Construction of the Seikan Undersea Tunnel--II.

Execution of the Most Difficult Sections

Kazuhisa Hashlmoto and Yutaka Tanabe

Abstract--This paper describes the three main problems associated with the
difficult sections of the work which were encountered and for which solutions were
found during construction of the Seikan Tunnel: (1) the excavation of squeezing
ground; (2) water inflow accidents; and (3) the excavations of unconsolidated
zones. Squeezing ground, which appeared in the F-lOfault with an earth pressure
as high as 2 MPa, was excavated employing spring line drifts and the short bench
method with steel pipe supportsfilled with reinforcing hoop-shaped steel bars and
grouted with a high*strength mortar. The most serious water inflow incident
(maximum rate of 70 m3/min.) occurred in the service tunnel on the Hokkaido side
in May 1976, causing inundation of 3 km of the service tunnel and 1.5 km of the
main tunnel. By correctlyjudging the situation and making strenuous efforts over
the next 5.4 months, the remedial work which included water drainage--was
safely completed. There were no fatalities or serious injuries resulting from the
accident. The unconsolidated soft sand layer of the Kuromatsunai Formation,
which existed in the middle of the Tsugaru Straits, was excavated without any
water inflow accidents. This was accomplished with the aide of water-seal grouting
and by carrying out construction procedures with care. Although different measures
were required for each problem, the difficulties were overcome by careful
investigation and construction management.
R~stma~---Cet article dicrit les trois problkmes principaux qui Jurent rencontris
lots des travaux de construction des parties diffwiles du tunnel de Seikan et done les
solutionsfurent trouvles sur place. On peut citer: l'excavation du sol en compression
plastique, les accidents d~ fi l'eau surgissante, et les excavations des zones non
consolidies. Le sol en compression plastique qui apparut daus la faille F 10 avec
une pressionjasqu'a 2 MPa fut excuvi gl l'aide de lignes d'entrainement fi ressort et
fi l'aide de la mlthode de la plateforme courte. Cette mithode utilise des supports
fairs de tuyaux d'acier remplis d'arceaux de renforcement en acier cimentis ensemble
par un mortier de grande rlsistance. La vague d'eau surgissante la plus importante,
avec un dlbit de 70 nil~rain, apparut daus le tunnel de service du cdti de Hokkaido
en mai 1976 et, causa une inondation de 3 km dans le tunnel de service et de 1,5 km
dans le tunnel principal. Grdce fi une ~valuation correcte de la situation et fi des
efforts importants pendant 5,4 mois, la phase de rlparation qui comprit le drainage
de l'eau fut achevle sans danger. II n'eut pas defatalitls ou de blessures slrieuses
risultant de l'accideut. Les sables non-consolidis et mous de la formation
Kuromatsunai qui existaient au milieu des ddtroits de Tsugaru furvnt excavls sans
aueun problkme d'eau surgissante. Cette phase fut accomplie en bouchant les
infiltrations d'eau et en procldant avec soin tout au long de la construction. Bien que
de difflrentes mesuresfurent requisent pour chaque problkme, les difficultis furent
surmontles ~ l'aide d'examens attentifs et une gestion soign~e de la construction.

Introduction Geological Conditions (2) Approximately 620 m of the Tappi

he Seikan Undersea Tunnel is
T probably the most ambitious
engineering project ever under-
taken. Compared to ordinary mountain
tunnelling, the main feature of the Seikan
Undersea Tunnel is its unprecedented
length under straits with great depth and
a boundless source of sea water. I f a vast
volume of sea water had flowed into the
tunnel continuously, it would have been
impossible to complete the Seikan
Undersea Tunnel. Therefore, accurate
investigation, sufficient grouting and
careful control of the excavation were
essential.
However, many factors--such as
water pressure with maximum value of
2.4 MPa, poorly consolidated weak zones
and squeezing ground--made the tunnel
construction extremely difficult.
This paper describes the very difficult
parts of the tunnel construction that were
encountered during the excavation of
squeezing ground, the treatment of water
inflow accidents and the excavation of
poorly consolidated zones.
Kazuhisa Hashimoto is Project Manager of
the Construction Works Joint Venture for the
North Undersea Section (Hokkaido Side) of
the Seikan Tunnel. Present address: Aza
Yoshioka, Fukushima-cho, Matsumae-gun,
Hokkaido, Japan. Yutaka Tanabe is Mana-
ger, Technical Consulting Section, Civil
Engineering Dept, Jaisei Corporation, Tokyo,
Japan.
Section, between 21.590 and 22.210 km
The geology at the site of the Seikan
Undersea Tunnel consisted
sedimentary rock, volcanic rock and
of
on the Honshu side (undersea section).
(3) 1284 m of the Yoshioka Section,
between 32.676 and 33.960 km along the
pyroclastic rock belonging to Neogene.
F-10 fault on the Hokkaido side (under-
The geology can be classified into three
sea section).
areas: (1) The Hokkaido side area con-
O f the zones of squeezing ground
sists of sedimentary rock such as tuff and
encountered, the third zone, along the
mudstone; (2) the middle area of the
F-10 fault, was the most serious in terms
Tsugaru Straits consists of relatively soft
of pressure and length. The following
and poorly consolidated tuffaceous mud-
describes the details of the construction
stone (called the Kuromatsunai Forma-
procedures adopted in that zone.
tion); and (3) in the Honshu side area,
The excavation of the service tunnel in
there are tuff-breccia and andesite-type
the Yoshioka Section was started using a
rocks (Fig. 1).
tunnel boring machine (IHI-840) in
For the most part, the unconfined
May 1970. As the excavation progressed,
compressive strength of rocks ranged
the excavation became very difficult in
between 5 and 100 MPa, while poorly
the weak tufts at nearly 33.750 km.
consolidated or altered rock frequently
Therefore, excavation by the tunnel bor-
showed strengths of approx. 2 MPa.
ing machine had to be given up at 33.650
Although it was predicted from the
km and was replaced with a Roadheader
initial geological survey that nine large
machine (MRH-S40K), which is used in
faults existed in the Tsugaru Straits, it
ordinary mechanical excavation.
turned out that the F-10 fault was the
The geological structure comprised
biggest obstruction in the Seikan Under-
alternate strata of mudstone and tuff of
sea Tunnel construction work.
the Kunnui Formation. As the excava-
tion approached the F-10 fault, rather
Excavation of Squeezing Ground altered clayey lapilli tuff was encoun-
tered and marked splitting, squeezing
The following are sections where
and heaving occurred at the face. As
squeezing ground was particularly abun-
countermeasures against the foregoing,
dant along the total length (53.850 km)
heavier supports were used, the support
of the Seikan Undersea Tunnel:
spacing was shortened, strut members
(1) Approximately 800 m of the were employed, and the shotcrete thick-
Sanyoshi Section, between 4.450 and ness was increased.
5.250 km on the Honshu site (land At the location of greatest earth press-
section). ure, the excavation of the service tunnel

Tt~'~lling and U~l~tgroundS[~* T~lmology, Vol. 1, No. 3/4, pp. 373-379, 1986. 0866-7798/86 $3.00+.00
Printed in Great Britain. ~) 1986 Pergamon Journals Ltd. 373

Honshu side
300~
200 "1
100q
t J 4 - -
-200
-100 t
-300
-400
(m) I
, ,
Figure 1. Geological map of the Seikan undersea tunnel.
was carried out by means of a circular
short bench method, with supports
(H200X200X8X12) erected at intervals
of 0.5 m; and the thickness of the
shotcrete was increased to 0.25 m. The
excavation of the zone of squeezing
ground along the F-10 fault was com-
pleted at 32.676 km. However, there was
water inflow in the service tunnel with a
maximum flow rate of 1lma/min at the
32.747 km point in January 1974.
As the geological conditions had been
confirmed from the experience of the
service tunnel, the excavation method of
the main tunnel was changed from the
original bottom heading method to the
side drift method at the 33.960 km point.
However, because the geological condi-
tions deteriorated more and more as the
excavation progressed, the excavation
method was changed to the circular short
bench method from the 33.708 km point.
This method had already been used
successfully in squeezing serpentine rock
at the site of the Shin Noborikawa tunnel
on the Shekishyo line in Hokkaido, with
the purpose of constructing the lining as
quickly as possible.
As the maximum earth pressure acting
on the main tunnel was assumed to be
about 1.5--2.0 MPa from the results of
in-situ measurements in the service tun-
nel, a new support system to bear this
earth pressure was developed. This sys-
tem involved the use of a heavier and
more rigid support system to resist the
strong squeezing pressure. Based on the
numerous test results, 12-in. steel pipe
supports containing reinforcing hoop-
shaped bars grouted with high strengh
mortar to improve ridigity were installed
and showed an axial strength of 9.8 MN
at a strain of 3%.
374 TUNNELLINGAND UNDERGROUNDSPACE TECHNOLOGY
Total length of tunnel 53. 8 5 0 k m
Length of underleo portion 23, 300 km
B$ BI
15 20 25
~ I ~ , ~ , I ~ , , , I . . . .
Kuromotsunai Formation
Yokumo Formation
I KunnuiFormation
-----
Fukuyama Formation
Actually, the excavation was carried
out using four steel support systems
depending on the geological conditions;
namely (H-250x250x9x14), plain 10-
in. pipe support without reinforcement,
10- and 12-in. pipe supports reinforced
with hoop-shaped steel bars and high-
strength mortar. However, as the settle-
ment and the deformation of the sup-
ports of upper half-section increased due
to the deterioration of the ground, this
method again had to be modified at the
33.223 km point. Thereafter, the circular
short bench method was employed with
circular spring line drifts (Fig. 2).
The excavation of the two small circu-
lar drift headings were advanced along
the spring lines of the main tunnel and
backfilled with concrete. The objective of
this method was to provide a solid
foundation for supports to prevent settle-
ment and deformation of the upper half
section until the lining of the entire
circular section had been completed.
This method was employed in two
sections of the main tunnel, one of which
was 298 m long (33.223-32.925 kin) and
on the F-10 fault; the other was 147.5 m
long (32.6925-32.840 km) and adjacent
to the section of the service tunnel where
the water inflow took place (see Fig. 3).
Shotcrete was used for the primary
lining, of thickness 0.25-0.35 m, and
placed immediately after the excavation.
The secondary lining, with a thickness of
0.70-0.90 m, was formed from reinforced
concrete.
Because of the many zones of squeez-
ing ground and the water inflows it took
approx. 6 yr for the main tunnel to be
advanced through the above two sec-
tions.
Hokkaido side
. _" "
Kh2
30 35 40 (km)
I , J , , I ~ , , ~ I ,
Basalt,
Rhyolite
Andesite
Fault, Unconformity
Water Inrushlng Accidents
During the construction of Seikan
Undersea Tunnel, there were four acci-
dents involving serious flooding (see
Table 1).
The first accident occurred in Febru-
ary 1969, at the 1223 m point in the
Tappi inclined shaft. The maximum
volume of water inflow at the time was 16
m3/min; 196 m of the section was
flooded, but only a 15-m section was
buried by the collapsed debris. It was
restored seven months afterward by
draining and performing grouting to stop
the seepage of water.
The second accident occurred in Janu-
ary 1974 at the 32.747 km point in the
southbound Yoshioka service tunnel.
This point is located immediately after
the F-10 fault. The maxinmm volume of
water inflow was 1lm3/min; the flooded
section was about 880 m long and the
buried section was 60 m long. As a
remedial method, two ahernatives--(1)
keeping to the original route or (2)
excavating a detour service tunnel--were
considered. As it was found that a large
amount of squeezing ground existed on
the detour route, the first alternative was
adopted. It took 12 months to arrive at
the point where the water inrushing had
occurred, because of the considerable
time consumed by carrying out a survey
by boring from behind the bulkhhead,
grouting, and consolidating the collapsed
section.
The third accident occurred in Decem-
ber 1974, at the 16.890 km point in the
northbound Tappi service tunnel. The
maximum water inflow was 6m:~/min.
Volume 1, Number 3/4, 1986
 Erecto iumbo Monorail hoisl Shotcrete moChine
plont

Section A Section B Section C Section D Section E

12.,pipe support Erector jumbo Drill jumbo for bench

Figure 2. Circular short bench method with spring line drifts.

K.-l,l,3 : Kunnui Fomation

Plan
Fv : Fukuyamo Formation
Point of water inrushinll [ 32,747 Kin)

/ / '
"~~~!,,..je__~ Lair / Ms. I f . O i l Service tunnel
' Tf Br \ \ "~,,~-~ ~ - - - ~ "~ ~ zF------------...e. '~ ''
. " ,': ~-_'~ I ,Y i . . . . . ~ ~ i', ~ J,, ~' ' . '
'

7601
Profile
- ,<,.,
K n- i iSdy Tf ~ n i
F ~ K n . 3 L I T f
_-" _ Main tunnel

~ n-I Kn-Z
~ MS. Tf. olt ~ IvlS'II "uil O0I

Cz : Circular short bench method.

C i : Circular short bench method with spring line drifts,

Figure 3. Geological map (32.500-33.700 km).

Although the 130-m-long flooded section
was comparatively small in scale, the
buried section was as long as 70 m.
Following the drainage operation,
exploratory boring was conducted, and
the results showed that the detour route
for the tunnel was possible. It took about
six months for the excavation of the
detour tunnel to reach the position cor-
responding to the water inflow.
The fourth accident occurred in May
1976, at the 31.668 km point in the
service tunnel of the Yoshioka side. The
maximum volume of water, inflow was 70
m3/min and the sections of 3015 m of the
service tunnel and 1459 m of the main
tunnel were flooded. This was the most
serious flooding ever encountered on the
project (see Fig. 4). Advance boring to
examine the geological conditions ahead
of the service tunnel showed a series of
stable strata consisting mainly of lapilli
tuff, a weak pyroclastic sediment. The
excavation progressed rather smoothly
with repeated grouting. The pilot tunnel
was then being driven 287 m in advance
of the service tunnel and was also prog-
ressing smoothly, with no noticeable
water inrushing.

Volume 1, Number 3/4, 1986 TUNNELLING AND UNDERGROUND SPACE TECHNOLOGY 375
Table 1. Water inflow accidents.

Water inflow
rate (mS/min) Total water Volume of Time required Method
Inflow collapeed debris Buried section for recovery employed
Section Date maximum final (ms) (ms) (m) (months) far recovery Geology

Tappi r Andesite
inclined shaft 1969.4.21 16 5.3 5300 300 15 6.3 grouting (Fault)

Tappi grounting Tuff.Basalt

service tunnel 1974.12.5 6 3.6 1600 1300 70 5.6 diversion (Fault)

Yoshioka J
service tunnel 1974.1.8 11 0.3 9000 1100 60 11.6 grouting Tuff. (Fault)

Yoshioka grouting Lapilli Tuff.

service tunnel 1976.5.6 70 16.0 121 000 1000 5.4 diversion (Fault)

~ Hokkaido side

I ~. .~ Flooded section 3.015m ., [ - I l/

11 ii.. io. F-I- .... I _...,.. "ii d71

I I I1.- ,o,1 - il //
,>,,Ollu.,,,i

~T-- ~ n
aiP
u
r ~station

Figure 4. Profile at the time (water inrushing (May 1976).

At about 3 a.m. on May 6, 1976, water
inflow of about 0.03 m3/min near the face
of the service tunnel suddenly increased
to about 0.5 m3/min. Within about 30
min. the inflow rate had reached as much
as 4 m3/min. Since the service tunnel had
a downward gradient of 12/1000, the
tunnel was gradually inundated from the
face. Thanks to emergency pumping
facilities, the advance of the flood water
could be temporarily stopped and main-
tained at a position 100 m from the
collapsed face.
The reinforcing of the pumping facil-
ties continued until about 2.45 p.m.,
when suddenly, with a tremendous roar,
the water inflow increased to as much as
70 m3/min. To prevent water inflow from
going further into the tunnel a temporary
dam was made from cement bags, but as
water overflowed the dam workers had to
be evacuated.
At about 5.00 a.m. on the morning of
May 7, 1976, as the water began to flow
into the main tunnel through the con-
necting gallery and the rate of water
inflow also decreased, the advance of the
water in the service tunnel slowed down.
Judging by the conditions observed, it
was considered that if a pump station
were installed about 3 km behind the
point of water inflow the advance of the
water line could be maintained at this
point; thus, a station with a capacity of
32 m3/min was provided. This installa-
tion was completed before 10.30 p.m. on
May 9, 1976, and, soon after the pump-
ing started, the water level achieved
equilibrium.
On May 15, 1976, a full-scale pump-
ing operation was started in which three
mobile pumps and two floating facilities
were moved in intervals of about 80 m;
and on June 24, 1976, the point was
reached at which the collapse could be
confirmed. After constructing a bulkhead
behind this point, grouting was carried
out in order to fill the void left by the
collapse, which extended 75 m from the
face,
Based on the results of exploratory
boring conducted from behind the bulk-
head, and in consideration of the time
required and the cost of construction to
excavate along the original line or, alter-
natively, to drive a bypass tunnel, it was
decided to construct a bypass tunnel 60
m from the original route, on the oppo-
site side of the main tunnel. By October
15, 1976, the bypass tunnel had reached
a point beside the point of the water
inflow; and, on January 31, 1977, the
bypass tunnel rejoined the original route
of the service tunnel at a point 148 m
ahead of the water inrushing point (Fig.
5).
Although this water inrushing acci-
dent was the largest in scale when
compared with the previous three, fortu-
nately it was overcome without any
injury to the workforce.
Despite the precautions taken in the
excavation--such as investigation of the
geological and groundwater conditions
by advance boring and careful
grouting--inrushing occurred, making
us reflect on whether we should have
been more or less optimistic in our
judgments. As counter-measures, grout-
ing criteria were reconsidered and the
draining equipment was reinforced.
The construction of the main tunnel at
points where water inrushing had occur-
red was carried out by the side drift

376 TUNNELLINGAND UNDERGROUNDSPACE TECHNOLOGY Volume I, Number 3/4, 1986


- ~,...
*- *
., y"
,., ',
' ,
-" - .. x "
~/ :. '-" .x L
~/" :;. ' - - . z ////
Figure 5. Geological map of the diversion tunnel route.
method, in which the face of the side drift
was brought close to the face of the upper
half of the main tunnel, and the grouting
from both faces was carried out
prudently. The fault zone was finally
traversed (Fig. 6).
The points that these serious water
inflow accidents have in common are
that the sections of the service tunnel
were comparatively small i.e. 18--20m2;
and that, because the tunnel had a
downward gradient, the debris of col-
lapse was not washed away. Rather, the
collapsed area blocked the water adv-
ance with rock and fine material from
layers above, so that the volume of the
water inrushing decreased gradually. If
the inflows had occurred in a tunnel with
an upward gradient or in a main tunnel
with a larger section, the situation would
have been quite different.
Excavation of
Sandy Ground
From the results of the preliminary
geological survey, it was known that the
central section of the straits consisted of
poorly consolidated sandy mudstone cal-
led the Kuromatsunai Formation. The
Kuromatsunai Formation was also found
on land. Because rock tests revealed that
the formation had a low unconfined
compressive strength of about 5 MPa
and high porosity, it was assumed that
the cut-off of water inflow would be
difficult. The section of the tunnel in the
middle part of the straits had an upward
Volume I, Number 3/4, 1986
Plan
,,
.~,
Y -. \ . bk--,,
i. \:' \ v
\":" +,- " Profile
/,
"" r - "~, :: ,' :: ""
~ ' " ~,. "~'. .~
~ >,. .~,
~ ". ~"
~. ~"
gradient of 3/1000 and, for the large
section of the main tunnel, special care
had to be exercised in grouting and
excavation.
Of special note is that only the pilot
tunnel and the main tunnel were
designed to be excavated in the central
part of the undersea section, since the
pilot tunnel would also serve the role of
service tunnel (see Fig. 1).
After the F-I fault near the 30.100 km
point on the Yoshioka side, the lower
part of the Kuromatsunai Formation was
excavated for about 1200 m. The excava-
tion, progressed well, with no difficulties.
The Kuromatsunai Formation reap-
peared around the 27.120 km point as
part of a syncline, with its axis near the
25.710 km point and stretching over a
distance of about 4000 m. Also, the
formation called "degraded mudstone"
(consisting mainly of alternating sandy
mudstone and tuffaceous sandy mud-
Unconsolidated
stone) appeared for about 700 m between
26.110 and 25.410 km (Fig. 7). As the
formation contained only 15--20%, of
fine grains and had an inferior uncon-
fined compressive strength of 2 MPa,
high permeability and water content, the
borings collapsed easily and grouting
was not very effective in reducing ground
water flow. In the case of the pilot
tunnel, which encountered only the
lower part of the "degraded mudstone"
formation, 15 months were necessary to
cover a distance of 420 m because of the
time-consuming grouting work.
.~ .~,. :~ *, .~,.
. I - -
'..
.......
..
~ -~,- , .~. ~. "'
... , ., ,,..
,-,'v ~ -~
~ ~ . '~.. ..'~ = ~ : Boring
;" :" :, .. ~ : Lapilli Tuff
~ : Sandy Tuff
~ : T u f f Breccia
[77;7] : F o u l t
As regards the main tunnel, it was
confirmed that the "degraded mudstone"
formation existed continuously over a
length of 480 m, between 25.530 and
26.010 km, owing to the fact that the
tunnel crossed this formation obliquely
due to its unfavorable inclination and
strike. Actually, the formation was only
25 m thick.
Based on experience with the pilot
tunnel, the grouting time required for the
main tunnel was assumed to be too long
to be tolerated, if only ordinary grouting
from the cutting face were employed.
Therefore, it was decided that sup-
plementary grouting work should be
carried out from the pilot tunnel in order
to execute more intensive grouting. The
excavation was carried out carefully by
the side drift method. Immediately after
the excavation, shotcrete of 0.1 m thick-
ness was placed and 4.0 m-long rock
bolts were installed in order to stabilize
the ground. At the same time, measure-
ments of convergence, stress in the rock-
bolts and ground displacement were
carried out.
As precautions against water
inrushing and consequent total flooding
of the tunnel during excavation, steel
flood gates capable of resisting a water
pressure of 2.7 MPa were installed in the
pilot tunnel and in each of the connecting
galleries between the pilot tunnel and
main tunnel. Other measures included
taking great care in the excavation of the
main tunnel. The sequence of tunneling
was controlled so that the excavation of
TUNNELLING AND UNDERGROUND SPACE TECHNOLOGY 377
 Plon

Service tunnel

3~ K 600 + 650 800 - . ~ Main tunnel

Profile

31K600 Moin tunnel

Figure 6. Execution of grouting around the fault.

:Tuffoceous sondy Mudstone

Plon ~ : Sondy Tuff

\

' it' ~ ~ "d "I . . . . . : " I ,I I - - -~--.,'~,,,~ I I " ~ i ~ ~, -

25K600m 5 K 700 m 25K800m 2~900m 26~000m ~K lOOm Hokkoidoside

Honshu side
Profile

16

Profile
tb I&
_T.Third
13
=1o9e 7,5m

IF I" Fi,.; .,G 4~,.-j

12
[ It }0 9 8 ? G $

Section
4 3 Z t N u n ~ e r of g r o u t i n g

I t ~- " ';=~"'-
~... - - ~
--I.~Zj~'.j
4R --~-
_j
~ ~.o! ,o-,
~ tunnel
_2

6I

Figure 7. Geological map and execution of the grouting.

378 TUNNELLING AND UNDERGROUND SPACE TECHNOLOGY V o l u m e l, N u m b e r 3/4, 1986

adjacent construction lots would not be
finished until the execution of the side
drifts and arch section for them had been
completed. Adjoining lots were kept
separate by leaving 25 m of ground
between them unexcavated to serve as
natural flood gate. It took 40 months--
from March 1981 to the beginning of
August 1984---to break through this
Volume 1, Number 3/4, 1986
"degraded mudstone" formation section
of the main tunnel. []
Acknowledgements
This paper describes some of the
engineering difficulties experienced in
the construction of the Seikan Undersea
Tunnel. Because of the many hardships
TUNNELLINGAND UNDERGROUNDSPACE TECHNOLOGY 379
experienced and the many years required
to complete the Seikan Undersea Tun-
nel, I am proud to have had the oppor-
tunity to participate in this big project as
an engineer. I wish to thank all those
who were involved in this project; and,
particularly, I am grateful for the efforts
made by members of the Japan Railway
Construction Public Corporation.