Comments on “Elasto-plastic solution for shallow tunnel in semi-infinite space”

Abstract This paper considers the approach proposed by Zou et al. for determining the plastic zone around a shallow circular tunnel in an elasto-plastic semi-infinite space that incorporates the gravitational effect based on the bipolar coordinate system. The paper aims to analyze the correctness of the analytic expressions for elastic and plastic stress, as well as the reasonableness of the procedure building for solving the elasto-plastic interface. Finally, a promising way of solving this problem more exactly is presented.