Analysis of the Causes of the Collapse of a Deep-Buried Large Cross-Section of Loess Tunnel and Evaluation of Treatment Measures

Abstract

To address the problem of the collapse of the roof of the Bailuyuan tunnel during construction, the causes of collapse were analyzed, targeted treatment measures were proposed, and the effects of the treatment measures were evaluated through on-site monitoring and three-dimensional numerical simulations. The results showed that the particular characteristics of loess and the synergy of groundwater were the internal causes of the tunnel’s collapse as well as, to a certain extent, atmospheric precipitation. Therefore, the combination of multiple factors contributed to the tunnel’s collapse. Untimely monitoring and measurement, as well as the low initial support parameters, reflect a lack of human understanding of the collapse. Based on the analysis of the causes of the collapse, comprehensive treatment measures for inside and outside the tunnel are proposed, which are shown to be effective and to be capable of preventing the occurrence of further collapses. After the collapse treatment, the measured maximum settlement of the tunnel vault was 65.1 mm, the maximum horizontal convergence was 25 mm, the maximum surrounding rock pressure was 0.56 MPa, and the maximum stress on the steel arch frame was 54.34 MPa. Compared with the original design plan, the vertical stress, horizontal stress, and shear stress of the surrounding rock obtained from numerical simulation after the collapse treatment were greatly reduced, the reduction rate at the vault reached 50%, and the safety factors of the initial support positions after treatment met the specification requirements. The research results can provide engineering guidance for the design and construction of large-section tunnels crossing deep-loess strata, and they are of important engineering significance.