Simulation and Survey of Stratum Disturbance for Shield Tunneling in Water-Rich Soil Layers

In this paper, a hybrid approach is presented for modeling the stratum disturbance during the shield construction in water-rich soil. The disturbance mechanism of stratum is analyzed based on the theory of shield excavation. The deformation and settlement of ground surface are simulated by three-dimensional finite element method. Some physical properties and displacements of soil layers are measured by site survey method. The transverse settlement trough of tunnel is a normal distribution curve and the largest displacement to happen on the above of excavation face. There is also an important influence of shield tunneling on the ground settlement in the longitudinal profile, but this effect disappears a certain distance apart. It is shown that the results based on the numerical simulation and the data from site survey in this work are much rational.