Monitoring the effects of tunnelling under an existing tunnel-fibre optics

Underground tunnel networks are at the heart of United Kingdom's infrastructure, carrying more than 1,100 million passengers each year along its 249 miles long network via 11 underground lines, serving 270 stations.With a complex existing underground rail network already in place; it is inevitable that new tunnels will be constructed within close proximity to existing tunnels. At London Liverpool Street Station, the new eastbound Crossrail platformtunnel was constructed underneath the existing Royal MailTunnel at a parallel alignment over a length of over 100m with a clear distance of less than 2m separating the two. Fibre optic strain sensing system based on Brillouin Optical Time Domain Reflectometry (BOTDR) was installed to measure continuous strain profiles of the cast iron linings of Royal Mail Tunnel. This has provided valuable insights to the deformation mechanisms both during the pilot and final tunnel enlargement. © 2014 Korean Geotechnical Society