Arab J Geosci
DOI 10.1007/s12517-011-0427-z
ORIGINAL PAPER
Geohazards analysis of Pisa tunnel in a fractured
incompetent rocks in Zagros Mountains, Iran
Hojjat Ollah Safari & Saeid Pirasteh &
Biswajeet Pradhan & Hossein Amid
Received: 1 June 2011 / Accepted: 27 September 2011
# Saudi Society for Geosciences 2011
Abstract The Pisa 2 tunnel with 740 m in length and 20° N
trend is located along the Kazerun fault zone in Simply
Folded Belt of Zagros, Iran. This tunnel has been excavated
in the fractured incompetent marl layers with high expansive
pressure of up to 2 kg/cm2. In this study, the geological
hazards along the tunnel have been recognized and catego-
rized. This study revealed that, in the long-term usage of the
tunnel, the lining did not endure against the loading and the
secondary leakages. It is mainly attributed due to the non-
efficiencies of drainage and isolation systems in the tunnel
site. Therefore, it caused asphalt damage, drainage damage,
and wall distortion. FLAC3D software has been used in this
research. We conducted various analyses for pre-excavation
stress states, syn-excavation, and post-excavation strain
states. The results showed no indication of instability and
critical deformations during the excavation time. It also
revealed that due to the non-efficiencies of drainage and
isolation systems against secondary leakages and conse-
H. O. Safari
Geology Department, College of Science, Golestan University,
Gorgan, Iran
B. Pradhan (*)
Institute of Advanced Technology, Spatial and Numerical
Modeling Laboratory, Universiti Putra Malaysia,
43400, UPM,
Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
e-mail: biswajeet@mailcity.com
B. Pradhan
e-mail: biswajeet24@gmail.com
H. Amid
Civil Department, College of Engineering, Azad University,
Bushehr Branch,
Bushehr, Iran
S. Pirasteh
Islamic Azad University, Dezful Branch,
Dezful, Iran
quently marl expansion, the volumetric and shear strains (i.e.,
expansions and displacements) have exceeded from the
critical states of strain along the tunnel. For various remedy
purpose, this paper attempted several measures that can be
taken in order to modify the drainage and isolation systems
along the tunnel area. The reconstruction of drainage systems
with suitable reinforced concrete and adequate slope has
been proposed. The width of channel and isolation of
backside of lining and implementation of multi-order outlets
(i.e., backside of lining) for draining of groundwater into
where the main drainage systems are located in the tunnel
gallery were suggested.
Keywords Tunnel . Deformations . Incompetent rocks .
Zagros belt . GIS . Remote sensing
Introduction
Tunnels as an underground excavation are most important
structures in the transportation system. During the site
selection of these structures, the geological conditions are
considered as important influential factors. It is because
these structures are excavated in ground and underground
conditions (Hoek and Brown 1980; Wahlstrom 1973).
These conditions normally define the shape, length, and
stability of a tunnel. The presence of any weak zone in the
rocks such as the tension joints and or faults, incompetent
rocks (i.e., marly or shally formations) (Bieniawski 1984)
and leakages of groundwater, high rate of regional
seismicity, and other geological hazards affect the stability
of the tunnels. Consequently, these geohazards reduce the
safety of the tunnels and therefore increase the bulk cost of
tunnel construction. This is mainly because the under-
ground structures are mostly susceptible to the geological
hazards. Therefore, the geological studies of these hazards
play an important role in designing the tunnels.

A correctly supported excavation measure prevents the
new conditions of loading in the ground causing either
excessive deformation of the excavated profile or failure of
the surrounding ground (Blyth and De Freitas 1984). The
movement of ground into an excavated space encourages
an arching effect. This strengthens the ground in the
vicinity of the excavation. In competent rocks, the natural
arch may have enough strength to support the surrounding
ground. But, in the incompetent rocks (i.e., weak rocks) the
response is negligible and therefore it causes distortion and
damage in the walls and roof of the excavated tunnel. This
response will happen more quickly at some locations
depending upon the strength of the ground, the stresses
within it, and the size as well as the shape of the
excavation.
The calculation of support requirements for excavations
in the incompetent rocks requires knowledge about the
mechanical properties of the materials. It also needs the
magnitude of total stress in the surface and groundwater
pressures that are expected during the excavation (Blyth
and De Freitas 1984).
Study area
The Pisa 2 tunnel with 20° N trend, 740 m in length
lies within the latitude between 3269559 N, 546057 E
and longitudes 3268851 N, 545789 E is located in the
Zagros Fold Belt, Iran. This belt is a seismically active
fold–thrust belt resulted from the collision of the
Arabian Plate with the continental crust of Central Iran
that began during the Miocene and has continued to the
present (Stocklin 1984; Hatzfeld et al. 2003; McQuarrie
2004; Alavi 1994; Safari et al. 2009; Safari et al. 2010;
Ayazi et al. 2010; Pirasteh et al. 2011). Zagros fold–thrust
belt has been divided into Thrust zone (High Zagros),
Simply Folded Belt, and Coastal plain (Hatzfeld et al. 2003;
McQuarrie 2004; Alavi 1994; Falcon 1974; Berberian 1995;
Safari and Qoreshi 2000; Safari & Nogol-sadat 1999). The
simply folded belt is obliquely truncated by several
transverse strike slip faults such as Izeh, Kazerun, Karebas,
Sabzpushan, and Sarvestan fault zones. Along these trans-
verse fault zones, some evidences of dextral shear deforma-
tion regime are exhibited (Berberian 1995; Safari et al. 2009;
Sepehr and Cosgrove 2005). Pisa 2 tunnel is situated along
the Kazerun fault zone in the southwest of Fars Province in
Iran (Fig. 1). Pisa 2 tunnel has been excavated within
relatively high fractured incompetent layers.
This fault zone is the eastern boundary of Dezful Embay-
ment, (Sepehr et al. 2002; Sepehr and Cosgrove 2005; Pirasteh
et al. 2010) with 400 km in length and 10–15 km in width. It
has a trend approximately N-S and transversely truncated
Arab J Geosci
the Zagros Fold–Thrust Belt (James and Wynd 1965). The
activity of this great transverse fault zone has caused the high-
density fracturing in the incompetent rocks of Mishan and
Aghajari Formations.
Geological settings
O’Brien (1950, 1957) was the first researcher to divide
the stratigraphic column of the Dezful embayment into
five structural and mechanical groups namely (a) the
basement group (i.e., Pan-African crystalline basement),
(b) the lower mobile Group (i.e., Hormuz salt), (c) the
competent Group (i.e., Cambrian to Lower Miocene
platform sediments), (d) the upper mobile Group (i.e.,
Miocene salt), and (e) the incompetent Group (i.e.
Miocene to Recent molasses). The main outcropped
stratigraphy of Pisa 2 and adjacent area consist of
Gachsaran Formation (i.e., upper mobile group), Mishan
and Aghajari Formations (i.e., incompetent group)
(Fig. 1). The stratigraphic characteristics of these for-
mations are listed in Table 1 and subsequently described
in the following sub-sections.
Gachsaran formation
This formation comprises of 1,500 m sequence layers of
anhydrite and marls with marly limestones and salt
inter-beds of Lower Miocene age. Gachsaran Formation
is insignificantly fractured with mechanically ductile
behavior.
Mishan formation
This formation consists of 700 m of thickness of Gray
marls inter-bedded with marly limestones of Lower to
Middle Miocene age.
Aghajari formation
Aghajari Formation with Upper Miocene to Pliocene age
has about 2,000 m thickness. It is divided into main part
and Lahbari member (Table 1). The main part is composed
of sandstone, gray and red marls, and siltstone with Lahbari
member that comprises the sequence of siltstone, marl, and
conglomerate.
Most of the tunnels are excavated in Aghajari
Formation. This is including red marls in entrance
portal to middle part of the tunnel path (Fig. 2), marl
with inter-bedding of sandstone with cross bedding in
middle part and gray marl with distorted cream sandstone
(i.e., with chert particles) in the exit portal. This out-
Arab J Geosci
Fig. 1 Location map of the study area showing the geological map of Pisa 2 tunnel
cropped rock types are categorized into semi-ductile rocks
with high rate of erodibility.
Methodology
This section describes the methodology adopted in this
study. In the first stage, the investigation has been
carried out for four major geological formations that
could produce hazard and further create the instability
around the tunnel. The geological studies comprise of
(a) structural geology of the tunnel trend, (b) ground-
water condition, (c) mechanical behaviors of excavated
rocks, and (d) seismotectonic circumstances. In the
second stage, different types of geological hazards
within the tunnel path are studied. These are exhibited
on tunnel’s geological profile. In the third stage, on
the basis of the field observations around the tunnel
and using the modeling method within the Fast
Lagrangian Analysis of Continua (FLAC3D) environ-

Table 1 Stratigraphic characteristics of outcropped rocks in Pisa 2 tunnel and adjacent areas
Formation Lithology Age
Aghajari
Lahbari member Sequence of siltstone, Upper Miocene
marl, and conglomerate to Pliocene
Main part Sequence of sandstone,
gray and red marls,
and siltstone
Mishan Gray marls inter-bedded Lower to Middle
with marly limestone Miocene
Gachsaran Sequence of anhydrite Lower Miocene
and marl with marly
limestone and
salt inter-beds
ment; various structural controlling measures have been
proposed. The details of these steps are explained in the
next sub-sections.
Step 1
Digital image processing and geology map
Landsat 7 ETM+ image was geometrically corrected using
30 ground control points. The digital image processing
techniques such as liner enhancement 2% and filtering
techniques using convolution kernel size (Ali and Pirasteh
2004; Pradhan et al. 2006; Pradhan and Pirasteh 2010) were
applied to extract the lineaments features from the image.
The key elements for image interpretation are photographic
and geotechnical elements such as tone, shape, topography,
erosion, vegetation, and linearity. False color composite
741 (RGB) band composition image was used for this
purpose. The corrected pseudo-color image was filtered by
high-pass filter for recognition of various litho units. In
order to extract the linear structures, directional filters were
applied (Pradhan et al. 2006; Farrokhnia et al. 2010;
Pradhan and Youssef 2010; Pradhan et al. 2010a, b, c;
Pradhan 2011). The extracted lineaments were checked and
measured with the aid of field investigations (Safari and
Seraj 2007). Then, the final geological map is produced
(Fig. 1).
The extracted lineaments which are truncated near the
tunnel area consists of (a) F1-Fault with altitude 155° N/
52° SW has reverse mechanism and truncate the tunnel path
and the activity has created the broad fracture zone (with
60 m in width) within the +380 to +440 m; (b) F2-Fault has
E-W trend and Sinistral strike slip mechanism located in
600 m far away from the entrance portal; (c) F3-Fault is
normal fault with 20° N trend which runs parallel with
tunnel axis and it is shown near the exit portal. The
activities of this fault have caused distortions and generated
fracturing of beds such as systematic joints in the exit portal
Arab J Geosci
Lower contact Upper contact Thickness (meter)
Angular unconformity Angular unconformity ∼2,000
with Aghajari with Bakhtiari
Transitional with Mishan Angular unconformity
with Lahbari member
Sharp and conformable Transitional with Aghajari ∼750
with Gachsaran
Conformable with Asmari Conformable with Mishan ∼800
(Fig. 2). As a result, it has caused the leakages of
groundwater into the end part of the tunnel.
Groundwater investigations
Geomorphologically, the area is located in the moun-
tainous region with high crests and deep valley. The
climate of the study area is semi-arid with 250–300 mm
of rainfall/year. Due to the impermeability nature of
marly parts and low-to-moderate permeability of sandy
parts of Aghajari Formation, some rainwater penetrates
to ground through fracture zones and forms the
groundwater in this area. The dominant rainfall are
drained by local drainages toward the Dalaky River. In
order to study the source and chemical behaviors of
leaked waters into the tunnel, ten samples were
collected from different parts of the tunnel path and
further analyzed. The sampling results showed the
following characteristics:
– pH=6.5, indicating that leaked waters are being acidic
due to passing throughout anhydrite parts of Gachsaran
formation.
– TDS=1,600 mg/l, these waters have high-quantity
contents of soluble and insoluble component such as
clay minerals.
– Ec=2,300 μm/l, the quality of waters is low due to the
presence of the soluble evaporitic components.
Mechanical behaviors of excavated rocks
As mentioned in the geology section, the major litho units
for the area where all the tunnel paths are constructed are
red marls, marl with inter-bedding of sandstone with cross-
bedding, and gray marl with distorted cream sandstone
(with chert particles). Therefore, the marl and sandstone are
two predominant rock types in the study area. Few rock
samples are collected from the different parts of the tunnel
Arab J Geosci

Fig. 2 Different views of joint set conditions with expressions of distortions and damages along the Pisa 2 tunnel

path and mechanically tested. The mechanical behaviors of
these rock types are given below:
– Marly parts—the marl due to their behaviors in using
conditions is considered as most troublesome (prob-
lematic) rocks. The main mechanical behaviors of these
rocks comprised of:
– Specific gravity, 1.96 to 2.05 g/cm3
– Free expansion percentage, 55% to 2% (depending to
water absorption amount)

– Uniaxial compressive strength, 3 to 30 kg/cm2
– Expansive pressure, 0.5 to 2 kg/cm2 (depending to
moisture amount)
– Sandstone parts—the sandstone parts of Aghajari
formation with low thickness is inter-bedded
between Marly parts and comprises of Cream
sandstone with limy or cherty components. The
main mechanical behaviors of these rocks are as
follows:
– Specific gravity, 1.59 to 1.66 g/cm3
– Uniaxial compressive strength, 9 to 13 kg/cm2
– Cohesion=0.5 kg/cm2 and angle of internal friction
(φ)=37°
– Elastic module, 1,000 to 1,500
– Hardness (calculated by Schmidt Hammer), 17 to 22
Seismotectonic investigations
The study area is situated along the Kazerun fault zone
in seismically active Zagros fold–thrust belt. This fault
zone, as eastern boundary of Dezful Embayment
(Sepehr and Cosgrove 2005), with 400 km in length
and 10–15 km in width with N-S trend (Tavakoli et al.
2005). The activity of this fault zone has caused regional
seismicity (Baker et al. 1993; Berberian 1995; Berberian
and Tchalenko 1976) in central part of the Zagros
Mountain. A part of Kazerun fault zone which passes
through the study area is studied by remote sensing
techniques. The earthquake epicenters were overlaid on
extracted faults in GIS environment. By adding the
geology layer on this map, the seismotectonic map of the
study area has been prepared (Fig. 3).
Step 2: investigation of geological hazards
For the analysis of geological hazards, the geological
surveying and measurements of tunnel lanes are investigated
in the study area (Fig. 4). The field observation data aided
with the survey-based locations were very useful in finding
the areas prone to hazards in the tunnel. Subsequently, the
tunnel was categorized into four sets of possible potential
zones to current and future hazards. They are as follows:
(a) Marl expansion due to water absorption and overbur-
den pressures.
(b) The leakage of groundwater into tunnel gallery
through its floor and walls.
(c) Fracturing, faulting, and displacement of tunnel walls
have taken place that are caused by fault activities
which include truncating of its walls (and or situated in
adjacent of these).
(d) Occurrence of earthquake (and so, destruction or
damaging of tunnel).
Arab J Geosci
Among these hazards, the first three hazards have
already taken place and the fourth one has the potential of
occurring in the future. The descriptions of these geological
hazards are illustrated in Fig. 4. Several field observations
were conducted which confirmed the potential hazardous
areas. These geohazards are expressed as:
– Water leakage from the roof and the walls due to the
fracturing of inter-bedding competent sandstones (and
too incompetent marls) which was developed due to
these hazards (Fig. 2c).
– Drainage damage due to the displacement of walls
(caused by fault activities) and expansion of marls in
tunnel floor and walls have been occurred to generate
the hazards (Fig. 2d).
– Asphalt damage due to water falls from tunnel roof and
marl expansion in tunnel floor help to increase the
hazards potential (Fig. 2e).
– Wall distortion due to marl expansion in tunnel walls
and displacements in walls as a result of faulting have
been seen as one of the reasons of the occurrence of the
hazards (Fig. 2f).
Finally, damages are carefully surveyed and pre-
sented on geological profile of the tunnel (Fig. 4).
Step 3: proposed mitigation measures
Drainage systems, isolation systems, lining system, and
floor pressures (i.e., due to marl expansion loading) are the
effective parameters that control the stability of the tunnel.
The geological hazards invade these systems and have
caused the instability of the tunnel. The main problem in
Pisa 2 tunnel stability is the marl expansion which has
occurred due to the water absorption and overburden
pressures as well as the displacement which occurred due
to fault activity. The expansion of these marls causes high
expansive pressure of up to 2 kg/cm2. Hence, it has caused
the distortion of lining (as wall and roof distortions) and
asphalt damages. Therefore, for mitigating these hazards,
the emphasis has been given to support these systems.
The main part of these procedures comprised the analysis
of imposed stresses and tunnel's response to it (i.e.,
volumetric and shear strain). In this research, the reverse
analyzing method has been used for this purpose. A model
has been proposed for the tunnel using the finite elements
method on the basis of mechanical behavior of the excavated
rocks and the measuring of strains (i.e., deformations). This
method correlated the deformations (distortions) with ground
deformations and subsequently the critical locations of rock
bodies have been recognized and suitable reconstruction
measures are proposed.
The FLAC3D software (Itasca Consulting Group 2004)
has been used. FLAC3D is a powerful two-dimensional
Arab J Geosci

Fig. 3 Digital seismotectonic map of the study area overlaid on the general risk map of Iran

continuum code for modeling soil, rock, and structural is a general analysis and design tool used by geotechnical,
behavior. Used interactively or in batch mode, this software civil, and mining engineers and can be applied to a broad

Fig. 4 Geological surveying and geohazards in Pisa 2 tunnel and its profile

range of engineering problems. The explicit finite differ-
ence formulation of the code makes FLAC3D ideally suited
for modeling of the multi-stage geomechanical problems,
such as, sequential excavation, backfilling, and loading (Su
and Shu 2009). The formulation can accommodate large
displacements and strains and nonlinear material behavior,
even if yield or failure occurs over a large area or if a total
collapse occurs (Qi and Lai 2006). Because the analysis in
this software is performed on the basis of Lagrangian
method, the plastic and unstable conditions are modeled
with high resolution. The procedures of strain (and stress)
analysis in this software have the following steps and that
includes:
Data entry
The predominant excavated rock types in Pisa 2 tunnel are
thick incompetent marly beds (i.e., with expansive pressure
of up to 2 kg/cm2) and thin competent sandstone beds. The
Mohr–Coloumb behavior model has been considered in this
Fig. 5 Pre-excavation state
Arab J Geosci
research. The dry specific gravity of excavated body is 20
K N/m3. The main parameter that influences the results is K
coefficient (horizontal to vertical stress ratio). This coeffi-
cient is calculated using the equation below:
100 1; 500
þ 0:3 < K < þ 0:5 ð1Þ
Z Z
where Z=depth
The other data used for the analysis were elastic modulus
(E), cohesion (C), internal friction angle (φ), and expansion
angle (ψ) coefficients.
Analysis of the pre-excavation state
For modeling of before-excavation state of Pisa 2 tunnel, we
used a total of 81,470 elements and 88,128 nodes. Subse-
quently, the 3D modeling of geometry and excavated rock
media is prepared (Fig. 5). The results of the analysis showed
that the distribution of primary stress states are related to the
topography and bed altitudes (strike and dip of beds).
Arab J Geosci
Analysis of syn-excavation state
In this step, the Pisa 2 tunnel has been analyzed on the basis of
single-stage full-section excavation. In single-stage excava-
tion, the section elements along the tunnel path are removed
and then the software was run. With consideration to the long-
term construction of tunnel and redistribution of stress states
in the rock bodies, no difference between single- and double-
stage excavations modeling is shown. In this study, the results
of deformation tensors, displacement magnitudes, volumetric
strain increments, and shear strain contours in cross-section of
435 to 440 m of the tunnel path (i.e., critical section with
maximum distortion) have been considered (Fig. 6). As
shown in Fig. 6, the maximum displacement which has
taken place in the tunnel section is located in the floor of this
section (435 to 440 m) and its quantity is 238 mm. Also, the
maximum volumetric strain with quantity of 8e−3 to 9e−3 is
shown in the tunnel floor and the maximum shear strains has
taken place along the roof (with quantity, 3.27e−2) and floor
(with quantity, 1.5e−2 to 2e−2) of the tunnel.
Fig. 6 Syn-excavation state
Analysis of the post-excavation state
As mentioned in the previous section, the secondary
expansion of marls has occurred mainly due to the
water absorption and overburden pressures and displace-
ments along the faults and this has caused the changes
such as wall and floor distortions in several parts of the
tunnel. Therefore, the simulations for the long-term
distortions were carried out on the basis of applied
expansion pressures and other geological states in
different parts of the tunnel sections. The deformation
tensors, displacement magnitudes, volumetric strain
increments, and shear strain contours were calculated
in various sections, especially in critical section of 435
to 440 m (Fig. 7). As shown in Fig. 7, the maximum
displacements have taken place in the tunnel floor and the
eastern wall in the 435 to 440-m section and are 300 mm
in floor and 130 mm in the eastern wall. In this part of the
tunnel section, the expansion pressure may be 0.9 kg/cm2
in floor and 0.8 kg/cm2 in the wall. For illustration

Fig. 7 Post-excavation state
purpose, the maximum volumetric strain is shown in
tunnel floor and its quantity is 1.85e−1 and maximum
shear strain is 1.07e−1.
Discussions and conclusions
The main extracted fault in the study area is truncated in the
tunnel path and has a reverse mechanism with an altitude of
155° N/52° SW. This activity has created the broad fracture
zone (i.e., 60 m in width) within the +380 to +440 m. The
other type of fault is a normal fault with 20° N trend
running parallel with the tunnel axis. The activities of this
fault have caused distortions and fracturing of beds as
systematic joints in exit portal. Therefore, it has caused the
leakages of groundwater into the end part of the tunnel. The
investigation of main systematic joint sets showed three
joint sets including N-S trend tensile joints, NE-SW trend
shear joints, and E-W trend compressive joints. The
bedding altitudes along the tunnel path has shown adjacent
Arab J Geosci
of the entrance portal that has 155° N/52° SW, middle part
with 147° N/48° SW, and end part with 147° N/42° SW.
Chemical analysis of the collected water samples (ten)
showed that the pH is 6.5. This indicated that leaked waters
are acidic due to the infiltration through the anhydrite parts
of Gachsaran Formation. It also shows TDS=1,600 mg/l.
The water has high-quantity contents of soluble and
insoluble component such as clay minerals. The other
understanding from the chemical analysis revealed that Ec=
2,300 μm/l. The quality of waters is low due to the
presence of the soluble evaporated components. Thus, the
behavior of leaked waters into the tunnel revealed that these
waters have low pH, high-quantity contents of soluble and
insoluble component, and low quality due to the infiltration
through the incompetent part of Aghajari and Gachsaran
Formations.
The mechanical study of rocks showed that the marls
have been considered as the most troublesome rocks due to
their behaviors in the local conditions. The result of the
experiments demonstrated that marls have low to medium
Arab J Geosci
specific gravity, low compressive strength, and high
expansion (especially after large amount of water absorp-
tion). The expansion of marls caused high expansive
pressure of up to 2 kg/cm2. Also, the marls are categorized
into incompetent (semi-ductile) rocks with high rate of
erodibility. Mechanically, the sandstone in Aghajari For-
mation has low thickness. The mechanical analysis of these
rocks revealed that sandstone parts in spite of low thickness
(relative to marly members) are considered as mechanically
resistant rocks. Hence, it is considered as a reliable rock in
structure designing in the Zagros Mountain area. These
rocks showed brittle behavior due to the hardness and a
high competency. Therefore, it will be highly fractured as a
result of underground stresses.
The seismotectonic study showed accumulation of
highly dense epicenters (i.e., 14 epicenters) around the
Kazerun fault in and around the study area. Therefore, it
can be deduced that the study area has the high potential to
seismicity and so, this area is considered as a high-risk zone
in seismic risk map of Iran (Fig. 3). The study indicates that
the excavation of Pisa 2 tunnel in fractured incompetent
marl rocks in Kazerun fault zone produces the geological
hazards. The geological surveying and measurements of
tunnel lane showed that three sets of geological hazards
have been produced (a) marl expansion, (b) the leakages of
groundwater into the tunnel gallery and, (c) fracturing,
faulting, and displacement in the tunnel walls due to the
fault activities (and or activation of faults due to past
earthquakes). The proofs of these geological hazards are
seen in the tunnel sites in the form of water leakages,
asphalt damages, drainage damages, and wall distortions.
These damages are schematically presented on the tunnel's
geological profile (Fig. 4). Unfortunately, the final lining of
Pisa 2 tunnel with 50-cm thickness was constructed as a
facade without proper material strength and safe mechan-
ical behavior. As a conclusion, in the long-term usage of the
tunnel, the lining may not endure against performed loading
in the future.
With the help of the FLAC3D software, we analyzed the
pre-excavation stress and syn- and post-excavation strains
(Figs. 5, 6, and 7, respectively). The results showed that no
instability and critical deformations existed during the
excavation time (Fig. 5), and therefore, the distortions such
as asphalt damage could not be recognized earlier. This also
indicated that the maximum displacements (in post-
excavation state) have taken place in the tunnel floor and
in the eastern wall in the 435- to 440-m section and are
300 mm in floor and 130 mm in the eastern wall (Fig. 6).
Therefore, the weakness of marly excavated rocks (due to
incompetence) has caused high rate of displacement and
strain (volumetric and shear strain).
Additionally, the study shows that due to the non-
efficiencies of drainage and isolation systems, the volumetric
and shear strains have exceeded from the critical states of
strain along the tunnel. Therefore, the secondary leakages due
to the non-efficiencies of drainage and isolation systems have
caused the recent distortions. Hence, these are exceeding from
critical states of strain in many parts along the tunnel
(especially in 435- to 440-m section) and so, it causes the
recent distortions.
Finally, this study concluded that the necessary proce-
dures for the preservation of drainage and isolation systems
against the identified geological hazards include the
reconstruction of drainage systems with suitable reinforced
concrete and adequate slope and width of channel. Isolation
of backside of lining and implementation of multi-order
outlets (in backside of lining) for draining of groundwaters
into the main drainage systems which are located in the
tunnel gallery are required. The consideration has to be
given on various mitigation measures for the damage of
asphalt. They are (a) precluding with marl expansion in
floor of the tunnel by modification of isolation and drainage
systems. The expansion of these marls causes high
expansive pressure of up to 2 kg/cm2 and hence it damages
the asphalt, (b) construction of suitable roofing in tunnel
floor with suitable pavement such as grading compacted
sub-base, and finally, asphalting with condensed tar.
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