Prediction of Ground Settlement of a Shield Tunnel Based on the Maxwell–Betti Power Interchange Theorem

Abstract

To accurately predict ground settlement caused by shield tunnel construction, a prediction method of ground settlement considering the support effect of the tunnel lining structure is studied in this research. First, based on the Maxwell–Betti power interchange theorem and considering the lining supporting effect of a circular shield tunnel, an analytical formula for ground loss caused by tunnel construction is derived by constructing two groups of elastic mechanical model calculation models for different stress states. The calculation method of ground loss with the influence of the lining support is optimized and improved. Second, considering the tunnel construction method and the lining support effect, the Loganathan formula is improved, a theoretical formula for a vertical displacement field for shield tunnel construction is deduced, and the ground settlement prediction model of a circular shield tunnel construction is established. Finally, the method is compared with other calculation methods, such as the Loganathan method, and three tunnel engineering cases are predicted and analyzed. The results show that the prediction results are closer to the actual monitoring settlement value, verifying that this method has good adaptability and reliability in actual tunnel engineering.