Centrifuge and numerical modelling of tunnel intersected by normal fault rupture in sand

Abstract In this study, centrifuge model tests and numerical analyses were conducted to investigate the deformation mechanisms of an existing tunnel due to normal faulting in sand. With the presence of a tunnel in sand stratum, normal faulting-induced ground surface settlements above the existing tunnel were significantly reduced (i.e., shielding effects). These shielding effects provide by the existing tunnel were decreased with the tunnel burial depth. When a kinematically constrained boundary condition was applied in the tunnel, the induced longitudinal strains at the tunnel crown were much larger than those observed in a tunnel with a free boundary condition.