Effect of local openings on bearing behavior and failure mechanism of shield tunnel segments

Abstract

Local failures (loss of concrete or reinforcement) can severely compromise the bearing capacity of shield segments, damaging the tunnel structures. To investigate the effects of local openings on the bearing behavior and failure mechanism, four full-scale bending tests were conducted on specimens with different opening positions and diameters; monitoring of load, displacement, and concrete strain was performed during loading. The test results reveal that both the opening position and diameter significantly influence the bearing characteristics of the segment. The failure process includes four sequential stages distinguished by three critical loads, namely the cracking, failure, and ultimate loads. Subsequently, the numerical model of the local failure segment was established using the elastoplastic damage constitutive relation of the concrete and verified by inversing the full-scale test results. Based on the numerical model, parametric analyses were performed to comprehensively investigate the influences of the opening position, concrete loss, and reinforcement loss on the bending capacity. Furthermore, an analytical model was proposed, indicating that the opening position is the primary factor decreasing the bearing capacity, followed by the opening diameter and reinforcement loss. The results of this study can provide a theoretical basis for the safety assessment and remedial design of subway shield tunnels under extreme breakthrough conditions.