ADVANCED NUMERICAL MODELLING IN TUNNEL DESIGN THE

EXAMPLE OF A MAJOR PROJECT IN THE UK

Thomas, Alun Howell, Kandi, Eld, Czegldi, dm & Wolf-Gyri, Mnika
Mott MacDonald Magyarorszg Kft., H-1138 Budapest, Npfrd u. 22., Hungary

Keywords: Numerical Modelling; Sprayed Concrete Lining (SCL); calibration

INTRODUCTION
On major projects more and more numerical models are used in design. Advanced numerical
modelling techniques were developed by Mott MacDonald as part of the design process for an
important project which is situated in a densely populated and sensitive urban environment. The 2D
numerical modelling process was carried out by the program FLAC and the 3D was carried out by
FLAC 3D which both employ an explicit finite difference formulation for the analysis of continua.
This paper presents the state-of-the-art numerical modelling that has been used in the design of
some of the major new stations of a project in the UK. Many of the stations include complex
arrangements of large diameter sprayed concrete lined (SCL) tunnels in close proximity to each
other and existing infrastructure.
To obtain realistic results from a numerical model both the ground and the tunnel need to be
modelled carefully. To ensure the predictions are reliable the numerical model can be calibrated
against monitoring data from real tunnels.
THE GROUND
This section describes the main features of sophisticated numerical models used in the design of a
new metro line.
A considerable amount of research has been done into the behaviour of stiff overconsolidated clays
and the influences on numerical modelling (Thomas 2003, Van der Berg 1999). As well as the
initial conditions (K0 and pore pressure distribution), plasticity, nonlinear elasticity and even
anisotropy have been found be important.
The constitutive model for the ground replicates the nonlinear relationship between ground stresses
and elastic strains as well as its plastic behaviour. The properties of the ground strata vary with
depth as do the in situ stresses and pore pressures (see an example in Figure 1).
In general the data is taken directly from geological and geotechnical investigations. As the pore
pressure is not hydrostatic, moreover at some points it changes quite suddenly and the value of the
relationship between lateral horizontal pressure and the vertical pressure, K0, is also changing in the
overconsolidated clays, the numerical modelling can be complex. The built-in programming
language in FLAC is used to set the depth-varying profiles.
Short and long-term analyses were carried out using the undrained and drained conditions during
the lifetime of the tunnel. Short-term analyses are performed for simulating construction steps,
while long-term analyses are carried out to examine the effects of consolidation. In a short-term
analysis the clay strata were modelled as undrained materials, since negligible water flow will occur
during the period of construction due to their low permeability. The fluid bulk modulus was set to
2GPa. The undrained shear strength values were used for cohesion along with friction angles of
zero to produce a Tresca failure criterion. The granular strata e.g.: Made Ground, sands or gravels
were modelled as drained materials, with a complete dissipation of excess pore pressures during
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the timescale of each advance (due to their relatively high permeability). To simulate this, the fluid
bulk modulus was set to zero (i.e. the pore fluid will not support any part of the total stress changes)
and the effective stress parameters c and were used to produce a Mohr-Coulomb failure
criterion.

Figure 1 Depth-varying pore pressure and K0 profiles

Most strata have nonlinear small strain stiffness constitutive models. This was achieved by updating
the tangent shear and bulk moduli according to the level of octahedral shear strain. A relationship
by the Mott MacDonald team, based on the work of Jardine et al. (1986), and fitted to the laboratory
test data, normalised to mean effective stress p.
1000
900

Brick model

800

Jardine model

Eu/p' (Mpa/kPa)

700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
0.000001

0.00001

0.0001

0.001

0.01

0.1

axial strain (%)

Figure 2 Non-linear stiffness strain relationship for Jardine and Brick models

Following results of the calibration study (see later) this relationship was modified according to the
equation below, to avoid unrealistically low stiffness around tunnels.
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Gsi = A *i p '0.6

where A*i is a function of a.

(1)

For convenience all moduli have been related to a selected reference modulus, Gshh0. This is defined
by an empirical constant, A*hh0, that varies with depth.

THE SPRAYED CONCRETE LINED (SCL) TUNNELS

The construction sequence has an important influence on the behaviour of SCL tunnels so all parts
of the construction sequence were modelled to make the simulation more realistic. For example, if a
large span cavern (e.g. 11m wide) is excavated as a full face excavation, the model may predict
lower volume losses and lower bending moments with a more uniform distribution, than a model
that replicates the multi-stage subdivision of the face that is truly needed to achieve the required
control of ground movements.

Figure 3 An example of construction sequence steps and lining stiffnesses

Sprayed concrete is an unusual construction material as its stiffness varies with age and it can
exhibit significant creep (Thomas 2003). Both phenomena were incorporated into the design. The
sprayed concrete lining was modelled by one-dimensional linear elastic beam elements attached
directly to the periphery of the excavated grid. There is a full moment connection at the nodal links
between the adjacent beam elements. It is reasonable to assume that the joints are good quality by
the use of steel fibre reinforcement. Tests on one recent high profile project confirmed that joints
can be formed with the same strength as the main body of a sprayed concrete lining.
To simulate the increase in stiffness of the sprayed concrete with time, the stiffness is different at
each of the construction stages. The stiffness is set according to the age of the lining and includes an
allowance for creep. The excavation and lining installation times are taken from the cycle time
estimations based on construction programme. The properties of SCL lining have been derived from
the J2 curve (EN 14487-1:2005 (E)) for a concrete aged up to 4 hours and Chang and Stille (1993)
thereafter (see Figure 4). The concrete stiffness has been divided by a factor of 1.5 or 2.0 to account
for creep, in accordance with Eurocode 2.

Stiffness in GPa (adjusted for creep)

30

25

20

15

Chang & Stille 1993

Design Stiffness

10

0
0

16

24

32

40

Age in Hours

Figure 4 Sprayed concrete stiffness against age

3

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The incremental application of load in a 2D model replicates the three dimensional effect seen in a
real tunnel whereby the load comes onto the lining as the excavation face advances. These values
are based on an assessment of the load development from 2D and 3D numerical models and
calibration against monitoring data from real tunnels and it gives a conservative simulation of the
actual development of load on SCL tunnels. The same process of incremental application of load
has been applied to temporary load-bearing structural walls, using forces normal to the wall that are
reduced at the same rate as the application of load from the ground during the relaxation process of
the permanent walls. In addition, to better replicate the results found in three dimensional analyses a
temporary supporting force at the base of top heading has also been applied in two dimensional
analyses. This force makes a correction for the spreading effect of the elephants foot at the base of
the concrete (normally the structural members in 2D models act as knife edge loads which can lead
to particular problems with models using a small strain stiffness relationship).
SCL construction of large diameter tunnels often requires temporary partition of the face during
construction. This can result in a temporary ring (e.g. side drift see an example in Figure 5 and
enlargement arrangements) that includes several larger radius walls or invert in the primary lining.
The resulting geometry subsequently features very tight radius corners. This shape, when modelled
in numerical modelling programs, such as FLAC, appears to attract large bending moments near the
tight radius corner. Furthermore, in general the lining is 100 to 1000 times stiffer than the ground so
the linings tend to attract load. It is believed that in reality, these bending moments do not occur,
and local ground arching spreads the load. Representing this phenomenon by using plastic hinges in
the models produces more realistic results. All joints in the real tunnel are designed as fully
structural joints. The hinges are only an artifice for the 2D numerical modelling to account for 3D
effects. The use of plastic hinges produces a prediction of worst case for ground movements, and
since the moment capacity of the lining is limited to its actual capacity this provides a good check
on the overall stability of the tunnel. The angle of rotation at each hinge in the model is also
checked against allowable limits.

Figure 5 An SCL tunnel under construction

RESULTS
Results of numerical calculations, whether they are extracted from final or intermediate stage are
first checked to see if they look realistic. The first check comes right after setting up the initial
conditions of the model. At this stage manual check is quite simple, because the stresses in the soil
are undisturbed and the soil properties extracted from the model must be the same as the input data.
Later on checking becomes more complicated and we can only rely on measured field data of
earlier built similar tunnels (calibration) or results of earlier calculations in similar circumstances to
decide whether our results are reasonable or not, because hand-calculations are far too difficult and
time consuming.
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Checking plasticity is one way to make sure that the model works properly. Incidence of some
plasticity in the top strata especially if it is a weak soil or surcharge is applied on it or around the
tunnels mostly above is reasonable (see Figure 6). In case of tunnels close to each other, like at
an underground station the soil between the tunnels often reaches its yield limit.
The extent of yielding can be limited by choosing an appropriate excavation sequence with a short
distance to closing the ring of the lining (Thomas 2003).

Figure 6 Plasticity and lining displacement

Bending moments and axial forces in the circumferential direction are extracted from the FLAC
model, then they are increased by a factor of 1.35 and plotted on an interaction diagram with the
concrete lining capacity concrete factored by 1.5, steel factored by 1.15 in accordance with the
Eurocodes. This way we can ensure that the assumed lining is adequate to carry the loads calculated
by the model.

Figure 7 Typical bending moments

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Figure 8 Typical axial forces

A disadvantage of FLAC is that it takes into consideration the prefix of bending moments and axial
forces according to the local coordinate system, not to the global one, this way the plots of these
results are not consistent (see Figure 8 and Figure 8).
Pore pressure and stress plots (see an example in Figure 9) are also of interest, not just from the
final stage but at all stages. The way they vary can indicate immediately if the model predicts
realistic behaviour or not.

Figure 9 Pore pressure plot at the end of short-term analysis

3D models can help in such cases that can not be modelled in 2D, such as junctions. In these cases
the spatial effects can not be simplified to any plane, so realistic results can only be obtained from a
3D model. From a 3D model the same results are extracted as from a 2D one, i.e. structural forces,
displacements (see an example in Figure 10), ground stresses, pore pressure, etc. The safety of the
lining design is checked using the bending moments and axial forces from the model.
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Figure 10 3D junction lining displacements

CALIBRATION
Calibration is fundamental to all numerical modelling. This ensures that computer simulation will
produce realistic results. The modelling procedure was calibrated against monitoring data for both
the lining (see an example in Figure 11) and the ground from real tunnels in similar ground, as well
as 3D numerical models. The real tunnels are a previous Mott MacDonald project, the Heathrow
Express Terminal 4 station where extensive monitoring was installed during construction (Thomas
2003, van der Berg 1999). This calibration process led to a refinement of the relaxation process
which is used to capture the 3D stress redistribution effects in the 2D plane strain numerical models,
the selection of the optimal ground properties (K0 profile) and an assessment of the relative
importance of consolidation.

Original
Model 1
Field data

Y-Position (m)

Model 2

-1

-3

-5
-14

-12

-10

-8

-6

-4

-2

X-Position (m)

Figure 11 Lining displacement profiles from the calibration study

Relaxation
Stress relaxation (see Figure 12) is a method to simulate 3D stress redistribution effect by replacing
the soil stresses along the periphery of the excavation with a set of equivalent gridpoint forces in the
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2D model. In many of the numerical simulations a relaxation of three steps 100%-50%-0% is

used, but this is not suitable for multistage excavations. In the calibration study, the relaxation
factors for each excavation are varied until the volume loss, surface settlement and lining
displacements match field data. In most of the models relaxation of five steps is needed as there is a
Top Heading and Invert excavation sequence. The study showed that a relaxation of 100-80(or 60)40-20-0% was the best (see in Figure 13).
100
90

Excavation

Relaxation (%)

80

Lining

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0

Volume Loss (%)

Figure 12 Relaxation factor vs volume loss for a Top Heading

Ground (K0)
Ground properties were defined from laboratory tests or field data, but sometimes it is necessary to
refine them because of the limitations of the numerical modelling of the ground behaviour. One
example is K0. Experience has shown that if the high values of K0 estimated in the site investigation
are used in a numerical model, then the horizontal movements of tunnel linings are overestimated.
The K0 value can vary in overconsolidated clays, but in some cases this can be replaced by an
alternative profile with a constant value for the whole layer. During the calibration study using
constant K0=1.2 together with the right relaxation proved more realistic (Figure 13). The aim of this
model was to examine the effect of building two tunnels at the same level symmetrically a few
metres (horizontal distance) to the centre of an existing one. Two stages were used for the
calibration. The first stage contained a short-term construction period of the platform tunnel, while
the second stage is after construction of the concourse tunnel. After stage 1 both models matched
perfectly but the effect of the high K0 values become more pronounced after the second tunnel was
built. The model with constant K0=1.2 agrees best overall.

Stage 1
Vertical displacement (mm)

-2
-4
-6
-8
-10
-12

Measured field data

Model with varying K0 & relaxation: 100-70-40-20-0%

-14

Model with K0=1.2 & relaxation: 100-60-40-20-0%

-16
-18
-

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Distance from centreline of Platform tunnel (m)

Stage 2

Vertical displacement (mm)

-5
-10
-15
-20
-25
-30

Measured field data

-35

Model with varying K0 & relaxation: 100-70-40-20-0%

-40

Model with K0=1.2 & relaxation: 100-60-40-20-0%

-45
-50
-14

-4

17

27

37

Distance from centreline of Platform tunnel (m)

Figure 13 Surface settlement results from the calibration study

The other variable ground property with depth is pore pressure. If the pore pressure profile is
hydrostatic above the tunnel but in deeper sections of the ground is different, replacing it with
hydrostatic pore pressure profile for the whole model can be acceptable, because the difference in
pore pressure under the tunnel causes very small changes in the stresses and strains. This only
applies of the change in pore pressure starts more than 1 diameter below the tunnel.
Consolidation
Calculations on partial consolidation for a period of 6 months or less showed small changes in
stresses and strains both in the SCL lining and in the soil (see Table 1). The conclusion is that

consolidation can be neglected in case of construction phases with a time difference less than 6
months to simplify modelling.
Table 1 Comparing model results before and after partial consolidation for 6 months
Stage
Model 01
Model 02
Model 03
Before
130
130
130
Bending moment
[kNm]
After
130
130
123
Before
1190
1230
1137
Axial force [kN]
After
1280
1418
1332
Before
0.87
0.78
0.72
Volume loss [%]
After
0.95
0.86
0.79
Before
32.1
22.8
22.3
Surface settlement
[mm]
After
33.1
23.2
22.7

CONCLUSION
To meet the requirements of state-of-the-art numerical modelling there are many things to take into
consideration for SCL tunnels in soft ground. First of all calibration of the model against monitoring
data of already built, similar tunnels to get as realistic results as possible. During the calibration
process the ground properties and construction sequences are refined and it is decided which are the
most sensitive parameteres to be taken into consideration.
The next step is to build up a model using the right properties and factors obtained from the
calibration and the basis of design. Optimization of the mesh density is one of the best options to
decrease running time of the model. In FLAC special theories i.e. Jardine model for clays, depth
varying pore pressure and K0 profile can be easily defined using the built-in programming
language.
Following the above mentioned principles the numerical modelling process will be relatively easy
to perform and the model produces realistic results.
These models can then provide valuable information on the stability and safety of the proposed
design. They can be used to explore changes in excavation sequence and design. They can also be
used to check the impact on adjacent structures in the sensitive urban environment..
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors gratefully acknowledge the contribution of many other colleagues in this work, notably
Brian Lyons and Yu Sheng Hsu.
.
REFERENCES
Jardine, R. J., Potts, D. M., Fourie, A.B. & Burland, J.B. (1986), Studies of the influence of non-linear stress-strain
characteristics in soil-structure interaction, Geotechnique 36, No. 3, pp. 377-396
Chang, Y. & Stille, H. (1993), Influence of early-age properties of shotcrete on tunnel construction sequences,
Shotcrete for Underground Support VI, pp. 110-117.
Thomas, A. H. (2003), Numerical modelling of sprayed concrete lined (SCL) tunnels, Department of Civil &
Environmental Engineering, University of Southampton
Van der Berg, J. P. (1999), Measurement and prediction of ground movements around three NATM tunnels, School of
Engineering in the Environment, University of Surrey

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