Analytical solution for evaluating the effects of buried fault dislocation on segmental tunnel considering the plastic yield behavior of circumferential joints

The fault dislocation produces severe additional deformation on cross-fault tunnels along the axial direction, seriously threatens tunnel safety. To this end, a simplified analytical model for evaluating the mechanical behavior of segmental tunnels subjected to buried fault dislocation was established. The segmental tunnel is treated as a Timoshenko beam acting on the Vlasov elastic foundation. The plastic yield of circumferential joints, the effect of frictional resistance along the axial direction, and the deformation characteristics of overburden soil after faulting were considered. Then, the reasonability of the analytical solution is proved by 3D numerical simulation. The tunnel safety state was evaluated based on the joint deformation of the segmental tunnel. Subsequently, the effects of plastic yield behavior between segmental rings, plastic equivalent bending stiffness ratio, segment dimensions, and longitudinal bolt on the longitudinal response of the segmental tunnel linings were investigated. The results show that the simplified analytical solution proposed is reasonable in predicting the joint deformation between segmental rings when the segmental tunnel is subjected to buried fault dislocation. When the normal faulting is imposed, the segmental tunnel is dominated by tensile deformation along the tunnel axial. Under 20 cm of normal faulting, the joint opening between segmental rings is close to the deformation control value of joint waterproofing. However, the shear deformation has been significantly weakened due to the effect of faulting in the propagation process to the surface. The calculation result is too small when the plastic deformation behavior is ignored. The plastic equivalent bending stiffness ratio η2 inversely correlated with the maximum joint opening. Increasing the strength grade or the number of longitudinal bolts has a relatively limited effect on reducing the opening between segment rings, where the joint still has a greater risk of water leakage.