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Age-Dependent Shotcrete Behavior in Convergence Confinement Method and

3D Numerical Analysis

Conference Paper · October 2016

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9th Asian Rock Mechanics Symposium ARMS9
18-20 October 2016, Bali, Indonesia

Age-Dependent Shotcrete Behavior in Convergence Confinement Method

and 3D Numerical Analysis
T. Bhandaria* and M. Kastnerb
a
SMEC India Pvt. Ltd., Gurgaon, India
b
SMEC International Pty. Ltd., Gurgaon, India
* tushar.bhandari@smec.com (corresponding author’s E-mail)

Abstract

Underground excavations usually consist of different shapes, varying from circular shapes in
tunnels to complex shapes in hydroelectric projects. The stress distribution around an underground
opening and resulting deformations are important to analyze in order to assess the stability of the
excavation and design a suitable support system. While circular shapes can be well analyzed through
analytical solutions, complex shapes may need a three-dimensional numerical analysis. As the
arrangement of different components of excavation becomes complex, the analysis of excavation
becomes more demanding.
For the design of shotcrete lining for tunnels and cavern arches, development of shotcrete strength
and stiffness with time is a very crucial aspect which is seldom paid enough attention to. This paper
presents an approach to address the age-dependent shotcrete behavior in convergence confinement
method for circular tunnels and discusses its impact in the design of shotcrete lining. Further, this
behavior is incorporated in a FLAC3D analysis carried out to assess the stability of the excavations
for a hydroelectric project that includes two caverns, eight tunnels and four shafts with different sizes
and arrangement. The geology in the area was classified in two groups with different behavioral types.
Two different material models namely the classical Mohr-Coulomb model and strain softening
ubiquitous model were used to simulate isotropic behavior of a relatively weak rock mass and
anisotropic behavior of a schistose rock mass characterized by strongly pronounced discontinuities.

Keywords: Age-dependent Shotcrete, Convergence-confinement Method, FLAC3D, Cavern Design,

Anisotropy

1. Introduction
Shotcrete is an important support element for tunnels excavated in accordance with the New
Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM). The design of primary shotcrete lining can be done using
various approaches including analytical and numerical solutions. The state of stresses and strains
prevailing in the shotcrete lining is a major factor in all approaches for assessing its stability and
eventually the stability of the tunnel or other underground openings.
While design of shotcrete lining is also based on structural mechanics, it differs from the design of
structural members of a building. For example, unlike building foundations, the loads that the tunnel
support should carry are not easy to determine and furthermore the ground-support interaction plays a
critical role in determining the stress state in the support as well as in the ground. The interaction near
the tunnel face is governed by the non-linear time-dependent material behavior of shotcrete and the
time-dependent excavation process. Modeling the excavation advance and support installation near
the face is essentially a 3D problem which can be analyzed through complex numerical models which
may not always be economic in terms of computational time. In such cases, simple analytical methods
can be used to understand how a rock mass surrounding a tunnel deforms and how the support
systems act to control this deformation.
This paper is an attempt to analyze the influence of age-dependent behavior of shotcrete on the
rock-shotcrete interaction. This is done by introducing a pseudo-dynamic approach to the commonly
used “Convergence confinement method”. Finally, this behavior is also incorporated in a
three-dimensional numerical analysis for a complex underground excavation involving two caverns
and many intersecting tunnels.
9th Asian Rock Mechanics Symposium ARMS9
18-20 October 2016, Bali, Indonesia

2. Convergence Confinement Method

The convergence-confinement method (CCM) is a useful analytical tool for designing support for
underground excavations. The method consists of three basic components: a ground reaction curve
(GRC) which describes the relationship between decreasing fictitious internal pressure and increasing
radial displacement in the tunnel wall; a longitudinal deformation profile (LDP) that relates tunnel
deformation to the distance from the tunnel face; and a support reaction curve (SRC) representing the
stress–strain relationship in the support system. A brief summary of how these components are
defined is presented below.

2.1 Ground reaction curve

For the purpose of this analysis, the ground is defined with a simple Mohr-Coulomb failure
criterion and an elastic perfectly plastic response. The failure criterion can be defined through
Equation (1) in terms of the major (σ1) and minor (σ3) principal stress and uni-axial compressive
strength of the rock mass (σcm).
   1   cm  k 3 (1)
The slope k of the σ1 vs. σ3 plot is defined as:
1  sin 
  k (2)
1  sin 
The tunnel deformation behavior is defined in terms of decreasing fictitious internal pressure in the
tunnel. This fictitious pressure is the restraint provided by the excavation face to deformations around
the excavation boundary. The elastic and plastic deformations are calculated based on Hoek (2007).
This relation between the tunnel deformation/closure and the fictitious internal pressure is called the
ground reaction curve (GRC).

2.2 Longitudinal deformation profile

Internal pressure and plastic zone radius are linked to the tunnel closure through the GRC. Closure,
in turn, is linked to the actual position of the point of interest in the tunnel, relative to the tunnel face,
through the longitudinal displacement profile (LDP). A portion of the maximum radial displacements
at the tunnel boundary takes place before the face advances beyond the section of interest. The tunnel
boundary continues to deform inwards as the tunnel advances further. This longitudinal profile of
deformation versus distance from the tunnel face is called the LDP. The results of a comprehensive
study on LDP have been published by Vlachopoulos and Diederichs (2009) and their formulation for
LDP is used in this paper. This approach adjusts the longitudinal displacement profile for unsupported
tunnels in order to account for plastic yield in front of the advancing tunnel and for the influence of
excessive plastic radius.

2.3 Support reaction curve

The behavior of a shotcrete circular lining for a tunnel of radius R can be characterized through a
reaction curve, with radial stiffness Ksc, which can be calculated based on equations published by
Hoek and Brown (1980) and Brady and Brown (1985) as shown in Equation. (3).

R 2  ( R  t sc ) 2
K sc   Esc
 

R 1   sc  1  2 sc R 2  ( R  t sc ) 2  (3)

The maximum support pressure for a shotcrete lining is given by Equation. (4).

 cs  
2
 R  t sc 
  p s ,max  1     (4)
2   R  
where Esc , νsc , tsc and σcs are the elastic modulus, Poisson ratio, thickness and compressive
strength of the shotcrete lining respectively. The stiffness of shotcrete governs the pressure acting on
the shotcrete lining which is related to the displacement of the tunnel boundary. Along with the point
of installation of the support and the stiffness, a reaction curve for shotcrete can be plotted with the
GRC.
9th Asian Rock Mechanics Symposium ARMS9
18-20 October 2016, Bali, Indonesia

2.4 Age-dependent behavior of shotcrete

In conventional CCM, the stresses in shotcrete are calculated based on the deformations from GRC
and the stiffness from Equation (3). In case of deep tunnels, the in-situ stress of the ground is quite
high and eventually the stresses in the shotcrete lining calculated through conventional CCM may be
un-realistically high. This is due to the fact that Equation (3) assumes a constant stiffness with a
constant elastic modulus of shotcrete. In reality shotcrete displays a time-dependent material behavior
with strength and deformational behavior changing over time. The shotcrete in its early age is quite
deformable and therefore can accommodate higher deformations without developing high stresses.
There are various constitutive laws available for shotcrete ranging from linear elasticity to
complex viscoelasticity and time-dependent non-linear elasticity. In this paper, the time-dependency
of shotcrete elastic modulus Esc is taken into account using the empirical relationship given in
Equation (5) (Chang, 1994).
 0.446 
 0.7 
  Esc ( t )  Esc ( 28)  1.602  e  t 
(5)
Apart from being time-dependent, the actual state of stresses and strains during the excavation
process is essentially three-dimensional. This sequence can be modeled using a time-dependent,
three-dimensional finite element model but may not always be computationally economic. To strike a
balance between a conventional CCM and a complex numerical analysis, the age-dependent behavior
of shotcrete can be incorporated in CCM by introducing a pseudo time step. This approach can be
called as pseudo-dynamic CCM.

2.5 Pseudo-dynamic CCM

In this paper, the GRC and LDP are developed similar to conventional CCM. To develop the
support reaction curve, two parameters become significantly important: time of installation of the
shotcrete lining and the excavation step. With each excavation cycle, the distance of the excavation
face from the point of interest increases by one excavation step. This results in a decrease in fictitious
internal pressure and corresponding deformations as per the GRC. After the shotcrete lining is
installed, the increment in deformations ∆un in an excavation cycle n results in development of loads
in the lining based on its average stiffness Ksc, (n-1) in the previous cycle n-1. The pressure acting on the
shotcrete lining psc, n in excavation cycle n is given by Equation (6):

  psc , n  psc , n 1  K sc , n 1un (6)

The pressure acting on the shotcrete is plotted against the deformations to get the support reaction
curve (SRC). The maximum mobilized support pressure ps,mob is the intersection point of GRC and
SRC. A final factor of safety for the shotcrete lining is calculated as:
p s ,max
  FOS  (7)
ps ,mob
To illustrate the significance of incorporating the time-dependency of shotcrete in CCM, an
example is presented for a 350 m deep, 10 m dia tunnel in quartz-phyllite. The properties of the rock
mass required for the CCM analysis are given in Table 1. A 25 cm thick shotcrete lining with 28 day
strength of 25 MPa is installed at a distance of 2 m from the face. Excavation step of 2 m is
considered in the analysis with a cycle time of 12 hours. The interaction diagram for shotcrete is
shown in Figure 1. To compare the adopted method with conventional CCM, reaction curve of
shotcrete is plotted using both conventional CCM and pseudo-dynamic CCM and presented as
SRC(conventional) and SRC(dyn) respectively.

Table 1 Rock mass parameters

Parameter Value Unit

Young's modulus, Erm 1.4 GPa
Poisson's ratio, ν 0.2 -
Compressive strength, σcm 5.16 MPa
Friction angle, ϕ 32 deg.
9th Asian Rock Mechanics Symposium ARMS9
18-20 October 2016, Bali, Indonesia

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Fig. 1. Interaction diagram of shotcrete using pseudo-dynamic CCM

The influence of age-dependent behavior of shotcrete can be seen from Figure 1. Unlike
conventional CCM, the varying stiffness of shotcrete with the excavation process is incorporated and
the pressure acting on the shotcrete lining is considerably reduced. This behavior is more close to
reality compared to adopting a single stiffness value of the shotcrete lining. It is worthwhile noticing
that the FOS for the lining is considerably improved (from 1.00 to 1.51) and therefore making the
design of the shotcrete lining much more economical. To achieve a FOS of 1.5 using the conventional
CCM and 28 day stiffness of shotcrete, the required thickness of lining increases from 25 cm to 46 cm.
The results from both analyses are summarized in Table 2.

Table 2 Results of CCM analyses

Conventional Pseudo-dynamic
Parameter Unit
CCM CCM
Thickness of plastic zone M 1.10 1.45
Displacement Cm 2.37 2.72
Max. support pressure, ps,max MPa 1.22 1.22
Mobilized support pressure, ps,mob MPa 1.22 0.81
Factor of safety, FOS - 1.00 1.51
 

3. Three-Dimensional Numerical Modeling

The convergence confinement method, with all its advantages, also has certain limitations. The
assumptions considered in the analysis may not always be possible to apply in case of complex
excavations with different shape, size and arrangement of various components. These excavations
require comprehensive study and analysis of stresses and deformations to design a proper sequence of
excavation and support system. In this paper, a case of two caverns in a hydropower project namely,
Butterfly Valve Chamber (BVC) and Penstock Assembly Chamber (PAC) is presented. The size of
the BVC is about 10 m (W) × 23.55 m (H) × 78 m (L) and that of the PAC is 13 m × 19.35 m × 83 m.
These caverns are located in poor geology with rock cover of 350m, separated by a clear pillar width
of 19 m and aligned in N303°. Apart from the caverns, the arrangement involves excavation of a
network of closely spaced underground openings that include four penstock tunnels (7.6 m span)
crossing the BVC obliquely, two access adits (8.5 m span), two construction adits (6 m span) and four
vertical penstock shafts (7.6 m dia.).

3.1 Geological setting

The project site is situated within the Lesser Himalaya that lies tectonically between the Main
Central Thrust and the Main Boundary Thrust. The rock units are part of the low grade metamorphics
that have been thrusted, folded and deformed over at least two stages.
9th Asian Rock Mechanics Symposium ARMS9
18-20 October 2016, Bali, Indonesia

The nomenclature of lithological units is based on variable proportions of quartzite and phyllite.
They include PQM (phyllitic quartzite - massive), PQT (phyllitic quartzite - thinly bedded), QP
(quartzitic phyllite alterations) and SP (sheared phyllite). In the main construction area, the attitude of
the primary schistosity is often close to the stratification. The average attitudes for stratification are
reported as N195-240° with dip angle of 45-65°and for schistosity, a dip direction of N160-180° and
dip angle of 30-42°.
The area was divided into two major geological zones comprising of different litho-units as shown
in Figure 2. One zone designated as PQT primarily consists of thinly bedded phyllitic quartzite.
Another zone designated as SP, known to be the weakest rock mass in the area, consists of sheared
phyllite.

Fig. 2. Projected geology on excavation surface (left) and global SP zones (right)

3.2 Modeling methodology

In numerical modeling of underground/surface excavations it is seen that frequently not much
emphasis is given on the anisotropy of the rock mass. Also, due to lack of data for defining the
anisotropic nature of the rock mass, the designers sometimes make an approximation that the ground
being excavated can be represented as an isotropic continuum. However, this approximation often
needs fine tuning, especially while analyzing excavations in geologically complex rock masses.
Depending on the distribution of discontinuities in the rock, a rock mass may or may not behave as a
continuum and depending on the structural features of the ground it may or may not have isotropic
properties. The presented model is based on the expected behavior of different geological zones as per
the available geological information.
The PQT rock mass is expected to show significant anisotropy in strength resulting from the
presence of a family of strongly pronounced discontinuities (bedding / schistosity) and is therefore
modeled with the ubiquitous joint model of FLAC3D. Application of this constitutive model has
shown that the assignment of ubiquitous joint orientations at the zone level (from a known joint
orientation distribution) results in realistic rock mass behavior response and yields properties that are
consistent with empirical techniques (Sainsbury et al., 2008; Clark, 2006; Bhandari et al., 2015). This
model accounts for the presence of an orientation of weakness in a classical Mohr-Coulomb model. In
this numerical model, general failure is first detected, and relevant plastic corrections are applied, as
in the classical Mohr-Coulomb model. The new stresses are then analyzed for failure on the weak
plane, and updated accordingly.
For the SP rock mass, where the joint density results in an almost isotropic continuum, the
classical Mohr-Coulomb model is used. As suggested by Hoek (2001), based on the analysis of
progressive failure of very poor quality rock masses surrounding tunnels, the post-failure
characteristics of the rock in such cases are adequately represented by assuming that it behaves
perfectly plastic with no dilation angle. This means that it continues to deform at a constant stress
level and that no volume change is associated with this ongoing failure. Therefore the SP rock mass
was modeled as a material with elastic-perfectly plastic behavior and zero dilation.
9th Asian Rock Mechanics Symposium ARMS9
18-20 October 2016, Bali, Indonesia

3.3 Model geometry and mesh

The BVC-PAC complex is located at a depth of about 350 m from the ground surface. A model
with artificial boundaries was created. The model is a block 125 m long, 125 m wide and 100 m high.
Apart from the main caverns, several other intersecting tunnels are also modeled as discussed in
section 3. Figure 3 shows the global model and the arrangement of all excavations with a legend
listing various components.
The 3D model shows a refined mesh of the main caverns and its intersections with other tunnels.
Zone size around the excavations is between 0.5 and 3.0 meters. Mesh refinement is decreasing with
distance from the excavation. The mesh was generated with an automatic mesh-generator, KUBRIX
(Itasca 2015), producing an unstructured mesh with around one million tetrahedral elements. With the
help of KUBRIX, exact shapes of the complex set of excavations could be modeled and the
connectivity between grid points of the resulting mesh was ensured.

Fig. 3. Global model (left) and mesh for the excavation geometry (right)

3.4 Geotechnical parameters

The two geological zones are represented by the two constitutive models discussed above. Both
these models require Mohr-Coulomb strength parameters to define the strength envelope for the rock
mass. The properties detailed in Table 3 were adopted for the analysis. These strength properties were
estimated by fitting a linear Mohr-Coulomb envelope to a non-linear Hoek-Brown curve for a
confining stress interval of 0 to 9.45 MPa (corresponding to 350 m rock cover). The Hoek-Brown
curve was determined using the Geological Strength Index approach (Hoek et al. 1995).
The vertical in-situ stress was considered to be lithostatic (based on the weight of the rock above)
and the horizontal in-situ stress was calculated based on hydro-fracturing tests conducted at nearby
locations for the same project. Accordingly, the major and minor horizontal to vertical principal stress
ratios were considered as 1.2 and 0.9 respectively, with the major principal stress aligned along
N229°.

Table 3 Geotechnical parameters for different geological zones

Rock mass
Rock mass category Parameter Unit PQT PQT SP
(matrix) (weak plane) (isotropic)
Disturbance factor, D - 0 0 0
No blast damage Elastic modulus, E m (GPa) 6.0 6.0 3.0
Cohesion, cpeak (MPa) 1.7 1.0 0.7
Friction angle, ϕpeak (deg.) 45 37 28
Disturbance factor, D - 0.3 0.3 0.3
Blast damage zone Elastic modulus, Em (GPa) 6.0 6.0 3.0
(upto 3 m from peak
excavation boundary) Cohesion, c (MPa) 1.5 0.9 0.6
Friction angle, ϕpeak (deg.) 43 33 24
3.5 Sequence of excavation and support installation
9th Asian Rock Mechanics Symposium ARMS9
18-20 October 2016, Bali, Indonesia

A significant advantage of 3D stress analysis is that the effect of excavation face and tunnel
advance on the stability of the excavation can be studied with reasonable accuracy. Another benefit of
3D numerical calculations is the incorporation of the support installation sequence. However, these
advantages of 3D calculations are rarely exploited to their full potential.
In the present analysis, the process of excavation and support installation was simulated with
reasonable detail. The model simulates each round of excavation followed by installation of shotcrete
and rock bolts. This feature does not only eliminate the need for any assumptions on stress-relaxation
normally considered in numerical models to take into account the effect of the excavation face, but
also minimizes the shock (in form of large unbalanced forces) to the numerical solution procedure
since the “path-dependence” of the solution is important.
The excavation and support installation sequence is illustrated in Table 4. Excavation of each adit
was carried out in one step followed by application of shotcrete with shell elements. Excavation for
BVC and PAC was divided into various stages as shown in Figure 4. A schematic view of the support
system adopted in the model is shown in Figure 5. Excavation of each stage was simulated in a
number of excavation steps followed by the installation of shotcrete and rock bolts.

Table 4 Sequence of excavation and support installation

Stage Excavation Support
Component Step (m) Type Installation after
1 Existing adits - Shotcrete -
2 Construction adits - Shotcrete -
Rock bolts + shotcrete 1 exc. step
3 BVC top heading 2.0 Steel arches @ 1.0 m 2 exc. step
4 PAC top heading 2.0 Rock bolts + shotcrete 1 exc. step
Steel arches @ 1.0 m 2 exc. step
5 BVC 1st bench 2.5 Rock bolts + shotcrete 1 exc. step
Cable anchors 4 exc. step
Rock bolts + shotcrete 1 exc. step
6 BVC 2nd bench 2.5 Cable anchors 4 exc. step
7 BVC 3rd bench 4.0 Rock bolts + shotcrete 1 exc. step
Cable anchors 3 exc. step
th
8a BVC 4 bench 4.0
8b PAC 1st Bench 4.0 Rock bolts + shotcrete 1 exc. step
9-14 BVC& PAC benches (same 4.0 Cable anchors 3 exc. step
as 8a, 8b)
15 Existing adits up to PAC - Backfill concrete -
16 Penstock tunnels - Shotcrete -
17 Vertical penstocks - Shotcrete -

Fig. 4. Main stages in sequence of excavation

9th Asian Rock Mechanics Symposium ARMS9
18-20 October 2016, Bali, Indonesia

Fig. 5. Schematic view of support system adopted in numerical model

3.6 Results and discussion

The results of the analysis were interpreted in terms of displacements, principal stresses,
displacement histories (trend of displacements with the progress of excavation) and yielded elements
after complete excavation. A three-dimensional view of the displacement contours on excavation
boundaries is shown in Figure 6. It can be seen from the figure that the displacement contours
correspond with the geological setting of the area such that maximum deformations are predicted (red
color in Figure 6) at the locations where large proportion of SP rock mass is present (Fig.2).
An important factor often considered to decide the length of rock bolts required to support
underground excavations is the extent of the plastic zone. The plastic zones are indicated as “Yield
(shear/tension)” in Figure 7. and shown in red color. The yield state of cable elements used to model
rock bolts is also shown in Figure 7 with black lines for bolts in their elastic state and yellow lines for
bolts yielded in tension. The length and tensile capacity of the rock bolts and cable anchors is so
selected that most of them cross the yielded zone and the forces remain in the elastic limit defined by
the tensile yield load, which is 350 kN for rock bolts and 1200 kN for cable anchors. It may be noted
that some yielding does occur in few elements of the cable anchors that amount to around 4 % of the
total elements.

Fig. 6. Contours of total displacement (m) on excavation surface

9th Asian Rock Mechanics Symposium ARMS9
18-20 October 2016, Bali, Indonesia

Fig. 7. Yielded elements after complete excavation

Fig. 8. Stresses in the shotcrete arch for BVC

Another advantage of the current model is that development of the stiffness of shotcrete with time
is simulated through time-space relationship for cavern arches. This was done by modifying the
stiffness of shotcrete as a function of construction steps which result in a realistic assessment of its
structural behavior. The stresses developed in the shotcrete arch in BVC are shown in Figure 8 as an
example. The maximum compressive stress in shotcrete reaches 15 MPa.
The process of applying a pre-tensioning force to the cable anchors can be simulated accurately to
confine the pillar between the caverns. However, the cable anchors in the current model have been
modeled only as reinforcing elements which is identical to their post-grouting long term behavior. In
practice, the active support provided by pre-tensioning can be helpful in restricting the yielding in the
pillar.

4. Conclusions
The widely used convergence confinement analysis in its conventional form cannot address the
varying shotcrete stiffness with time. This leads to either an excessively high thickness of shotcrete or
a need to assume an average stiffness of shotcrete. To eliminate the need for such an assumption, a
modified form of CCM is presented in this paper by which the age-dependent behavior of shotcrete
can be taken into account in a more realistic manner. The results of the analysis show that the
modified approach helps in analyzing stresses in shotcrete with a varying stiffness and the design of
the shotcrete lining can therefore be rationalized.
The age-dependent behavior of shotcrete is incorporated in a three-dimensional numerical analysis
to assess the stability of excavations for two caverns and intersecting tunnels. Geological variations
 9th Asian Rock Mechanics Symposium ARMS9
18-20 October 2016, Bali, Indonesia

have been accounted for by modeling two different geological zones with two different material
models taking into account the strength anisotropy of phyllites. Stresses and the resulting plastic zones
have been studied to estimate the support requirements for the proposed excavations. Simulation of
each round of excavation in the numerical model ensures that a realistic support installation sequence
is modeled and will also enable calibration of the model at any stage of excavation. Calibration of the
model will include updating the geology for any significant variation observed during excavation and
re-assessment of rock mass parameters based on the difference in predicted and observed
deformations.

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