Preliminary Design and Cross-Sectional Form Study of Closed-Type Concrete-Filled Steel Tube Support for Traffic Tunnel

Abstract

In view of the structural form and common construction methods of traffic tunnels, the bearing performance of the closed-type CFST support designed for traffic tunnels is studied. The closed-type CFST support, which consist of a CFST girder with external shotcrete, is improved from the CFST support used in mine roadways. The reasonable cross-sectional form of closed-type CFST support is analyzed by the FEM. The closed-type CFST support is mainly composed of CFST arches, a shotcrete layer, sleeves, and blind flanges. The post-buckling analysis of the closed-type CFST circular arch members using circular-shaped, rectangular-shaped, triangular-shaped, and trapezoidal-shaped steel tubes is implemented. The result shows that the closed-type CFST support has better performance than the traditional tunnel support. The study also found that for closed-type CFST support, the triangular-shaped steel tube section has the highest bearing capacity, stiffness, and steel utilization rate, which is the preferred cross-sectional form. The bearing capacity of the circular-shaped steel tube section is acceptable. Moreover, the circular-shaped steel tubes are more convenient to obtain and process, so it is also an optional cross-sectional form. The square-shaped and trapezoidal-shaped steel tube sections have neither performance advantages nor economic efficiency, so these two forms are not recommended.