Adoption of triaxial testing for the study of swelling behaviour in tunnels

Utilisation de l’appareil triaxial pour l’étude du comportement gonflant des tunnels

M.Baria & G.Baria — Dept, of Structural and Geotechnical Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Italy

ABSTRACT: In this paper an experimental procedure performed in a new advanced triaxial equipment, developed to determine the
swelling behaviour of an Italian hard soil (a stiff Eocene clay), is described. The proposed procedure allows one to carefully apply to
the sample the typical stress history taking place around a tunnel during excavation. This is done by considering the three-dimensional
conditions at the tunnel heading, thus overcoming the limitations which characterize the oedometer test. Moreover, by introducing a
distinction between the drained phase (during tunnel excavation) and the undrained phase (when the excavation is completed), it is
shown how one can gain significant information on the swelling behaviour of the ground, with important consequences for the pre­
diction of tunnel performance.
RESUME: Dans le text suivant décrit une procédure expérimentale mise à point grâce à un nouvel équipement triaxial aux caractéris­
tiques avancées, ique fin d’evaluer le comportement gonflant de un terrain solide (compact) italien (une argile éocènique). La pro­
cédure proposée permet d’imposer à l’éprouvette le stress typique qui se dévéloppe sur le contour d’un tunnel pendant l ’excavation. Il
est ainsi possible de tenir compte des conditions tridimensionnelles au front du tunnel, en dépassant les limites qui caractérisent l’essai
œdométrique. En outre, en introduisant la distinction entre la phase drainée (pendant l’excavation du tunnel) et la phase non drainée
(au terme de l ’excavation), on peut montrer comment il est possible de tirer d’importantes informations sur le comportement regon­
flant du terrain, avec des conséquences significatives sur la prévision du comportement du tunnel.

1 INTRODUCTION excavation, which can be adopted as appropriate input to labo­

The time-dependent behaviour, which is induced by the excava­
tion of a tunnel in a swelling ground, is shown to be of great
relevance in geotechnical engineering. In some cases this may
lead to significant difficulties during excavation and even pose
problems for the use of the tunnel in the long term.
In order to be able to make appropriate predictions of this be­
haviour, both at the design and construction stage, the tunnel en­
gineer needs to use tools that allow him to quantify, timely and
correctly, the swelling properties of the ground. To this end, dif­
ferent testing techniques, “at laboratory scale” , have been pro­
posed in the past.
It appears that the oedometer test, as originally introduced by
Huder and Amberg (1970) and later modified by the ISRM
Commission on Swelling Rock (ISRM 1989, Madsen 1999), is
mostly used. However, more recently, different authors have
been studying this problem by triaxial testing (Pregl et al. 1980,
Bellwald 1990, Aristorenas 1992).
2 2D AND 3D LABORATORY TESTING
The aim of the different laboratory techniques developed so far
is to quantify the ground swelling properties in order to provide
the tunnel engineer the necessary input data for appropriate pre­
dictions of ground behaviour. An important aspect in laboratory
testing is the need to reproduce as close as possible the real be­
haviour of the ground on site. This is very important since the re­
sults obtained show a tendency to be influenced from the testing
conditions adopted.
During the excavation of a tunnel, one of the major factors
that influence the swelling phenomenon is the stress history at
points in the tunnel surround as face advancement takes place.
This can be well described by the use of the stress path method,
as proposed by Lambe (1967) for a number of applications in
geotechnical engineering. Therefore it is of interest to show, in
the present paper, typical stress paths as created during tunnel
ratory testing.
A numerical study on the stress paths that develop around a
tunnel during excavation, considering both 2D and 3D condi­
tions, has been performed by the junior author and described in
previous publications (Barla M. 1999, Barla M. 2000). If we
point our attention to an element of ground at the sidewall on a
certain section along the tunnel axis and consider the tunnel to be
excavated in an isotropic, linearly elastic medium (ILE) with a
stress ratio of K^=l, the stress history calculated from the analy­
sis is exemplified in Figure 1.
Figures la to Id show the sequence of the face advancement
and its consequence on the stress path of the element of ground
at the sidewall. This stress path is described by considering both
two dimensional (2D) and three dimensional (3D) conditions and
the resulting behaviour is compared on the [r, s] plane where:
t - mean deviatoric stress = -------------- ;
2
° V +C!h
s = mean normal stress = -------------- ;
2
o v = vertical stress;
a * = horizontal stress.
It is easy to appreciate that prior to excavation (Figure la) the
element of ground is subjected to the initial state of stress char­
acterised by t equal to 0 and s equal to the geostatic stress.
As soon as the face of the excavation approaches the section
where the stress path is computed (Figure lb), t starts to in­
crease. This increase of t continues until the end of the excava­
tion.
It is now important to underline the differences between the
stress path in 2D conditions (j always constant) and in 3D con­
ditions, where the mean normal stress initially increases, to de­
crease as soon as the face of the excavation overpasses the sec-

1375
 INITIAL STATE '
OF STRESS
•4 ,
(a) (b)
Figure 1. Stress paths in 2D and 3D conditions for a point at the sidewall o f a circular tunnel, (a) before excavation, (b) when excavation has
reached the section where the stress paths are com puted, (c) when the face of the excavation is 1 m ahead, (d) when excavation is completed.
Figure 2. Stress paths for the sidewall and crown/invert for 2D and 3D
num erical analysis com pared w ith the Huder-A mber oedom eter test.
tion of interest. An increase of s again occurs when the excava­
tion is going to be completed.
If the attention is posed on the element of ground at the
crown or invert arch of the tunnel, the behaviour on the t-s plane
is as for the sidewall element, with opposite r, as shown in Fig­
ure 2.
Both the sidewall and crown/invert behaviours are compared
in the same figure with the stress path of a modified Huder and
Amberg oedometer test.
It is obvious that the stress history experienced in the near vi­
cinity of the tunnel is not well reproduced in by the modified
Huder-Amberg oedometer test. In particular, near to the face of
the excavation, the ground behaviour can be well described only
simulating three dimensional conditions in a triaxial apparatus.
3 THE PROPOSED TEST PROCEDURE
In order to overcome the above limitations of the oedometer test,
an experimental procedure to be applied in a triaxial apparatus
was developed. The current procedure has been defined as con­
sisting of six phases: specimen preparation and set-up, flushing,
saturation, consolidation, undrained stress path phase and swel­
ling/consolidation.
The set-up of the sample is done with the dry setting method
(Lo Presti et al. 1999). Up to the consolidation phase, the proce­
dure adopted is that of a typical triaxial test with the precaution
to inhibit swelling when the sample gets in contact with water
(i.e. during the flushing phase). The stress path or shearing phase
is carried out in undrained conditions, given the intention to
simulate “at laboratory scale” the stress conditions in the near
vicinity of the tunnel, during face advancement.
It is accepted that the issue of whether undrained or drained
conditions are more applicable to the tunnel problem during face
advancement depends primarily on the permeability of the
ground, the rate of excavation and the size of the tunnel (Mair &
Taylor 1997). If consideration is given to hard soils and argilla­
ceous rocks with permeability lower than 10'7 m/s (as for the
1376
(c) (d)
jo»s1,69 oh=0,3 j|
(7 ) [ CNV8-9 |
(c N V 2 -3 -4 )^ ^
|ov=1 Oh=1 |
xp)
©X
1 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.4 1
— 2D stress path
— 3D linearization s , 67 10)
[CNV - -
S I
|ove0 ,3 obe 1,69||
s [MPa]
Figure 3. Different stress paths perform ed in the triaxial apparatus.
sample tested), undrained conditions are assumed to hold true at
least for the time duration required effectively for a ground ele­
ment at the tunnel periphery to experience the stress path.
During the shearing phase the sample is subjected to one of
the stress paths shown in Figure 3. Stress paths 1 and 2 pertain to
the element of ground at the sidewall for 2D and 3D conditions.
Stress paths 3 and 4 pertain to the crown/invert position, again
for 2D and 3D conditions.
If the stress path is followed up to a certain t value lower than
failure (for example to a mobilised factor of / = 0.8), it is then
possible to simulate a new phase. With the stress level constant
versus time and the creep deformations completed, the drainage
valve can be opened and water can flow in or out from the sam­
ple, depending on the value of the pore overpressure reached
during the undrained phase. This new drained phase corresponds
to that experienced by an element of ground at a certain distance
from the tunnel contour or during a standstill and can be adopted
to study the swelling behaviour of the ground versus time, as
will be shown in the following.
4 TESTING EQUIPMENT
To perform the triaxial tests described in this paper, two spe­
cially devised triaxial apparatuses (GDS and SRTA), developed
at the Politecnico di Torino, were used. For a detailed descrip­
tion of them refer to Lo Presti et al. (1995), for the GDS, and to
Lo Presti et al. 1998, Barla M. 1999, Barla M. et al. 1999, for the
SRTA.
Both equipments have a very stiff cell structure and consist of
two end platens connected by three tie rods located inside a per­
spex pressure cell. The triaxial cells are equipped with local
measurements devices for axial and radial strain, pressure trans­
ducers for the cell pressure and the pore pressure, a load cell lo­
cated inside the pressure chamber and a volume variation indi­
cator. Lateral and axial pressure control is obtained by means of
digital controllers with a resolution of 0.5 kPa. A multichannel
conditioning system is used for data acquisition. The data are
 Table 1. Triaxial tests performed*. 300
Name D epth Wn Type of B. P. B Au ♦ Caneva clay
H test [kPa| [kPa] [kP¡l [kPa] [kPa] 250 a Varicolori clay shales
A
CNV1 37.51 14.49 CIU 718 243 0.94 270 558 -286 o Terravecchia claystone
CNV2 37,28 13.36 CIU -2D 650 350 0.87 452 1000 -349
200 t
CNV3 37.06 11.47 CIU -2D 670 310 0.90 245 728 -60 a

ISP [kPa]
CNV4 36.91 14.10 C ID 657 320 0.95 135 661 0 ♦
♦

S
CNV5 51.19 14.26 CIU 200 0 0.93 470 669 - ♦
CNV6 51.35 13.05 EIU -2D 815 200 0.99 -317 632 175 o
CNV7 51.49 12.28 EIU-2D 750 380 0.90 -318 595 164 100 A
CNV8 36.90 11.17 CIU -3D 635 350 0.90 234 656 100 ♦
♦ ♦ O
CNV9 CIU-3D 1150 553 0.77 317 -43 A
45.17 9.39 735
50 ■ ♦ ♦ O
CNV10 44.87 20.52 EIU -2D 695 405 0.88 -132 479 124
♦Legend: w „ = n a tu ra l w a te r content, o 'c = co n so lid a tio n e ffe c tive stress,
0•
B .P . = back pressure, B = S k e m p to n ’ s param eter, t™ , s'™ , = values at
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
the end o f the test, Au = excess pore pressure.
Depth [m]

automatically transferred via HPIB connection from the condi­ F ig u re 4. S w e llin g pressure fo r C aneva c la y and o th e r soils.
tioning system to a PC so that one can control the whole test
procedure by PC. The GDS apparatus can reach maximum val­
ues of 2.5 MPa for the axial stress and 1 MPa for the confining
pressure while the SRTA has a maximum capacity of 50 kN
for the vertical load and 2 MPa for the pressure cell.

5 RESULTS OF THE TESTING PROGRAM

A total of 10 triaxial tests were performed, as shown in Table 1,
with the aim to simulate, “at laboratory scale” , the tunnel be­
haviour in the undrained and drained phase. The soil tested is a
stiff clay (Caneva clay) from North Italy (Barla M. 1999).
Tests CNV1 to CNV4, CNV8 and CNV9 were performed to
reproduce the behaviour at the sidewalls of a circular tunnel
during excavation. As indicated in Figure 3, the s = constant
“compression” stress path was imposed to tests CNV2, CNV3
and CNV4. While the CNV2 test was carried out up to failure,
the CNV3 stress path was interrupted at a value of the mobilised
deviatoric strength factor/ = 0.5. At this point the drainage valve
was opened and the swelling deformations measured. The CNV4
test was carried out up to/ = 0.33 in drained conditions.
The three dimensional conditions were introduced for test
CNV8 and CNV9 that followed the simplified three dimensional
stress path. At a value of the mobilised factor/= 0.5, in order to
compare the results with test CNV3, the CNV8 stress path was
interrupted and the drainage valve opened, while the CNV9 test
was taken up to failure.
Tests CNV6, CNV7 and CNV10 were performed to investi­
gate the behaviour at the crown/invert. Also in this case, when a
two dimensional condition is applied, the stress path is vertical (i
= costant), however in “extension” . All the tests of this group
were undrained and interrupted at a mobilised factor / = 0.5,
opening the drainage valve.
The CNV5 specimen was sheared under a conventional com­
pression loading stress path.
5.1 Swelling stresses from the flushing phase
Figure 4 compares the vertical stress at the end of flushing with
the data available for other soils which exhibit a different degree
of swelling potential (Barla G. et al. 1990). These data were ob­
tained from oedometer tests giving the vertical pressure which
prevents swelling (ISP). Even though the data cannot be directly
compared, since the testing procedures are quite different, the
Caneva clay is shown to exhibit a moderate to high swelling po­
tential.
5.2 Undrained shearing phase
The comparison of total and effective stress paths in Figure 5
allows one to clearly appreciate the excess pore pressure change
which occurs during each test. It is noted that in two dimensional
conditions the excess pore pressure Au is almost negligible in the
first part of the test, as long as the t value remains small. How-
F ig u re 5. T o ta l and e ffe c tiv e stress paths fo r the tests intended to s im u ­
late the b e h a v io u r a t the s id e w a ll o f a c irc u la r tu n n e l (p o in t S ) and at the
c ro w n /in v e rt (p o in t C and I). O n ly un d ra in e d tests are show n.
ever, with / nearly equal to 200 kPa, a negative pore pressure de­
velops, subsequently to increase in relation to the increase of t. It
is clearly shown that the excess pore pressure Au, negative at the
sidewall of the tunnel, is instead positive at the invert/crown.
The final value of Au attained in each case at the end of the test
is directly related to the stress level t.
If the attention is now posed on the CNV8 and CNV9 tests,
which were carried out specifically to simulate three dimensional
conditions during face advancement, the results obtained for the
excess pore pressure show a significantly different response.
During the first segment of the stress path both the axial and the
confining pressures in the triaxial cell are increasing. This results
in a positive excess pore pressure for low t values. When the
stress path changes direction (i.e. when the tunnel passes the
cross section of interest) the confining pressure decreases rapidly
with a notable effect on the pore pressure. For the CNV8 speci­
men at the end of the test the excess pore pressure is positive
with a value of 100 kPa. On the contrary, for the CNV9 speci­
men, which was taken up to failure, the negative excess pore
pressure is -43 kPa.
As can be seen, while for the two dimensional conditions the
negative excess pore pressure develops at a I value of 200 kPa,
when the influence of the advancing face is taken into account
(i.e. in three dimensional conditions) a greater value of t is nec­
essary to induce a negative excess pore pressure.
If this negative excess pore pressure is connected to the
amount of swelling that is expected, in the near vicinity of the
sidewalls of the tunnel, the areas where swelling is likely to oc­
cur would be smaller when predicted with a three dimensional
analysis instead of a two dimensional one. Moreover, at failure,
for both cases, as a negative excess pore pressure around the
tunnel results in a water inflow towards it, swelling is likely to
occur as an inverse consolidation due to the interaction between
water and swelling minerals when present in the ground. To in­
vestigate this behaviour for the CNV3 and CNV8 tests, the
drainage valve was opened at the constant final state of stress.

1377

F ig u re 6. V o lu m e trie d e fo rm a tio n and pore pressure excess fo r C N V 3
and C N V 7 tests a fte r drainage opening.
5.3 Drained phase
With a released state of stress and drainage occurring, deforma­
tion due to water adsorption and chemical reactions with the
mineralogical constituents can take place. For this reason the
axial, radial and volumetric deformations were measured, all the
other conditions holding true.
Figure 6 illustrates for the CNV3 and CNV7 tests a plot of
the volumetric deformation ( evoi)> obtained by either direct
measurement of volume change in the specimen (i.e. volume of
water entering-positive or exiting-negative the specimen) or
computation of the first invariant of strain in terms of e„ and e,.
Also shown is the plot of the excess pore pressure versus time
which dissipates, under a constant state of stress, in a few hours.
6 CONCLUSIONS
The triaxial testing programme, developed with the main pur­
pose to investigate the tunnel behaviour during excavation in
swelling ground, has been described in the present paper. On the
basis of the work performed so far, the following main conclu­
sions can be drawn.
The testing procedures adopted are shown to be very effec­
tive in simulating the soil behaviour in the particular condi­
tions and stress histories which are experienced by a ground
element in the near vicinity of a circular tunnel.
From the results of the flushing phase, the Caneva clay is
shown to exhibit a moderate to high swelling potential, as
expected on the basis of its mineralogical composition.
The Caneva clay specimens, isotropically consolidated to the
in situ state of stress, exhibit a negative excess pore pressure
during the undrained “compression” stress paths, typical of
the tunnel sidewall response simulation. This behaviour is
shown to hold true for both two dimensional (pure shear) and
three dimensional conditions, when taking into account the
influence of the advancing face.
It is also shown that, when three dimensional conditions are
simulated in the triaxial cell, a greater value of I is necessary
to induce negative excess pore pressure in the specimen
since during the first portion of the stress path (i.e. when the
tunnel face is approaching the cross section of interest) a
positive excess pore pressure develops due to a stress in­
crease.
When the attention is taken to the tunnel crown/invert be­
haviour and the tests on the Caneva clay specimens are
similarly carried out under “extension” conditions, following
a pure shear stress path, a positive excess pore pressure is
shown to develop during the undrained phase of the test.
With the drained phase, which follows in each case a creep
stage, swelling is shown to occur for specimens simulating
the tunnel sidewall behaviour, as the negative excess pore
pressure dissipates under the imposed constant state of
1378
stress. On the contrary, for specimens simulating the tunnel
crown/invert response, as a consequence of development of
positive excess pore pressure during the undrained phase,
consolidation is shown to take place when the drainage valve
is opened.
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8 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The work described in this paper was carried out with the finan­
cial support of the Italian Ministry for University and Techno­
logical Research (M.U.R.S.T.) as part of the Research Pro­
gramme “Tunnelling in difficult conditions” (40%).