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Underground Space 7 (2022) 812–832
www.keaipublishing.com/undsp

Field measurement analysis of the influence of

simultaneous construction of river channel and bridge on
existing double shield tunnels
Wenhui Yang a, Dingwen Zhang a,⇑, Anhui Wang b
a
School of Transportation, Southeast University, 2 Southeast University Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province 210096, PR China
b
China Construction Industrial & Energy Engineering Group Co., Ltd., No.6 Wenlan Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province 210046, PR China

Received 18 February 2021; received in revised form 9 November 2021; accepted 13 December 2021
Available online 31 January 2022

Abstract

This study presents the construction of a river channel and a bridge adjacent to existing metro tunnels in Changzhou. The influence of
simultaneous construction on these existing tunnels was investigated via 3D numerical modelling to predict tunnel deformation before
construction. Then, a targeted protection scheme was developed according to the obtained numerical results. The full construction period
field monitoring scheme can monitor tunnel responses during construction. Subsequently, the safety of the tunnel structures was eval-
uated according to the monitoring results, and the evolution of tunnel deformations was analysed. The analytical results can help to
clarify the influence characteristics of different construction stages, verify the effect of the proposed protection scheme, and determine
the disturbance mechanism of short-distance pile construction. According to the results, the tunnel deformation mainly occurred during
pile construction and river channel excavation, and the tunnel vertical displacement and convergence were mainly affected by the con-
struction. The anti-floating scheme of the partition excavation and casting effectively controlled the tunnel heave with an alarm value of
approximately 6 mm. The penetration of the short-distance casing resulted in a tunnel deformation. The main construction influence area
of the casing pile was within 6D (D is the pile diameter).

Keywords: Existing tunnel; Field monitoring; Casing pile; Tunnel deformation; Adjacent construction

1 Introduction the construction of much newer infrastructures, including

Accelerated urbanisation has led to the widespread
development of many metropolises in recent years, and this
scenario can serve as an important travel measure of den-
sely populated cities (Boldini et al., 2018; Harris et al.,
1994). In most metropolises, tunnels are commonly routed
below major streets as underground highways to avoid
being positioned under buildings (Wang et al., 2021; Xu
et al., 2015). The utilisation of urban lands within the vicin-
ity of existing tunnels and the methods used to meet urban
planning requirements have been improved and adopted in
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: zhangdw@seu.edu.cn (D. Zhang).
bridges, tunnels, and buildings (Chehade & Shahrour
2008; Zhang & Huang 2014). However, adjacent construc-
tions will inevitably change the original stress and may dis-
place the foundation soil, eventually deforming existing
tunnels and subsequently endangering their safe operation
(Boldini et al., 2016; Lasciarrea et al., 2019; Liu & Lai
2020). Therefore, the stability and integrity of tunnels
should be comprehensively investigated in engineering
practice.
Recent studies have mainly focused on the influence of
tunnelling of existing tunnels (Chakeri et al., 2011; Lai
et al., 2017; Li & Yuan 2012; Liang et al., 2016; Wang
2021; Yang et al., 2017). Lai et al. (2020) adopted field
monitoring and numerical simulations to investigate the

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.undsp.2021.12.008
2467-9674/Ó 2021 Tongji University. Publishing Services by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co. Ltd.
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 W. Yang et al. / Underground Space 7 (2022) 812–832 813

settlement behaviour of existing tunnels, in which the obli- protection scheme was proposed. A targeted monitoring
quely undercrossing shield tunnelling was closely posi- scheme was subsequently adopted to monitor the deforma-
tioned to a small-intersecting angle. They found that the tion of the tunnel during the entire construction stage.
existing tunnel would experience the largest settlement Finally, the monitoring results were used to evaluate the
and torsional deformation in the intersection zone. Many safety of the existing tunnels, verify the proposed compre-
studies have also investigated the influence of excavations hensive safety protection scheme, analyse the influence
on adjacent existing tunnels (Do et al., 2014; Dolezalova characteristics of tunnel deformation during the simultane-
2001). Chen et al. (2016) numerically simulated the ous construction of the river channel and bridge and rec-
response of metro tunnels to an adjacent large excavation ommend an effective influence range for casing pile
on soft soil and proposed several protective measures. construction. This study is expected to provide a useful ref-
Researchers frequently conduct field monitoring to thor- erence for engineering construction in similar situations.
oughly investigate the influence of adjacent construction
on existing tunnels. Liu et al. (2020) investigated the 2 Project overview
long-term performance of metro tunnels adjacent to a large
and deep excavation. Micro-disturbance grouting was pro- 2.1 Engineering background
posed on the basis of their monitoring results, and mea-
sures were adopted to correct the tunnel deformation. Changzhou Metro Line 1 is a north–south shield tunnel
The abovementioned studies have mainly focused on the located in the city centre. The interval tunnel from Xinqiao
influence of surrounding unloading on existing tunnels. Station to Tourism School Station is located below Leshan
The impact of pile-based infrastructure construction Road. According to the planned layout of the urban river
(i.e., bridges) on existing tunnels, which is usually mani- channel reconstruction, a new east–west river channel
fested as the influence of surrounding loading on existing would cross above the existing tunnel. A new bridge needed
tunnels, has been investigated in recent years (Liu et al., to be built above the intersection of the river and the tunnel
2019; Schroeder et al., 2004; Yoo, 2013). Yoo (2014) used to connect Leshan Road. Figure 1 shows the planned lay-
a 3D model with a pile–ground interface to investigate out of the existing tunnel, the new river channel and the
the effect of pile-supported bridge construction on an exist- new bridge.
ing tunnel. Results revealed that the effect of the pile- The project involved the excavation of the soil above the
supported bridge on the tunnel is negligible when the clear- tunnel and the construction of the bridge, which would
ance between the pile tip and the tunnel lining exceeds 1.0D lead to significant disturbance and eventually threaten the
and 0.5D (D is the pile diameter) for centrally and eccentri- security of the tunnel operation. Therefore, the construc-
cally loaded tunnels, respectively. Lueprasert et al. (2017) tion’s impact and the corresponding protection measures
performed 3D elastoplastic numerical analyses to investi- should be investigated and adopted, respectively.
gate load piling adjacent to an existing tunnel with varying
pile tip positions and its influence on the tunnel and soil
2.2 Engineering profile
stratum. A method of assessment for tunnel deformation
was recommended. Gao et al. (2019) studied the impact
2.2.1 Existing tunnels
of the Benoto bored pile installation on an existing tunnel
The existing double-line shield tunnels of Changzhou
via field measurements. The lateral displacement was less
Metro Line 1 comprise the main line connecting the north-
than the cumulative trigger value of 20 mm. The pile con-
east and southwest urban areas. Built in 2018, these tunnels
struction also significantly affected the adjacent existing
were in the trial operation stage in 2019. The metro line
tunnels. However, due to the insufficiency of the engineer-
ing methods, the studies are generally limited and mainly
based on numerical simulation rather than field monitoring
analysis. The entire construction period should also be con-
sidered. In addition, complex situations abound in actual
projects, including simultaneous excavation and piling con-
structions. Both the combined influence of loading and
unloading construction on existing tunnels and the corre-
sponding protection measures need to be further explored.
Aimed at addressing the abovementioned problems, this
study considered an adjacent compound construction near
Changzhou Metro Line 1 as the research object, which
simultaneously involved a river excavation (unloading on
the existing tunnel) and a bridge construction (loading on
the existing tunnel). The result of the numerical analysis
indicates that the deformation response of the existing tun-
nel could be predicted, from which a comprehensive safety Fig. 1. Plan layout of project.
814 W. Yang et al. / Underground Space 7 (2022) 812–832
covers 34.24 km of track lines and 29 stations. Most of the
lines are underground shield tunnels, and most of the sta-
tions are located underground. The tunnels selected in this
research are located between Xinqiao Station and Tourism
and Commerce Institute Station. As shown in Fig. 2, the
tunnels are buried in silty sand, and the maximum buried
depth of the tunnel crown is approximately 10 m. The inner
diameter and outer diameter of the tunnels are 5.7 m and
6.2 m, respectively. The clearance between the left and right
tunnels is 7.8 m. The thickness and width of the C20 rein-
forced concrete segments are 0.25 m and 1.2 m, respec-
tively. The segments are conjoined by crooked bolts in
the longitudinal and circumferential directions.
2.2.2 New bridge and river channel
The new bridge and the river channel are shown in
Fig. 2. The new bridge, which crosses above the existing
tunnel, is a three-span configuration supported only by a
girder bridge (16 m + 20 m + 16 m). The west and middle
decks are positioned immediately above the left (west)
and right (east) tunnels. Four rows and four columns total-
ling 16 mixing piles serve as the foundation. Each pile has a
length of 47 m and a diameter of 1.5 m. The intersection
angle of the tunnel and the bridge is 82°, and the minimum
distance between the tunnels and the pile is 3.2 m. The rel-
ative positions of the bridges and the Yangtze River tun-
nels are shown in Fig. 1.
2.3 Engineering geology
According to the geological survey and drilling data, the
rock and soil layers exposed in the construction area are
mainly Quaternary strata (Quaternary Holocene artificial
accumulation layer, Quaternary Holocene lacustrine marsh
sedimentary layer and Quaternary Upper Pleistocene allu-
vial layer). The odometer test obtained an overconsolida-
tion ratio of approximately 1.05–1.1 for the fine-grained
soil, which indicates an overconsolidated state. The hydro-
logical exploration found that the average buried depth of
the water table is approximately 1.5 m. The soil profile of
the construction area based on the qc (cone resistance)
and fs (sleeve friction) in the CPT test is shown in Fig. 2,
Fig. 2. Relative position between existing tunnel, new river channel and new bridge.
whilst the soil particle sizes from the boreholes is shown
in Table 1. At the construction site, the stratum from the
ground surface to the depth of 50 m can be classified into
seven layers according to soil characteristics: ①1-Fill,
③1-Clay, ③2-Silty clay, ⑤1-1-Silty sand with silty clay,
⑤2-Silty sand, ⑦1-Silty clay and ⑧1-Clayey silt with silty
clay1-Fill. The main layers that pass through the existing
tunnels are the layers of ⑤2. The soil characteristics are
shown in Fig. 2, whilst the soil mechanical properties are
listed in Table 1. The confining pressure is 0.1–0.2 MPa
according to the measured compressive modulus.
2.4 Construction scheme
According to the proposed protection scheme, the actual
construction would involve four steps: (1) soil reinforce-
ment, including the soil above the tunnels and those
around the bridge mixing piles; (2) pile driving, including
the uplift piles and bridge piles; (3) river channel construc-
tion, including channel excavation and anti-buoyancy
board casting; and (4) bridge superstructure erection,
including the pier, abutment, and deck. Almost a year
(December 2018 to October 2019) was needed to complete
the construction. The construction steps are detailed in
Table 2.
3 Protection scheme
3.1 Safety control standard of the existing tunnels
Tunnel deformation is the most intuitive index for
reflecting the safety performance of tunnels and the index
for easily monitoring the actual construction (Song et al.,
2019). The negative effect of the existing tunnel’s deforma-
tion was mainly analysed in this study. Table 3 lists some of
the limit values of the tunnel deformation based on China’s
technical codes.
As shown in Fig. 3, the maximum cumulative deforma-
tion of the existing tunnels caused by the tunnelling is
approximately 4 mm. As a deformable space had been
reserved for future potential projects, the previous defor-
mation of the existing tunnels needed to be considered. A
 W. Yang et al. / Underground Space 7 (2022) 812–832 815

safety control standard for existing tunnels during the new

Notes: c is the unit weight; x is the natural moisture content; e is the natural void ratio; Es is the compressive modulus; c is the effective cohesion; u is the effective friction angle; m is the Poisson’s ratio; w
>0.005 mm
bridge and new river channel’s construction was eventually
proposed (Table 4).

60.7
54.7
51.6
27.0
22.0
63.1
27.3
3.2 Prediction of the tunnel deformation
>0.05 mm
Particle distribution (%)

The possible deformation of the tunnels to be induced

11.0
13.9

12.2
5.1
5.9
8.5

6.2
by the adjacent construction was predicted via 3D finite
element simulation. Then, a targeted tunnel monitoring
scheme was proposed on the basis of the deformation char-
>0.075 mm

acteristics. The numerical simulation used in this study was

similar to a past method (Yoo, 2013, 2014).
38.8
50.9

37.2
2.2
2.5
3.8

1.9

3.2.1 Numerical modelling

9
9
7
5
9
9

Abaqus was used to process the finite element code. Fig-

Kv (m/s)

1.7  10
3.5  10
6.3  10
4.3  10
4.6  10
5.6  10

ure 4 shows the finite element model consisting of nearly

451 259 elements. The model was based on the abovemen-
tioned actual project variables but without the protection
measures. The 3D size of the model was
0.56
0.49
0.44
0.56
0.53
0.5
0.6

60 m  70 m  80 m for sufficiently eliminating the possi-

K0

ble boundary effects. The lateral displacement was limited

on the vertical faces, i.e., Ux = 0 or Uy = 0, whereas a fixed
w’ (°)

10.0

10.5
11.5

10.7
8.0
8.7

9.2

boundary condition was assumed for the bottom

boundary.
A much more accurate model was adopted. In particu-
0.25

0.22
0.25

0.24
0.27
0.2

0.3

lar, the contact pair was used to define the pile–soil inter-
m

face, as both variables would interact with each other

u’ (°)

during the analysis. The pier, pile cap and bridge deck were
30.1
23.9
26.2
31.5
34.4
27.6
32.1

is the dilation angle; K0 is the lateral earth pressure coefficient; and Kv is the permeability coefficient.

not included in the model, but they were replaced with an

equivalent surcharge pressure that was calculated on the
c’ (kPa)

basis of their weights.

10.6

The ground and piles were modelled using eight-node

7.6

7.3
4.3
0

3
0

linear displacement elements with reduced integration

(C3D8RP). The linear quadrilateral shell elements (S4R)
Es (MPa)

were used for the lining structure. Tunnel excavation simu-

lation was performed using the change and displacement
12.5
3.4

8.5

7.2

constraint method to determine the stress conditions of

6
7

the existing tunnels more accurately in the element model

0.800
0.718
0.709
0.717
0.673
0.918
0.765

(Fig. 4). The buried depth of the water table was 1.5 m.
The fine-grained soil was undrained in the simulation in
e

the construction stage, and coarse-grained soil was selected

as the drainage condition. In the constitutive modelling,
x (%)

27.2
25.8
25.1
24.9
23.6
33.3
19.2

the soil layers were assumed to be an elastoplastic material

conforming to the Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion, whilst
Physical-mechanical parameters of soil layers.

the lining and piles were assumed to behave in a linear elas-

c (kN/m3)

tic manner. The classical isotropic Coulomb friction model

19.3
19.6
19.6
19.2
19.5
18.7
27.7

was used to depict the pile–soil interface behaviour, and a

frictional coefficient of 0.7 was assumed. As for the influ-
ence of the lining segment joint on the stiffness of the lining
⑤1-1 Silty sand with silty clay

⑧1 Clayey silt with silty clay

structure, the stiffness reduction coefficient was set to 0.8.

Unlike the characteristics of untreated soft soil, the stiffness
and strength of cement-treated soil could be enhanced by
inducing a cementation effect. Thus, in the numerical study,
⑤2 Silty sand
③2 Silty clay

⑦1 Silty clay

the undrained modulus and the shear strength of the

Soil layer

cement-treated soil were increased to approximate the

③1 Clay
Table 1

①1 Fill

effect of cement reinforcement. The parameters of rein-

forced soil were obtained via the unconfined compressive
816 W. Yang et al. / Underground Space 7 (2022) 812–832

Table 2
Detailed construction stages.
Stage Date Construction activity
Soil reinforcement 2018-12-23–2019-02-26 Biaxial agitation reinforcement above tunnels axis
2019-02-27–2019-03-10 Triaxial agitation reinforcement around the bridge piles
Pile construction 2019-03-08–2019-03-20 K1–K18 uplift piles construction
2019-03-16–2019-04-09 K19–K25 uplift piles casing driving
2019-04-02–2019-04-11 K19–K25 uplift piles construction
2019-04-09–2019-04-13 0–2#–3–2# bridge piles casing driving
2019-04-04–2019-04-30 0–1#–3–4# bridge piles construction
River channel construction 2019-05-03–2019-05-13 Pre-excavation 1 m soil at the top
2019-05-28–2019-07-02 Partial excavation
Bridge construction 2019-07-08–2019-08-31 Bridge pier and abutment, beam casting
2019-09-07–2019-09-21 Bridge deck installation

Table 3
Limit values of tunnel deformation in Chinese technical codes (in: mm).
Codes Vertical displacement Horizontal Convergence
(mm) displacement (mm) (mm)
Settlement Heave
GB 50911-2013 (Ministry of Housing and Urban Rural Development of the People’s 3–10 5 3–5 –
Republic of China, 2013a, 2013b)
CJJ/T 202-2013 (Ministry of Housing and Urban Rural Development of the People’s 20 20 20 20
Republic of China, 2013a, 2013b)
DBJ/T 15-120—2017 (Department of Housing and Urban Rural Development of 15 15 15 15
Guangdong Province, 2017)
DB33 T1139—2017 (Department of Housing and Urban Rural Development of 20 20 20 –
Zhejiang Province, 2017)
DB11/T915—2012 (Beijing Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision, 2012) 10 10 5 –

Fig. 3. Cumulative vertical displacement of Changzhou Metro Line 1 (in Dec. 2018).

(3) balance the ground stress; (4) activate the piles of

Table 4 bridge; (5) excavate the river channel; and (6) apply load
Controlling indexes of tunnel deformation for Changzhou Metro 1. to the upper bridge structure.
Monitoring items Alarm value (mm) Limit value (mm)
Vertical displacement ±6 ±10 3.2.2 Numerical results
Horizontal displacement ±6 ±10 Figure 5 shows the numerical simulation results. A pos-
Diameter convergence ±6 ±10 itive value of the vertical displacement signifies a tunnel
Ballast vertical displacement ±5 ±8 heave, whereas a negative value denotes a settlement. A
positive value of the horizontal displacement signifies a
strength test. The details of the material parameters are movement of the tunnel to the right, whereas a negative
shown are shown in Tables 1 and 5. value denotes a movement to the left. A positive value of
The simulation included the following steps: (1) create the convergence signifies compression, whereas a negative
the initial ground stress; (2) simulate the tunnelling process; value denotes expansion.
 W. Yang et al. / Underground Space 7 (2022) 812–832 817

Fig. 5. Predicted deformation of numerical simulation.

Fig. 4. 3D finite element model adopted.

A large tunnel deformation would likely occur during

the construction process, especially along the vertical dis-
placement and convergence of the tunnel, but the horizon-
tal deformation would likely be small. The maximum heave
of the tunnel was 10.4 mm, and the maximum convergence
was 8.5 mm. Both values exceeded the limit values given in
the technical codes and those specified for Changzhou
Metro. The tunnel deformation caused by the river excava-
tion was the most obvious. The tunnel heave was 11.7 mm,
and the convergence was 10.5 mm. Fig. 6. Vertical displacement plot of the tunnels after river channel
Figure 6 shows the vertical displacement of the tunnels construction.
after the river channel construction. The plot represents
the maximum displacement of the tunnel during the entire
construction period. A one-time excavation would cause a (1) Soil reinforcement
significant heave (10.4 mm) on the existing tunnels under
the excavation area. Moreover, an excessive differential Excessive soil rebound to be caused by the river channel
deformation may occur at this stage. Therefore, measures excavation should be avoided whilst improving the
should be implemented to prevent the further development strength and integrity of the soil. Therefore, two different
of tunnel deformation whilst guaranteeing the safe opera- grouting methods were adopted in this study to reinforce
tion of the tunnels. the soil located above the tunnel axis. The details are
shown as the shaded parts in Fig. 7. The area within 1 m
3.3 Proposed protection scheme and effect prediction around the tunnels is reinforced with the sleeve–valve–pipe
grouting method to reduce disturbance to the tunnels,
3.3.1 Proposed protection scheme whilst the outside area is reinforced with the WSS grouting
In view of the abovementioned analysis, a series of pro- method. As the soil properties of Changzhou are similar to
tection schemes were proposed for the project. The specific those of Nanjing and Shanghai, the grouting pressure was
scheme can be described as follows. controlled at 0.5–0.8 MPa (i.e., refer to the cases of Nan-

Table 5
Material properties for concrete structures.
Material Elastic modulus, E (GPa) Unit weight, c (kN/m3) Poisson’s ratio, m
Anti-floating board 25.5 23.7 0.2
Uplift pile 25.5 24.0 0.2
Bridge pile 31.5 24.2 0.2
Tunnel segment 34.5 24.5 0.2
818 W. Yang et al. / Underground Space 7 (2022) 812–832
Fig. 7. The plan view of soil reinforcement.
jing and Shanghai in the literature (Liu et al., 2020). Biaxial
agitation was used for the soil reinforcement above the tun-
nel, whereas triaxial agitation was used to pre-mix and
strengthen the soil of the bridge piles as a means of reduc-
ing the impact of pile construction and improving the bear-
ing capacity of the piles.
(2) Anti-buoyancy measures
Uplift piles and an anti-floating board were used to con-
trol the tunnel heave (Fig. 8). In view of limiting the tunnel
heave, 25 uplift piles with a length of 30 m were positioned
around the existing tunnels and connected to the river
channel floor. Then, 18 uplift piles with a diameter of
0.7 m were positioned on the sides of the tunnels and used
as the mixing piles. Finally, seven uplift piles with a diam-
eter of 1.0 m were positioned between the tunnels and used
as the steel casing cast-in-place piles.
Fig. 8. The plan view of anti-buoyancy measures (Unit: mm).
(3) Partial excavation
A one-time large area excavation would cause signifi-
cant unloading. Thus, partial excavation was adopted in
this study to excavate the channel soil whilst preventing
excessive tunnel deformation to be caused by this method
(Fig. 9). After each part of the area was excavated, the river
channel floor was casted and connected to the piles below
it.
3.3.2 Effect prediction
(1) Numerical modelling
The reinforcement effect of the proposed protection
scheme was evaluated and then compared with the unpro-
tected scheme. A 3D finite element model based on the pro-
posed protection scheme was established for tunnel
deformation analysis (Fig. 10). The 3D finite element
model, which consisted of nearly 582 495 elements, had
the same size, approach and boundary conditions as the
previous model. The parameters of the reinforced soil
material were as follows: unit weight = 21 kN/m3, defor-
mation modulus = 7.5 MPa, cohesion = 100 kPa, friction
angle = 30° and Poisson’s ratio = 0.3. The other material
parameters were referenced from Table 1.
The simulation involved the following steps: (1) create
the initial ground stress; (2) simulate the tunnelling process;
(3) balance the ground stress; (4) activate the reinforcement
soil; (5) activate the uplift piles and the piles of the bridge;
(6) sequentially excavate the river channel and activate the
anti-buoyancy board; and (7) apply load to the upper
bridge structure.
(2) Deformation comparison
Figure 11 shows the maximum deformation of the tun-
nels during the entire construction period. The studied
cases were the ones with and without the proposed protec-
tion scheme. In the figure, VD is vertical displacement, VC
is vertical convergence, HD is horizontal displacement and
HC is horizontal convergence. The change in vertical dis-
placement was the most obvious for the case with the pro-
tection scheme. The maximum value decreased from 10.4
to 4.4 mm. The horizontal convergence also substantially
decreased from the maximum value of 8.3 to approxi-
mately 3 mm. The horizontal displacement remained some-
 W. Yang et al. / Underground Space 7 (2022) 812–832 819

Fig. 9. The sketch of partial excavation (Unit: mm).

Fig. 11. Predicted deformation comparison between the protected and the
unprotected.

main reason for the difference can be attributed to the con-

Fig. 10. 3D finite element model of protection scheme.
what unchanged, and all of the deformations of the tunnels
during the entire construction period were limited to the
alarm value of approximately 6 mm. The heave value
caused by the partial excavation casting method was
7 mm, a decrease by 41% compared with the one-time exca-
vation. The horizontal convergence caused by the pile driv-
ing was 4.1 mm, an increase by approximately 3 mm. The
struction of the uplift piles between tunnels.
Figure 12 shows a comparison of the vertical displace-
ments of the tunnel caused by the river channel construc-
tion with and without the protection scheme. The heave
deformation of each part of the tunnel was significantly
reduced, especially under the excavation area, in the case
with the protection scheme. The maximum deformation
decreased from 11.7 to 7 mm. In addition, the heave shape
changed, and that of the tunnel was smoother, especially
under the excavation area. This finding means that the lon-
gitudinal differential displacement of the tunnel is also lim-
820 W. Yang et al. / Underground Space 7 (2022) 812–832
Fig. 12. Predicted vertical displacement comparison between the pro-
tected and the unprotected.
ited. The analytic results presented above indicate that the
proposed protection scheme can effectively control tunnel
deformations, especially the vertical deformation of the
tunnel, and ensure safety of operation.
(3) Scheme optimisation
The minimum clearance between the tunnels and piles
located in the middle of tunnels was 3.2 m only. This lim-
ited spacing could lead to a large convergence during pile
construction. Thus, the steel casing cast-in-place pile
method was adopted in this study to construct the uplift
piles and bridge piles between the two tunnels whilst reduc-
ing the impact of pile driving on the existing tunnels. A
steel casing should be reserved to reduce any further tunnel
deformation that may be caused by the pulling of the steel
casing.
4 Field construction and monitoring scheme
The large area excavation and the short-distance pile
construction would obviously affect the existing tunnels
mainly through tunnel deformation. Thus, the deformation
during the entire construction process should be monitored
to ensure the safety of operation of the tunnel.
The influence law of short-distance complex construc-
tion on the existing tunnel was investigated via monitoring.
Automatic monitoring activities were conducted to mea-
sure the tunnel deformation, including the horizontal dis-
placement, vertical displacement, horizontal convergence,
vertical convergence, and ballast bed vertical displacement,
during the entire process of construction. Monitoring val-
ues that exceed the alarm values indicate that the construc-
tion activities should be stopped immediately.
Figure 13 presents the monitoring points of deformation
of the existing tunnel. Each tunnel was arranged with 30
monitoring sections in the longitudinal direction as follows:
one monitoring section per ring above the channel central
excavation zone, one monitoring section per two rings
above the other excavation zone and one monitoring sec-
tion per five rings outside the construction zone. As shown
in Fig. 13, each monitoring section has five measuring
points arranged inside the tunnel segment in the ring direc-
tion, allowing the deformation of the tunnel to be automat-
ically monitored. Manual measuring points were also
arranged in the layout for comparative verification. The
data were collected two times daily during the construc-
tion. The collection frequency could be reduced in case of
shutdown. The onsite monitoring started on December 6,
2018 and ended on September 23, 2019.
5 Results of field measurements and discussion
5.1 Evaluation of the deformation control effect
Figure 14 shows a comparison of the maximum defor-
mations of the existing tunnel. The maximum vertical dis-
placement and convergence in different construction
stages predicted by the numerical simulation were slightly
higher than those from the field monitoring. By contrast,
the horizontal displacements predicted via numerical simu-
lation were slightly lower than those from field monitoring.
Overall, the trends of the numerical simulation and field
monitoring were consistent.
Figure 15 shows a comparison of the vertical displace-
ment along the longitudinal positions. The deformation
shapes obtained from the numerical simulation and field
monitoring were largely consistent. The deformation values
were also consistent except for those pertaining to the pile
construction stage. The main differences between the data
obtained from the numerical simulation and field monitor-
ing were apparent in the pile construction stage, and they
could be attributed to the piles between the existing tunnels
being replaced by the casing pile during the actual con-
struction. The above comparison confirms that the numer-
ical simulation method adopted in this study can effectively
predict the deformation caused by the construction.
Table 6 lists the maximum, minimum and final values of
each deformation index of the tunnels during the entire
construction process. Except for the vertical settlement of
the left line and the horizontal expansion of the right line
both reaching 5.5 mm (a value close to the warning value
of 6 mm), the other obtained index values were significantly
lower than the alarm and control values. Moreover, all
index values were approximately within 4 mm after the
construction’s completion, a value far from the warning
value. The above results indicate that the construction
method and the adopted protection measures are both
effective.
5.2 Deformation characteristics of the entire construction
process
5.2.1 Analysis of the deformation stages
The deformations of the left and right tunnels during the
construction period are presented in Figs. 16 and 17,
 W. Yang et al. / Underground Space 7 (2022) 812–832 821

Fig. 13. Monitoring point layout (Unit: mm).

respectively. Although the tunnel deformation continu-
ously developed during the entire construction, the trend
of its variation characteristics presented obvious differences
across the different construction stages. Figure 18 presents
a schematic of a typical change in the section morphology
of Tunnel Section 30. Combined with the analyses of
Figs. 16, 17, and 18, the deformation characteristics of
the four stages can be summarised as follows.
In stage 1 (December 23, 2018 to March 10, 2019), a cer-
tain amount of settlement occurred, and it was accompa-
nied by a certain degree of vertical extrusion. In stage 2
(March 8, 2019 to April 30, 2019), the tunnel settlement
rapidly increased, and the tunnel was considerably flat-
tened. Both settlement and convergence values reached
the maximum value. In stage 3 (May 3, 2019 to July 2,
2019), contrary to the change trend of the first two stages,
the tunnel rebounded greatly, even substantially surpassing
the initial position and heaving, and the vertical extrusion
deformation was reduced dramatically. In stage 4 (July 8,
2019 to September 21, 2019), the heave of the tunnel
decreased slightly, whilst the vertical deformation of the
section continued to slow down—but only slightly—and
finally stabilised. After the construction was completed,
unlike in the initial state, the tunnels were heaved and
did not present notable changes in the section morphology.
However, two tunnels slightly converged toward each
other.
The four deformation stages were significantly corre-
lated with the four construction processes. The trends indi-
cate that the different construction processes entail different
influence characteristics of the existing tunnel structure,
which needs to be further analysed.
822 W. Yang et al. / Underground Space 7 (2022) 812–832

Fig. 14. Deformation comparison between numerical simulation results and field monitoring results.

Fig. 15. Vertical displacement comparison of right tunnel between numerical simulation and field monitoring.

5.2.2 Analysis of deformation characteristics
(1) Vertical displacement
The comparison of the change and development indexes
of the different deformations indicate that the vertical dis-
placement had the most obvious change. The largest
change range was from 4.5 mm to +5.5 mm during the
entire construction process, which resulted in a large settle-
ment and an obvious heave. The final stable displacement
value was also the largest after the construction was com-
pleted. This finding indicates that the vertical displacement
was the most significant. The sensitive deformation index,
which was influenced by the construction, could be used
as the main deformation control index.
(2) Horizontal displacement
The horizontal displacement of the tunnel obtained was
the smallest change amongst all indexes, especially the
deformation stability value was less than 2 mm after the
construction’s completion. This scenario means that con-
struction had a minimal effect on the horizontal displace-
 W. Yang et al. / Underground Space 7 (2022) 812–832 823

Table 6
Comparison of tunnel deformation and control standards.
Deformation Left Tunnel Right Tunnel Control Value Limited Value
Vertical displacement (mm) Min 5.5 3 6 10
Max 4.5 4.5 6 10
Final 2.5–4 0.5–3.5 6 10
Horizon displacement (mm) Min 1.5 2 6 10
Max 2.5 1.5 6 10
Final 1 2 2 0.5 6 10
Vertical convergence (mm) Min 4.5 3.5 6 10
Max 0.5 1 6 10
Final 2.5–0.5 2.5–1 6 10
Horizon convergence (mm) Min 1 0.5 6 10
Max 4.5 5.5 6 10
Final 1 2 0.5–2.5 6 10
Ballast vertical displacement (mm) Min 2.5 2 6 10
Max 4.5 4.5 6 10
Final 1.5–3.5 1 3.5 6 10

Fig. 16. Deformation of left tunnel during the whole construction period.

ment of the tunnel. This finding could be attributed to the morphology of the existing tunnel. The only difference was
river excavation and pile foundation construction being that its variation range was smaller, nearly half of that of
distributed horizontally and symmetrically along the centre the vertical displacement. For example, the vertical conver-
line of the two tunnels. gence range of the left line was between 0 and 5.5 mm.

(3) Convergence (4) Ballast bed vertical displacement

The convergent deformation was similar to the vertical The comparison between the vertical displacements of
displacement; its value was also large during the construc- the ballast bed and tunnel indicates that their variation
tion process with a maximum of 5.5 mm. The short- characteristics and trend are nearly the same, especially
distance construction had an obvious impact on the section in the case of the heave. However, the displacement of
824 W. Yang et al. / Underground Space 7 (2022) 812–832

Fig. 17. Deformation of right tunnel during the whole construction period.

Fig. 18. Schematic diagram of section morphology changes of typical tunnel section 30.

the ballast bed was significantly less than that of the tunnel.
The track bed was attached to the tunnel structure, and its
displacement had an obvious correlation with the tunnel.
Figure 19 illustrates the coordinated deformation rela-
tionship between the track bed and the tunnel. The connec-
tion modes of the tunnel and the track bed differed from
each other. For the tunnel, the segment width was small
and connected only by a bolt, indicating that the overall
mass was large and the stiffness was small. However, the
distance between each track section was long, resulting in
a small overall mass and large stiffness. A tunnel undergo-
ing heaving suggests that the track bed can adhere together
its constituent parts and the heaves. However, when a tun-
nel is in settlement mode, the overall mass is relatively
small. With the greater stiffness of the track and the restric-
tion of the surrounding track, the track bed will be sus-
pended, which leads to a settlement that is smaller than
that of the tunnel.
5.3 Influence of soil reinforcement
5.3.1 Comparison of tunnel deformations
Figure 20 illustrates the maximum absolute deformation
of the left tunnel during soil reinforcement. Here, tunnel
convergence was regarded as the most useful deformation
index, with a maximum value close to 2.5 mm, followed
by tunnel vertical displacement with a maximum value
exceeding 1.5 mm. By contrast, the horizontal displace-
ment of the tunnel and the vertical displacement of the bal-
 W. Yang et al. / Underground Space 7 (2022) 812–832
Fig. 19. Schematic diagram of vertical displacement relationship between
tunnel and ballast bed.
last bed were only slightly affected, and both values were
within the range of 1 mm.
5.3.2 Tunnel settlement
Figure 21 presents the vertical displacements of the X30
and X40 measurement points during soil reinforcement,
which are located on the south and north sides of the left
tunnel, respectively. During soil reinforcement, the vertical
displacement of the tunnel mainly occurred in the biaxial
agitation phase. The biaxial agitation of the soil directly
above the south-side tunnel caused a settlement of approx-
imately 1.5 mm at the X30 measuring point, accounting for
75% of the total settlement of the reinforcement stage. Sim-
Fig. 20. Maximum absolute deformation of left tunnel during soil
reinforcement.
825
Fig. 21. Vertical displacement of typical monitoring points during soil
reinforcement.
ilarly, the biaxial agitation of the soil directly above the
north side tunnel resulted in a significant settlement of
approximately 1 mm at the X40 measuring point, account-
ing for 67% of the total settlement of the soil of the rein-
forcement stage.
5.3.3 Tunnel convergence
Figure 22 presents the vertical convergence of the S31
and S39 measurement points during soil reinforcement,
which are located on the south and north sides of the right
tunnel, respectively. During soil reinforcement, the vertical
displacement of the tunnel mainly occurred in the biaxial
agitation phase. The biaxial agitation of the soil above
the measuring points caused the vertical compression of
0.8 mm at the S31 and S39 measuring points, accounting
for 80% and 60% of the total vertical compression in the
reinforcement stage, respectively.
Soil reinforcement increases the dead weight of soil
above the tunnel axis (a scenario equivalent to the increase
in vertical loading of a tunnel); it flattens the tunnel, even-
tually leading to the settlement of the tunnel. Therefore, the
deformation of a tunnel when soil is reinforced above it
should be considered to avoid excessive vertical
deformation.
Figure 23 presents the vertical displacements of the X30,
X40, S30, and S40 measurement points during triaxial agi-
tation around the bridge piles. No obvious deformation
was observed in the left tunnel during the triaxial stirring
phase based on the comparison of the settlements on both
tunnels. However, a significant settlement was observed on
the right tunnel, especially during triaxial stirring around
the #0–3 to #3–3 bridge piles. At approximately 0.8 mm,
this value accounted for 75% of the total settlement. After
826 W. Yang et al. / Underground Space 7 (2022) 812–832
Fig. 22. Vertical convergence of typical monitoring points during soil
reinforcement.
Fig. 23. Vertical displacement of typical monitoring points during triaxial
agitation.
the triaxial stirring equipment was removed, the vertical
displacement was somewhat reduced.
The soil elements around the #0–3 to #3–3 bridge piles
were stirred in a triaxial manner, and the stirring equip-
ment was placed directly above the right line tunnel. As
the mass of the equipment (approximately 80 t) was equiv-
alent to the vertical loading above the right line tunnel, this
caused the settlement and convergent deformation of the
right line tunnel. After the triaxial agitation was completed
and the equipment was removed, the load caused by the
dead weight immediately disappeared.
The distance between the bridge piles on both sides was
large, and the tunnel was huge. Thus, triaxial agitation was
unlikely to cause obvious disturbance in the tunnels. Nev-
ertheless, given the heavy weight of the equipment and
because it was erected directly above the tunnel during con-
struction, the loading effect on the tunnel was apparent,
and it caused deformation. This situation implies that the
equipment should not be erected directly above the tunnel
during actual construction.
5.4 Influence of pile construction
5.4.1 Comparison of tunnel deformations
Figure 24 illustrates the maximum absolute deformation
of the left tunnel during pile construction. The deformation
level at this stage was nearly twice as that of the first stage.
Regardless of this finding, the tunnel convergence and the
vertical displacement were the two most prominent defor-
mation indexes, with maximum values of approximately
3.5 and 4.5 mm, respectively. By contrast, the horizontal
displacement of the tunnel and the vertical displacement
of the ballast bed were within the range of 2 mm only.
The convergence deformation of the tunnel dominated
the construction phase of the uplift piles. Meanwhile, the
vertical settlement increased rapidly and exceeded the con-
vergence deformation during the construction phase of the
bridge piles.
5.4.2 Tunnel settlement
Figure 25 presents the vertical displacement of the
severely affected representative measurement points of the
Fig. 24. Maximum absolute deformation of left tunnel during pile
construction.
 W. Yang et al. / Underground Space 7 (2022) 812–832
right tunnel during pile construction; this displacement is
located around the pile construction area. The vertical dis-
placement mainly occurred in the construction phase of the
bridge piles. The settlement caused by the driving of the
uplift pile casing was approximately 1.8 mm, accounting
for 72% of the total settlement (2.5 mm) of stage 2. Almost
all of the settlements were caused by the construction of the
bridge pile without the casing. By contrast, no evident set-
tlement was observed during the construction of the bridge
pile with the casing. The impact of the pile construction
could be effectively controlled by the casing protection,
especially when the piles were extremely close to the tunnel.
5.4.3 Tunnel convergence
Figure 26 presents the vertical convergence of the
severely affected representative measurement points of the
left tunnel during the pile construction; the convergence
is located around the pile construction area. The vertical
convergence during pile construction mainly occurred in
the pile casing driving phase. The convergence deformation
caused by the driving of the uplift pile casing was approx-
imately 1.6 mm, accounting for 48% of the total conver-
gence deformation of stage 2. The convergence caused by
casing driving of the bridges was approximately 1.4 mm,
accounting for 42% of the total convergence of stage 2.
Overall, approximately 90% of the convergence was caused
by casing driving. The remaining pile construction only led
to a slight tunnel convergence. The short-distance casing
driving induced obvious convergence on the tunnel. Thus,
special attention must be paid to casing driving.
During the casing driving of the K19–K21 uplift piles,
the convergence of the nearest X36 measurement point to
the three piles was the most apparent, whereas the rela-
tively distant X21 and X29 measurement points only chan-
Fig. 25. Vertical displacement of typical monitoring points during pile
construction.
827
Fig. 26. Vertical convergence of typical monitoring points during pile
construction.
ged minimally. Similarly, during the casing driving of the
K22–K25 uplift piles, the convergence of the nearest X29
measurement point to the three piles was the most appar-
ent, whereas the relatively distant X40 and X48 measure-
ment points only changed minimally. The relationship
between pile construction and distance will be expounded
in Section 5.1.
5.4.4 Disturbance mechanism of the casing driving
Figure 27 illustrates the disturbance mechanism of the
casing driving on the adjacent tunnel. In the first stage,
the rotation and penetration of the casing caused the sur-
rounding soil to loosen and be heaved, further resulting
in the horizontal tension of the tunnel segment. Thereafter,
the casing continued to press in until it went beyond the
bottom of the tunnel. At this phase, the soil in the casing
became compacted (i.e., similar to a solid pile), squeezing
the soil in the pile head area and causing the soil under
the tunnel to heave slightly, thus flattening the tunnel.
Then, the casing further penetrated until it completely
entered the soil part. At this phase, the head of the casing
pile moved farther away from the tunnel. The friction out-
side the casing and the extrusion at the end part caused the
soil under the tunnel to move downward, further resulting
in the overall settlement of the tunnel. Thus, the settlement
and horizontal tensile deformation of the adjacent tunnel
was attributable to the casing driving.
5.5 Influence of river channel excavation
5.5.1 Comparison of tunnel deformations
Figure 28 shows the maximum absolute deformation of
the left tunnel during river channel construction. The
828 W. Yang et al. / Underground Space 7 (2022) 812–832
Fig. 27. Schematic diagram of the influence of casing pile penetration on adjacent tunnels.
deformation level at this stage was larger than those in the
first two stages. The tunnel heave was regarded as the
deformation index, with a maximum value of nearly
6.5 mm. The heave of the ballast bed was consistent with
that of the tunnel, and the maximum value was close to
6 mm. This finding further confirms the deformation rela-
tionship between the ballast bed and the tunnel, as dis-
cussed in Section 3; that is, when a heave occurs, the
ballast bed value is equivalent to the heave value of the tun-
nel. The convergence of the tunnel at this stage was similar
to that in the second stage approximately 4 mm. Similar to
the first two stages, the horizontal displacement was extre-
mely small, only 1 mm.
5.5.2 Tunnel settlement
Figure 29 presents the vertical displacement of the
severely affected representative measurement points of the
left tunnel during river channel construction. The vertical
heave mainly occurred in the soil excavation phase, partic-
Fig. 28. Maximum absolute deformation of left tunnel during river
channel construction.
ularly the pre-excavation and partial excavations of A to E.
The tunnel heave caused by the pre-excavation was
approximately 2.2 mm, accounting for 34% of the total
heave of this stage. The partial excavations of A to E
resulted in a heave of approximately 3 mm, accounting
for 46% of the total heave of stage 3. Overall, nearly 80%
of the heave was caused by these two phases.
The excavation stages of A–E and F–G were compared.
The deformation in the excavations of F–G were smaller
than those of A–E, which was only 1.3 mm, accounting
for 20% of the total heave, and the rise mode was in steps.
The main reason is that the excavation zones of A–E were
notably large during the actual construction, and the
exposed area was not casted in time according to the
requirements, resulting in the unloading rebound of the
tunnel. If the deformation growth is too fast, then it should
be timely casted to be able to control the deformation
growth. As for the casing involving the construction of
F–G, the heave was effectively controlled by both partial
excavation and timely casting. Therefore, although partial
excavation can effectively control a tunnel heave, the key
consideration is the appropriate timing of the casting.
5.5.3 Tunnel convergence
Figure 30 shows the vertical convergence of the severely
affected representative measurement points of the left tun-
nel during pile construction. The vertical tensile deforma-
tion of the tunnel at stage 3 was caused by the unloading
effect of the excavati\n of the soil above it. However, unlike
displacement, the convergence deformation gradually
increased. This finding indicates that the convergence
rebound caused by soil unloading will manifest in the long
term. Therefore, the heave deformation of tunnels during
the entire construction period should be considered when
performing large-area short-distance excavation.
5.6 Influence of bridge construction
Figure 31 illustrates the maximum absolute deformation
of the left tunnel during bridge construction. The tunnel
deformation caused by the bridge construction was clearly
the smallest in the four stages. The maximum deformation
value was approximately 1.5 m. This finding demonstrates
 W. Yang et al. / Underground Space 7 (2022) 812–832 829

Fig. 29. Vertical displacement of typical monitoring points during river Fig. 30. Vertical convergence of typical monitoring points during river
channel construction. channel construction.

that the design of the bridge pile can satisfy the require- between groups 2 and 3, the convergence was extremely
ments, and the scheme can effectively bear the load of the small during pile construction under the casing protection,
bridge superstructure. further confirming its effectiveness.

5.7.2 Influence characteristics of casing piles

5.7 Effects of pile construction on the existing tunnels
The influence characteristics of casing driving was inves-
tigated in this study by determining the convergence
5.7.1 Comparison of influences of the pile construction
change of the tunnel in the casing driving phase (Fig. 33).
Numerous kinds of piles are utilised during complex
The variation process of the convergence curve during
construction situations. The piles can be classified into
seven groups according to the characteristics of pile con-
struction, as shown in Table 7. Take as an example the con-
vergence of the left tunnel to study the deformation caused
by different pile types (Fig. 32). The first and second groups
in the casing driving showed the greatest impact on the tun-
nel, with maximum convergence values of 1.6 and
2.4 mm, respectively. The comparative results indicate
that even if the piles in the second group had a larger diam-
eter and a smaller clearance, its resulting convergence was
still smaller than that of the first group. The difference indi-
cates that the first group with greater number and density
of piles would more likely generate a pile group effect
and cause greater convergence. However, as depicted by
the comparison between groups 1 and 4, although 18 piles
were observed in group 4 (much more than the seven piles
in group 1), no evident convergence deformation was
induced. Thus, the premise of the pile group effect depends
on the tunnel being located within the influence range of
the pile construction. Furthermore, for groups 4–7, the
influences on the tunnel were negligible, further indicating
that the disturbance range of the bored pile construction
was limited, especially when the pile diameter was too small Fig. 31. Maximum absolute deformation of left tunnel during bridge
or the spacing was too large. As for the comparison construction.
830
Table 7
Pile group division.
Group Piles
1 K19–K25
2 0–2#–3–2#
3 0–2#–3–2#
4 K1–K18
5 0–1#–3–1#
6 0–3#–3–3#
7 0–4#–3–4#
Fig. 32. Tunnel vertical convergence caused by various types of pile
groups construction.
Fig. 33. Tunnel vertical convergence caused by casing pile construction.
W. Yang et al. / Underground Space 7 (2022) 812–832
Construction methods
Casing Driving & Pile Construction
Casing Driving
Pile Construction (With casing)
Pile Construction (Without casing)
Pile Construction (Without casing)
Pile Construction (Without casing)
Pile Construction (Without casing)
Diameter (mm) Length (m) Clear Distance (m) Quantity
1000 30 3.5 7
1500 45 3.2 4
1500 45 3.2 4
700 30 5 18
1500 45 9 4
1500 45 18 4
1500 45 37 4
the casing driving of K19–K21 indicates that the single cas-
ing driving only results in a tunnel convergence in the adja-
cent area, but it has no effect in the distant area. In
addition, the maximum convergence position moves with
the subsequent casing driving. Here, the peak position of
the convergence curve was consistent with the geometric
centre of the constructed casings. However, another con-
vergence peak was observed after the casing driving of
K22–K25. The two peaks of the tunnel convergence were
located in 29 and 41 measuring points representing the geo-
metric centres of K19–K21 and K23–K25, respectively.
Although the geometric centre of K19–K25 was within
the 35 measuring points, it was not the position of the max-
imum convergence after casing driving’s completion in the
seven uplift piles. The double-peak characteristics of tunnel
convergence were further strengthened after driving the
bridge pile casing.
The distribution of the seven uplift casing piles was anal-
ysed. The casing piles were not evenly arranged, but rather
densely distributed on the north and south sides, and they
were sparse in the middle. The casing distribution on both
sides of the bridge piles’ casing was even much denser. The
K22 casing pile in the middle part was distant from the
other casings. As a result, the pile group superposition
effect could only be observed in the densely distributed area
on the north and south sides of the casing piles, resulting in
two convergence deformation peaks. This scenario further
suggests that the influence range of the casing pile had been
limited, and the pile group effect was mainly related to the
pile spacing. A large spacing would rapidly weaken the pile
group effect.
5.7.3 Influence range of single casing piles
Figures 34 and 35 show the relationship between the
tunnel convergence caused by the single casing construc-
tion and the distance between the measuring point and
the casing. The fitted data show that when the distance is
close, the single casing driving will cause a significant con-
vergence; when the distance continues to increase, the
impact is rapidly reduced, indicating an exponential change
relationship. This finding is also consistent with the curve
shape in Fig. 33. The casing driving affected the adjacent
area only.
As the clearance between the casing and the tunnel in
the actual project is close to the limit value of 3 m that is
allowable by the code, the deformation data can effectively
 W. Yang et al. / Underground Space 7 (2022) 812–832
Fig. 34. Tunnel convergence with different distance from pile (D = 1 m).
Fig. 35. Tunnel convergence with different distance from pile (D = 1.5 m).
reflect the influence of the small clearance of the casing pile
construction on the adjacent existing tunnel. The maximum
convergence deformation caused by the single casing driv-
ing was approximately 1 mm, and half of the value could
be attributed to the critical reference value of the deforma-
tion. If the convergence caused by the single casing con-
struction is greater than 0.5 mm, then it will have an
obvious impact on the tunnel. This consideration can help
to determine the influence range of casing construction.
The critical spacing values of the uplift pile casing and
bridge pile casing, as shown by the fitting curve, were 6
831
and 9 m, respectively. Adopting uniform pile diameter
can help to ensure that the main influence area of pipe pile
construction is within 6D.
6 Conclusion
This study presented the numerical model and entire
monitoring process of an existing tunnel’s response to adja-
cent large-scale river channel excavation and bridge con-
struction. On the basis of the numerical modelling
results, a comprehensive protection scheme was proposed
and subsequently adopted to control tunnel deformation.
A synthetic field monitoring scheme was recommended
thereafter and eventually performed. Then, on the basis
of the monitoring results, the evolution of tunnel deforma-
tion was analysed, the influence characteristics in the differ-
ent construction stages were clarified and the effectiveness
of the protection scheme was evaluated. The conclusions
of this study can be summarised as follows:
(1) The anti-floating scheme of the partition excavation
and casting can effectively control the tunnel heave.
The key element for controlling the deformation is
the timely casting of the excavation area and connect-
ing it with the underlying uplift pile. Soil reinforce-
ment can offset part of the tunnel heave.
(2) According to the various monitoring results, the
changes in measurements mainly occur during the
stages of pile construction and river channel excava-
tion. Vertical displacement and convergence are the
most affected indexes.
(3) The penetration of the short-distance casing eventu-
ally causes obvious deformation of the tunnel. The
pile group superposition effect is most apparent when
piles are densely arranged. The main construction
influence area of the casing pile is within 6D.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing
financial interests or personal relationships that could have
appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgments
The research reported in this paper was supported by
the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant
No. 52078129).
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