horizontal directions. Thereafter, it gradually
developed deeper inside rock masses at sidewalls
and eventually became a continuous crack in each
sidewall. Once this continuous crack connected
with tunnel boundary, a potential shear fracture
zone appeared. Such fracture zone occurred at the
sidewalls and corners and its shape was similar to a
wedge failure (Fig. 5c).
Under higher applied pressure, slabs detached from
the fracture zone and caved into the opening.
Subsequently, span of the tunnel became enormous
and as a result, vertical deformation at the crown
and floor increased significantly. A new geometry
of the tunnel was then formed. This new tunnel
profile was stable unless additional applied loading
was exerted on the boundary of the model test.
Stage 4 Crown failure and remote crack formation
A number of remote cracks initiated from the shear
fracture zones at the sidewalls and then propagated
upwards (Fig. 5c and 5d). Rock masses near the
boundary of the tunnel, particularly in crown
region, a potential collapsed zone formed at the
crown and tended to drop into the tunnel. The rock
at crown can be considered to be in a loosened
state but it can still support the stability of the
tunnel by itself.
Stage 5 Collapsed
Fig. 5e presents the tunnel crown collapsed
completely. After collapsing, further remote cracks
were formed upwards. These cracks can also be
seen obviously from the shear zones and shear
bands obtained by PIV technical.
4.2 Comparison between model test and numerical
analysis
Maximum shear strain increment has been
primarily utilized as a criterion to assess the failure
 Failure Photograps attained Shear zones attained Maximum shear strain Failure characteristics
process from model test from model test attained by FLAC3D
throught PIV
(a) No visual failure was seen
Convergent after excavation, except
deformation the convergent
at the crown deformation at the crown
and bottom and bottom.

(b) Cracks Shear strain increment

and spalling reached maximum value
at sidewalls at the corners where
and corners cracks, spalling and shear
fracture zones occurred.

(c) Shear Photographs, shear zone

fracture at (PIV) and shear strain
sidewalls increment all show the
and corners tendency of shear fracture
zones forming at the
sidewalls and cracks
occurring around the
tunnel.
(d) Crown Horizontal shear bands
failured and occurring on the crown
remote and floor regions refers
cracks that the rocks started
occurred failing at these places.

(e) Collapse The tunnel collapsed

entirely when shear strain
increment was distributed
throughout the crown and
invert.

Figure 5. Progressive failure of tunnel

tendency of crack propagation that was seen in

surface or failure zones of the rocks around the
model tests. Shear zones and shear bands obtained
tunnels (Zheng et al., 2012). In this study, shear
by the PIV technique in model test gave additional
strain increment was used to evaluate the shear
evidence to confirm these findings.
fracture zones due to excavation and overloading.
These fracture zones will be verified with the shear Magnitude of overloading under which the tunnel
zones obtained by PIV technical based on photos crown initially collapsed was approximately
taken at each loading step in the physical model equivalent to the overloading level at which the
tests. full-fill patterns and the shear bands connected and
became a closed pattern around the opening.
As seen in Fig. 5, the maximum shear strain
Therefore, it can be concluded that the formation
increment forming around the tunnel can be
of closed pattern of maximum shear strain
categorized into two types: full-fill patterns and
increment around the tunnel can be considered as a
shear bands. Full-fill patterns were found to be
criterion to judge the collapsed state of the tunnel.
consistent with shear fracture zones observed in the
model tests whereas the shear bands show the
5. CONCLUSIONS
The failure processes and failure patterns of a
horseshoe shaped tunnel were investigated by
physical model test and numerical analysis using
FLAC3D code. Some conclusions are drawn
hereby:
 Progressive failure processes of a horseshoe
shaped tunnel in weak rocks could be classified
into five major stages: convergent deformation,
cracking and spalling, shear fracture, crown
failure, and collapse. Cracking, spalling, and
shear fracuture occurs initially at the corners of
the tunnel, these locations would be considered
as the most potential failure zones. It is thus
suggested to have a reasonable support strategy
for the corner areas of horseshoe shaped tunnel.
 Shear fractures were regarded as the most
important type of failure in surrounding rocks.
The shear fractures at the corners and sidewalls
can lead the span of the tunnel to expand and
causes the roof to settle, and eventually,
resulting in the collapse of the tunnel.
Therefore, controlling the occurrence of cracks
meant avoiding the shear fracture and the
collapse of tunnel.
 Full-fill patterns of shear strain obtained by
FLAC3D code were consistent with the shear
zones observed in model tests whereas the
shear bands from FLAC3D show the tendency
of crack propagation in model tests. A collapse
criterion of tunnel was proposed as follows: a
closed pattern of maximum shear strain
increment forming around the tunnel is an
indication to judge the collapsed of the tunnel.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This research work was financially supported by
Natural Science Foundation of P.R. China (No.
41130751).
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