Abstract:
An approach is presented for the back-analysis of convergence measurements in deep tunnels to determine the constitutive parameters of the surrounding rock mass. Since time-dependent deformations can result from both the advance of the tunnel face and the delayed response of the ground, the two effects must be considered during excavations. To that end, new analytical solutions are derived by assuming an unlined circular tunnel excavated in a homogeneous isotropic ground under an initial isotropic stress field and assuming a fractional viscoelastic plastic behavior. Combining the closed-form solution that takes into account the progressive face advance and an empirical approach, convergences are back-analyzed based on a least-squares optimization method to calibrate the constitutive parameters of the ground. The presented process aims to characterize the short-term and long-term behavior of tunnels and offers the advantage of being applicable during the excavation phase as soon as convergence measurements are available.
Short bio:
Alec is a last-year PhD student at Navier CERMES and will be defending soon (very soon). He is an engineer who graduated from Centrale Marseille and spent his last year at Centrale Nantes studying civil engineering. Alec is deeply interested in applications of artificial intelligence in engineering such as machine learning in geotechnics, numerical modeling, and also optimization methods.
