Numerical Simulation of a Tunnel Built in London Clay Using the MIT-E3 Model

Abstract

The prediction of ground surface troughs due to underground tunneling is an important problem in geotechnical design. After its calibration based on recent and last studies on London Clays, the MIT-E3 constitutive model is employed to simulate the excavation of the Westbound Tunnel of the Jubilee Line Extension of the London Underground. The St. James’s Park case study is used to evaluate the ability of this model in predicting, both in the short- and long-term, vertical displacements, pore pressure, and horizontal stress. The numerical study reveals that, even though the MIT-E3 reproduces most features of soil behavior observed in laboratory testing, short-term results deviate from field data. However, in the long term, the computed results tend to approach in situ observations.