INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL AND ANALYTICAL METHODS IN GEOMECHANICS. VOL. 8.

325-342 (1984)

AN ANALYTICAL SOLUTION FOR

AXISYMMETRIC TUNNEL PROBLEMS
IN ELASTO-VISCOPLASTIC MEDIA
P. FRITZ
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland

SUMMARY
An analytical solution is presented for the time-dependent stresses and displacements in plane strain
around a circular hole when it is loaded by an axisymmetric internal and far-field pressure. The material
is assumed to be elasto-viscoplastic with dilatant plastic deformations according to a non-associated flow
rule. Strain softening is considered by a modified St. Venant slider which is characterized by MohrCoulomb yield conditions for both the peak and the residual strengths.

INTRODUCTION
Time-dependent deformations of the rock mass around a tunnel are brought about by the
excavation progress and by time-dependent mechanical properties of the rock. In this article,
only the influence of time-dependent material properties is considered, i.e. the problem will
be treated as two dimensional. A simple model for the rock, which takes into account time
dependency, could be a visco-elastic model. However, such a model should be applied to
competent rocks only in which no serious problems arise (Salamonz5).When serious problems
arise, the behaviour of the rock should be approximated by a non-linear model. This is done
in the present work by means of an elasto-viscoplastic model. Since for deeply located tunnels
the initial state of stress may be in a first approximation, idealized as hydrostatic and due to
the assumed isotropic medium, the problem is treated as axisymmetric in geometry, load and
material, thus enabling an analytical solution. In tunnelling practice, parametric studies often
have to be carried out. Therefore, it is especially advantageous to have such an analytical
solution.
Proposals for the analytical treatment of the axisymmetric plane strain problem of a circular
hole in an infinite medium as well as the associated problem of a thick-walled cylinder subjected
to both axisymmetric internal and external pressures have appeared in the literature over many
decades. Early investigations concentrated on the calculation of the state of stress without
consideration of defomational and time effects. Thus St. Venantz4 had already obtained a
solution for the state of stress in a fully plastic, thick-walled cylinder. Terzaghi2' described,
qualitatively, in a very apt manner how, near the excavation for a tunnel, stresses exceed the
rock strength, causing the surrounding rock, which is still in an el'astic state, to carry a part of
the load. However, Hartmann" was the first to succeed in calculating the stresses in an
elasto-plastic material assuming a cohesionless soil with friction (see Nadai"). W e ~ t e r g a a r d ~ ~
determined the state of stress with consideration of cohesion. The significanceof these solutions,

0363-9061/84/040325-18$01.80
@ 1984 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Received 11 August 1982

Revised 28 February 1983

326

P. FRITZ

in relation to their useful application to tunnelling problems, has been discussed by Fenner
and by Kastner. Proposed models to extend these time-independent solutions, so as to be
able to consider the deformational state, may be found in the work of Nadai who assumed
the so-called plastic zone to be fully incompressible. With the assumption of purely deviatoric
plastic strains, Hill et aLI3 solved the problem by also considering elastic strains in the plastic
zone using the yield conditions of Tresca and von Mises. Also assuming deviatoric plastic
deformations but applying the yield condition of Mohr-Coulomb, Deist discussed stability
criteria for a gradual onset of strain softening after reaching failure, which continues until the
strength is reduced to zero. Hendron and Aiyer extended this solution in two ways: first,
plastic volumetric strains were considered to be governed by the normality rule and, secondly,
a sudden loss of strength was assumed on reaching the yield stress. The strength drops to a
residual value, depending upon the hydrostatic stress component, by introducing a residual
cohesion cR.Egger4 developed an analytical solution for similar rock conditions by considering
progressive strain softening. Both UlgudurZ8 and PanetZ3 obtained closed-form analytical
solutions for this problem, whereby the first author assumed complete strain-softening
analogous to Deist and the second author neglected elastic strains in the plastic zone.

SALUSTOWCZ.1958 MADEJSKI. 1960

LOONEN.
1962

WIERZBICKI.1963

MMW +
PARASCWEWOV.

DIMOV.
E)66
SALAMON.1974

NONAKA.1978

*m

1964

Figure 1. Material laws represented by mechanical models used by various authors to obtain analytical solutions

Analytical solutions for the treatment of openings in media with time-dependent properties
are comparatively few. SalustowiczZ6calculated the state of stress in a rock mass for the von
Mises yield condition, without consideration of the deformations. The time-dependent material
model used is shown symbolically in Figure 1 with a combination of Hookean (spring),
Newtonian (dashpot) and St. Venant (slider) elements. Madejski solved the problem of a
thick-walled sphere with a similar material model (Figure l),also by assuming von Mises yield
condition (deviatoric plastic deformations only). LoonenI6 applied the Mohr-Coulomb condition by assuming the plastic zone to be fully incompressible. Further material models used by
different authors to obtain analytical solutions are presented in Figure 1. However, all these
solutions have in common that plastic flow is assumed to be at constant volume, mostly with
use of the von Mises yield condition. In this work, elasto-viscoplastic material behaviour based
on the model of Madejski (Figure 1) is investigated. Dilatancy effects, as well as a sudden loss
of strength to a residual value, will be considered. For this purpose, two yield criteria-for
peak and residual strength-of the Mohr-Coulomb type are introduced together with a
non-associated flow rule. The load history is assumed to comprise an initial stress pa (compression positive) before the hole is excavated. The stresses acting normal to the plane are
a%. Owing to the excavation, secondary stresses and the corresponding radial deformations
(positive in the direction of the opening) are developed.

327

AXISYMMETRICAL TUNNEL PROBLEMS

ELASTO-PLASTIC MATERIAL
The solution for a time-independent elasto-plastic material behaviour (Figure 2) will serve as
a boundary condition at time t -* 00 for the time-dependent approach. The derivations for this
case follow basically the work of Florence and Schwer.6 As an extension to that paper, a
modified definition of the St. Venant element, including residual strength and a non-associated
flow rule, is used. If a circular tunnel is excavated in an elasto-plastic rock which is subjected
at infinity to an axisymmetric pressure pa in the vicinity of the tunnel, plastic deformations
will develop. The corresponding area, the so-called plastic zone, extends from the boundary
of the hole of radius Rito a radius pm. Outside the plastic zone, i.e. for r > pao,the material
remains elastic. Let the principal stresses in the plane of the tunnel be u: in the radial direction
and a: in the tangential direction. Then, equilibrium requires that at an arbitrary distance r
from the tunnel axis

Figure 2. Elasto-plastic material model

For small deformations, the kinematic relations, which relate the strains
displacements urn,are
A&,=-

with the radial

d(Au")
dr
AUrn

A&, = r
'A' signifies the change of these values due to excavation. In the elastic zone, i.e. for t > pm,
the generalized Hooke's law is valid. Denoting the modulus of elasticity by E and Poisson's
ratio by v, it provides for plane strain conditions
A&:=-

l+v

[( 1 - v)Au?- ~ A u p ]

l+u
AE;=-[(~-V)AUFE
A&:=O
where

vAu:]

(3)

328

P. FRITZ

Substitution of the strains A&: = As, and As: = A s t from equation (2) in Hooke's law (3) and
elimination of Aum from the equilibrium condition (1) leads, together with the boundary
conditions
r=pao:

u:=pp

r+w:

u
: = pa

and equations (4), to

u: = u*

The behaviour in the plastic zone is governed mainly by the properties of the plastic St. Venant
element in Figure 2. This so-called modified St. Venant element (Fritz*) starts to deform when
its stress reaches, for the first time, the peak strength, defined by a yield condition Fp. The
initiated deformational process is then characterized by the residual strength, described by a
second condition FR. The modified St. Venant element can be interpreted as a mass on a
plane, whose sliding friction is smaller than the static one. In the present case, the conditions
for F P and F R are formulated analogous to the theory of Mohr-Coulomb. As long as the
axial stress lies between the principal stresses in the plane perpendicular to the tunnel axis, i.e.

u, = const

N~RMACSTRESSa

Figure 3. Stress-strain relation and yield conditions of the modified St. Venant element

this theory relates the principal stresses u: and up to the strength parameters (cohesion c and
angle of friction 4). Denoting these parameters according to Figure 3 by cp, d P and cR, t$R
for the peak and residual values, the yield criteria are

MISYMMETRICAL TUNNEL PROBLEMS

329

and

F~ = u7- mRu?-

of:= 0 (for r < pm)

(8)

with

u:=2c

cos4p
1 -sin 4'

of:= 2 C R

cos cpR
1 -sin 4 R

(9)

For the determination of the stress state in the plastic zone, o7 in the equilibrium condition
(1) is replaced by the corresponding value of the yield condition (8). By assuming the internal
pressure pi at the excavation boundary to be constant, the stresses in the plastic zone become

It remains to determine the values pp and pm, which are decisive for the state in the elastic
zone ( 5 ) . Substitution of u: and a? from ( 5 ) in the yield condition (7) leads to the radial
stress pp at r = p,
2pa - a:
PP=

mP+l

Taking into account the continuity of the radial stress according to the equilibrium condition
( l ) , the radius pmof the plastic zone is derived from the equality of the radial stress ( 5 ) in the
elastic zone at r = p& with the radial stress (10) within the plastic zone at r = p:

Also, in the plastic zone the stresses u: and up from (10) are independent of the deformations,
i.e. they are statically determined in the sense of Hencky.'' This holds because the axial stress
was assumed to be intermediate principal stress ( 5 ) and therefore did not appear in the
yield conditions (7) and (8).
For the determination of u: and the deformations in the plastic zone, a flow rule must be
formulated. For a non-associated flow rule, the potential surface FG in the stress space
FG = u ~ - m " u ~ - a ~

is introduced, with
mG= l+sint$G
1-sinfp

cos
I72 = 2CGI -sin

f#f

bG

330

P. FRITZ

The plastic strain increments

are directed normal to the surface FG. Herein, A is a scalar factor of proportionality. The
incremental denotation can be interpreted as differentiation with respect to the radius of the
plastic zone (Hill et
Except for 4G= 0 or mG = 1, respectively, formulation (14) includes
plastic volumetric strains.
Addition of e< and e?' from (14), integration with respect to pm and taking into account
the boundary condition
pa= r: A s f ) = A ~ ~ ~ , = ~ ~ ~ - h s ~ ( ~ = ~ ~ )

A&?= A E F ( ~ = ~ ~ ) - A E F ( ~ = ~ ; )
A&! = 0,
where As: and As: are given by (3), ( 5 ) and (lo), leads to

As! = 0
For plane strain conditions, the deformation of the elasto-plastic model of Figure 2 is given
by summing up the deformations of the individual elements
Aer = As:+AsF
A&,= As:+Aef
As,=AsC,=Ae!=O

(16)

As before, the elastic components As:,,, of the strains due to excavation are determined by
Hooke's law, which leads, for plane (plastic) strain conditions, to
a:= a%+v ( A o ~ + A a F )

(17)

Owing to the special formulation of the flow rule (14) or the potential surface FG (13), a:
is also independent of the deformations.
At this stage, the assumption (6) could be discussed after which a: should be intermediate
principal stress, thus excluding stress states at edges of the yield surface in principal stress
space. According to (17), Au: is directly proportional to Poisson's ratio v. Considering the
great uncertainties in the determination of v, even in the laboratory, from the practical point
of view such a discussion (cf. Florence and Schwer6) is not relevant and is therefore omitted.
In the following, the radial displacements Aua shall be derived. Elimination of Aum in the
kinematic relations (2) leads to the compatibility condition
dAe,
r-=Asr-As,
dr

331

AXISYMMEXRICAL TUNNEL PROBLEMS

Substitution of A&, and A E according

~
to (16), AE: and As: from Hooke's law (3), A E from
~
(15) and the stresses u: and up according to (10) leads to the differential equation

with the solution

The constant c1 is obtained from the boundary condition

r=po0: A E ~ = A & : ( , - ~ ~ , - A : ( , _ ~ ~ ,

and substitution of the elastic strains from (3) and the unknown stresses from equation (5)
and (10). The displacements are derived from the kinematic relation (2) for AE, and expression
(16) for the deformations. Substitution of the elastic part A E from
~
Hooke's law (3) and
introduction of the stresses according to (10) leads to

'+ { k , (-

Aum=-r E
where

;JmR-'

+ k2(

F)"""
+k3}

(for r~ p,)

kl = ( 1 - v) 1 + mRmG
G -'](*+pp)
mR+m

k3=pa

-pp

m" -

- k , - k2

The special case, that in the plastic zone only elastic and no plastic volumetric strains occur,
is given by (14) with

dc =o+ mG = 1
as (18a) with

ELASTO-VISCOPLASTIC MATERIAL
For an elasto-viscoplastic medium (Figure 4), an analytical solution is presented which partly
involves a numerical evaluation (equation (31)). Such a material exhibits, at the instant of an

332

P. FRITZ
V

Figure 4. Elasto-viscoplastic material model

arbitrary loading, purely elastic behaviour. Therefore at time t ='

0 the problem is described
by equation (9,provided that pWis replaced by the excavation radius Ri,and p,, by the internal
pressure pi. This leads to

Cr;

With time, the dashpot relaxes in zones in which the yield condition of the modified St. Venant
element is fulfilled. Excluding a change in the statical system (e.g. the introduction of a lining
for t > 0), the final state at t -* 00 corresponds to the findings of the foregoing section. It remains
to determine the time-dependent development. This is governed essentially by the actual stress
in the Newton dashpot, i.e. by the plastic strain velocities. To make an analytical treatment
possible, the plastic strain velocities are defined analogous to Hooke's law (3) (Madej~ki'~).
With the designation uWfor the stresses at time t --* 00, the plastic strain velocities are (Fritz7)
&
.;

l+v

[( 1 - vp)(a,- u?)- vp(0,- a;")]

7)

&$= O
Herein 7) is the viscosity of the dashpot, u? and ur respectively are the radial and tangential
stresses according to (10) and vp is a measure for the plastic volume dilatancy. To fulfil the
normality rule, up either should equal 1/2 or should depend on time and location r. Because
in the first case only deviatoric plastic deformations are accounted for, it does not represent
the general case. However, the assumption of vp = vp(t, r ) would hinder an analytical treatment.
Therefore, v,, is assumed to be constant. Hereby the normality rule is no longer fulfilled exactly.
The error involved with this approach will be discussed when deriving the absolute value of
vp (cf. quation (32)).
The differentiation in (21) is executed with respect to time. To simplify the equations the
abbreviations
W

cr= ur- u,
-

- (TIm

0, = u1

333

AXISYMMETRICAL TUNNEL PROBLEMS

are introduced. The total strain velocities are obtained by summation of the elastic parts
according to Hooke's law (3) and the viscoplastic parts according to the flow rule (21) to
&,

E;

(l+u) d

1+

(1+u) d

l+v

= --[( 1 - u ) 6 , - 4+A
[( 1 - up)@,- VP6J
E dt
77
= --[(l- u p t - u6,]+--9[(1-

dt

UP)@'

(23)

- up6,]

77

Elimination of the displacement Au" in the kinematic relation (2) and differentiation with
respect to time leads to
dE;
r-=&,-E,

(24)

dr

Because equilibrium condition (1) holds both at time

t -* 00

and at time

t,

it follows that

d6,
r-= 6'-6,
dr
Substitution of the strain velocities in the compatibility condition (24) by expressions (23) and
elimination of 6' on the right-hand side by means of equilibrium condition (25) leads to the
differential equation

=O

with
a=

(1 - u ~ ) E
(1- v2)77

Integration with respect to r yields

d
(6,+ 6')+ a (6,
+ 6')+f3(
dt

I ) =0

and with respect to t

6,+ 6'= f4(r ) e-"'

+f5 (t )

The expressionsf3( t ) , f4(r ) and f5( t ) are functions of r and t, respectively yet to be determined.
Substitution of 6' from equilibrium condition (25), integration with respect to r and backtransformation by means of (22) provides the general solution

where f6(t), f 7 ( t ) and f 8 ( r ) are functions of r and t yet to be determined. By means of the
radial and tangential stresses cr: and u: at time t = O from (20) the boundary conditions
t=O:

ur=cr:

r=Ri: ur=pi

334

P. FRITZ

can be formulated. Taking into account the equilibrium condition (25), the stresses result to

It should be observed that these expressions are valid within the initial (at time t = O+) plastic
zone only, i.e. for r < po (cf. equation (29)). By adding the elastic and plastic strain velocities
in (23) and with the boundary condition (26) it was implicitly assumed that the rock at radius
r is always in the plastic zone.
The displacements for r s po are obtained by integration of the strain velocities E ; in (23)
considering the abbreviations (22) and the kinematic relation (2) for AE, as
l + V

Au =-

r[( 1 - v ) a , - ~ a , ] + ~[(lr u ) ( a , - a?)- v(a,- a?)]dt +f9(r)

l+'
7)

The function f9(r) is determined from the boundary condition

t = 0: Au = Aue

whereby the displacements Au' at time t = 0 are defined in (20).Substitution of the stresses
according to (27) leads to

+-l E+ u {[( 1 - v)a:l+u

+--9[(1-

V,)(

va:]e-a'+[( 1- u ) a T - ua:]( 1 - e-a')}r

1- e-"'
a: - a:) - V p ( a : - a33 (yI

7)

- ( l + v ) ( 1 - 2 u ) Par
E

(for Ri s r s po)

The radius po of the plastic zone at time t = O+ is obtained by substitution of a: and a: in the
yield condition (7) according to the flow rule (20) as

As a further assumption, the condition is introduced that the total stresses at r 5 po may fulfil
the yield condition, but that they may never exceed it. This hypothesis influences the timedependent development of the stresses and strains, but not the final state at t + 00. When the
plastic zone at time t extends to the radius p,, the state in the range p o d r < p I is therefore
described analogous to the elasto-plastic material. Hence the stresses are defined analogous
to (10) and (17), the displacements to (18) and the radius p, to (12), when Ri is replaced by

AXISYMMETRICAL TUNNEL PROBLEMS

PO

335

of (29) and Pi is replaced by the stress a? at r = p o according to (27):

a, =a%+v(Aa,+Aal)

{ (

h = - r E " k, ;)mR-l
+

+ k2(7)mG+1+k3}

The radial stress a? at r = po is defined using (27). The state of stress and deformation for
r > pl follows as for the time-independent case from ( 5 ) whereby pm must be replaced by pr.
The function f 6 ( t ) in (27) and (28) is determined by compatibility considerations for the
displacements at r = p o . At this point, the displacements of (28) are equated to those of (30),
and after substitution of a? by expression (27) one obtains a differential equation for f 6 ( t )

with the functions

(1 + Y)( 1 - v)
Q4=

k4

336

P. FRITZ

and the boundary conditions

f=O:

f6=

f6df=O

Because of its transcendental character, equation (31) for f6(f) has to be solved numerically,
e.g. by a simple computer program. For the special case of deviatoric plastic strains only ( d G= 0
in (13), i.e. up = 1/2), a dimensionless representation can be found, which, within practical
accuracy requirements, is independent of the material properties E, .rl and the initial stress pa.
In the upper part of Figure 5 the related function f6 is shown, and in the lower part its integral,
. an arbitrary time and a desired ratio p i / p a ,f6 and
both versus a related time f* = ( E / v ) f For
I f6 can be read and, by means of equations (27)and (30), the stresses and displacements can
be calculated. Figure 5 applies for the indicated values of cohesion and angle of friction.
However, the influence of the peak value of the cohesion cp on f6 is relatively small. Thus,
for pi = 0, the function f6 is independent of cp;for p i / p a = 5 per cent, a reduction ot the cohesion
from the value indicated in Figure 5 to cp = 0 causes f6 at time f* = 4000 to increase by about
20 per cent. However, the influence of the angle of friction is greater. Figure 5 applies for
4'= 4R= 20" and Figure 6 for 4' = 4 R= 30".
It should be noticed that assumption (21) for the plastic strain velocities implies volumetric
strains depending on up' Although up is properly variable with time and radius, it was assumed
to be constant. To minimize the deviation from normality rule, vp is determined in such a way
that the displacements at the excavation boundary coincide for t + 00 with the time-independent

Figure 5. Representation of the functionsf and If, from equation (31) for t$G = 0, i.e. deviatoric plastic deformations;
4' = 4' = 20"; c p = 1 N/mm2, cR = 0 ; Y =0.3

337

AXISYMMETRICAL TUNNEL PROBLEMS

16

-$
0.2

DETAIL

Et
i o t i d '.

2%

0.1

sf,

Figure 6. Representation of the functionsf and

from equation (31) for dG =O, i.e. deviatoric plastic deformations;
4' = 4' = 30"; c p = 1 N/mm', c R ' 0 ; P = 0.3

results from (18). Herewith the displacements correspond to the ones calculated with the
normality rule outside the initial radius po of the plastic zone at any time and at the excavation
boundary Rj for t + m . For R i < r < p o they differ compared with the exact solution. An
illustrative example to this at different times t may be found in Fritz.' At t +m the difference
follows directly from (18). Usually it amounts at most to a few per cent. Therefore the influence
of a variable up= up(t, r ) is neglected. The value of up may hence be found by equating the
time-dependent displacements at time t + 00 according to (28) to the time-independent ones
of (18). Substitution of the integral lFf6(f) dt from (31) and consideration of fa(t+m) = O
and pooaccording to (12) leads to

338

P. FRITZ

For the special case of deviatoric plastic deformations only ( & G = 0 or mG= 1, respectively),
(32) or directly from (21):

vp follows from

vp = 1/2

(for & G

=o).

For this case the normality rule is fulfilled all over the domain at any time.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE

To demonstrate the applicability of the derived solutions an example from engineering

practice is discussed. For a deeply located tunnel the radial displacements have been measured
as a function of time before the placing of the lining. It was assumed that the statical and the
material model could be idealized according to Figure 7. The elastic parameters of the Hooke
element were chosen to agree with the results of laboratory tests.

Statistical model

Overburden
Spec. weight
Vert. pressure
Horiz. pressure
Intern. pressure
Radius

Material model

H=600m
y = 28 kN/m3
u, = yH
a, = a"
p, = 0.6 N/mm2

R,=6m

Modulus of elasticity
Poisson's ratio
Cohesion
Angle of friction
Angle of flow rule
Viscosity

E = 2,000 N/mm2
v=0.3
c;

CR

4 .4R

4G
7

Figure 7. Model of a deeply located tunnel in Austria

From the measured final deformations at the excavation boundary it was possible to backcalculate pairs of values of cohesion and friction angles from equation (18). Different flow
rules (13) and different magnitudes of residual strengths lead to distinct peak strength parameters (Figure 8). Which flow rule fits best to an actual problem cannot be determined from
the deformations at the excavation boundary alone. It would also be necessary, for example,
to have a knowledge of the deformations within the rock mass.
It remains to determine the viscosity coefficient 7 of the Newtonian element. It is chosen
to approximate the measured displacements as close as possible. In Figure 9, the resulting
curve is shown for certain strength parameters.
Of particular interest also is the stress in a lining erected before a stable state of equilibrium
is reached. Depending on the depth of the lining and its time of installation, different stresses
are attained at time t -* 00 (cf. Figure 10 for the case of an elastic lining and a rock with equal
peak and residual strengths). According to this diagram, the stresses are most unfavourable

AXISYMMETRICAL TUNNEL PROBLEMS

ANGLE OF FRICTION (pp =

339

IN

Figure 8. Back-calculation of the strength parameters for different rameters of the Row rule (Np,
V p : residual
strength peak strength, NR,V R :QP- Q p , c R = O)

for a lining with small thickness which is erected immediately at the face. The later a lining is
installed the smaller are its stresses. However, in tunnelling practice, the time span between
excavation and lining is often limited by the amount of admissible deformations or by the need
to finish the tunnel within certain time limits.
In the literature the argument can be found (e.g. Pacher"), that if too much time is allowed
before the installation of a lining, its stresses can increase or, in other words, that an optimum
time of installation exists, for which the smallest stresses develop. Without discussing the actual
field conditions, only the mathematical aspects shall be treated here. According to Figure 10
it is obvious that, for the material model of the rock 'Hooke-(St. Venant/Newton)' with ideal
plastic behaviour (i.e. equal peak and residual strength), the stresses in the lining decrease
with increasing time of installation. Disregarding the phenomenon of loosening pressure, an
optimum time of installation as defined above does not exist for this particular model. Therefore
Egger4 discussed a material with strain softening characteristics in the post-failure region.

a
P

q=4200 DAVS Nlmm2

160

260

3bo

460,

TIME H DAYS

Figure 9. Time dependent displacements at the excavation boundary

340

P. FRITZ

MATERIAL MODEL
OF ROCK:

LINING: E = 2OOOO N l m z
V-

0.3

TIME OF P~STALLATION IN DAYS

Figure 10. Stresses in the lining depending on its time of installation (support pressure by anchors pp, deviatoric plastic
deformations), -residual strength = peak strength: c p = cR = 0.7N/mm2; I$'= 4 R= 20"; 9 = 6,000 days N/mm2,
--- residual strength < peak strength: c p =0.5 N/mm2; c R =O; &'= I$R = 30'; 7 = 5,000 days N/mm2

Taking as limiting case of such a behaviour an instantaneous drop down to the residual strength,
it can be seen from equation (18) that for this case also a stable equilibrium is reached (cf.
Figure 10 example residual strength < peak strength).
CONCLUSIONS
An analytical solution has been derived for determining the time-dependent state of stress
and strain due to the excavation of a deeply located circular tunnel. The rock is assumed to
be isotropic and to behave elasto-viscoplastically according to a series coupling of a Hooke
element with a combination of a Newton and a modified St. Venant element (Figure 4). For
a distance r from the tunnel axis which is smaller than the initial radius p o of the plastic zone
(29), equations (27) and (28) apply. Up to the actual radius pI of the plastic zone (i.e. for
p o C r < p l ) , expressions (30) are relevant and for r s p l equations ( 5 ) and (11) are relevant,
whereby the index 00 has to be replaced by t. The unknown function f6(t) (cf. Figures 5 and
6) can be evaluated for an arbitrary time from (31). Preceding these calculations, the factor
vp, which characterizes plastic volumetric strain behaviour, is determined from (32).
The derivations outlined apply for a constant internal pressure pi. However, a flexible lining
which is installed after a certain time may be taken into account approximately by subdividing
the time-domain into a number of discrete time intervals. After each interval the internal
pressure is increased according to the increase in deformation at the excavation boundary of
which the lining takes part. Likewise, the stresses uO3must be adapted corresponding to the
actual value of pi(t). The value vp is computed only once at the beginning of the computation
for p, = 0. The maximum error with this procedure occurs for an installation of the lining at
t = O+. At this time, only elastic deformations of the rock have taken place and the change in
the internal pressure is extreme. The resulting error at t + 00 can be found directly by comparison
with the solution for a rock with elasto-plastic properties. Experience shows that the errors
will be of the order of magnitude of a few per cent.
It has been shown that for the elasto-viscoplastic material model presented, an optimum
time of installation for the lining does not exist. This is because for an infinitely small, but
positive internal pressure, numerically a stable equilibrium will be reached, even without a
lining. The introduction of such a small, fictitious internal pressure for numerical reasons only

AXISYMMETRICAL TUNNEL PROBLEMS

34 1

seems always to be justified. Disregarding big deformations, stability will therefore, theoretically, always be guaranteed. It seems that for any material model consisting of an arbitrary
combination of Hooke, Newton and modified St. Venant elements, no optimum time of
installation can be found.

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