Effects of Blasting Vibrations on an Arch in the Jiaohuayu Tunnel Described by Energy Response Spectrum Analysis

Abstract

The vibrations caused by tunnel blasting strongly affects the construction safety and progress of the tunnel itself. The arch vibration attenuation law, structural energy response, and safety criterion were systematically investigated using blasting vibration monitoring in the Jiaohuayu Tunnel. The peak particle velocity (PPV) at the vault was always larger than that at the arch waist and was greater than that at the sidewall, regardless of the direction. The arch waist was where the initial lining had the highest risk of damage. Existing safety criteria can be supplemented and improved using the maximum instantaneous input energy to measure the first passage damage, the hysteretic energy consumption to measure the cumulative damage, and the input-hysteretic energy criterion to judge the structural failure. The energy threshold of the first passage damage of the initial lining structure was 200 J, and the plastic cumulative damage was 3000 J of the test section. This study is important when evaluating the safety of a tunnel’s initial lining structure.