A Study on Concrete Lining Stress Changes Considering Load Supporting Capacity of Primary Supports of NATM Tunnel

Currently NATM tunnels are designed by applying the initial ground loads caused during construction to the primary supports,conisting of shotcrete, steel ribs and rock bolts. For long term considerations, it is assumed that the primary supports lose its functionality and therefore the secondary support, i.e. concrete lining, is design to resist against the entire ground loads. But the steel ribs, usually applied to bad ground conditions, are embedded in shotcrete causing very little corrosion and therefore the assumption that the primary support will lose all of its functionality is too conservative. Also even though shotcrete carbonates in long term, excluding it from design is also too conservative. In this study, we have, through analytical and numerical analysis, set a rational level of support pressure and allowable relaxed rock mass height sustainable by the primary support for long term design. Changes in sectional forces of the concrete lining considering the calculated support pressure of the primary supports was also carried out. Shallow subway tunnels were considered in the analysis with weathered rock and soft rock ground conditions. The analysis results showed that, by considering the support pressure of steel ribs, an economical design of the concrete lining is possible