Prediction and analysis of surface settlement due to shield tunneling for Xi’an Metro

Abstract

This study describes a new modified prediction method of surface settlement (SS) for Xi’an Metro. The estimation method of SS and its characteristic parameters, volume loss (VL), maximal SS, and settlement trough width (STW) are reviewed and discussed in this paper. The gap parameter (GP) is applied to estimate VL; however, the calculation method of GP and its influence factors have not been clarified entirely. In this study, six influence factors are introduced into the new GP model, and the detailed solutions are presented. This estimation method is able to take into account the support pressure of the shield head at the tunnel face, the lining support pressure around the tunnel opening, the filling effect of tail grouting, yawing, and pitching of the shielding machine, and the long-term deformation of the remoulded surrounding soil. Based on Xi’an Metro line 2, the soil behaviors and measured SS characteristics are deeply investigated. The upper and lower bounds of the total GP of the 15 cases are predicted. Comparison of the predicted SS troughs with field observations can show reasonable agreement. It is suggested that the new estimation method can be used effectively in estimating the SS induced by the shield tunneling method.