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Underground Space 6 (2021) 101–125
http://www.keaipublishing.com/en/journals/underground-space/

Long rectangular box jacking project: A case study

Xiaolong Chen a, Baosong Ma a,⇑, Mohammad Najafi b, Peng Zhang a
a
College of Engineering, China University of Geosciences – Wuhan, No. 388 Lumo Road, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
b
Center of Underground Infrastructure Research and Education (CUIRE), The University of Texas at Arlington, Box 19308, Arlington, TX, USA

Received 20 June 2019; received in revised form 8 August 2019; accepted 23 August 2019
Available online 27 November 2019

Abstract

Rectangular pipe jacking or box jacking has become more popular in municipal applications because of its better adaptability to
shallow overburdens and its higher structural section utilization than the conventional circular pipe jacking. This case study presents
a utility tunnel constructed by using rectangular box jacking in Suzhou, China. The utility tunnel, which has a cross section of 9.1 m
in width and 5.5 m in height, was jacked 233.6 m, which is the longest known single jacking length of a rectangular box jacking project
in China. The box jacking mainly passed through a silty sand layer with high groundwater levels with a minimum depth of cover of only
3.5 m underneath the Yuanhetang River. In this zone, the structures on the surface are sensitive to external disturbance, thus increasing
the challenges of construction. A series of measures were taken during the jacking process, and the project was successfully completed.
This paper provides an overview of this project and introduces key techniques in the construction of working shafts as well as in the
installation and retrieval of the box jacking machine. In addition, the use of lubrication to reduce friction resistance, navigation and
application of an anti-buoyancy slab under the Yuanhetang River, and analyses of soil deformation caused by box jacking are described.

Keywords: Utility tunnel; Rectangular box jacking; Lubrication and friction resistance reduction technology; Anti-buoyancy slab; Ground deformation

1 Introduction while the conventional circular pipe jacking has a lower

Compared with the traditional open-cut method, pipe
jacking technology has a unique advantage because of its
minimum impact on surface transportation and surround-
ing structures (Barla, Camusso, & Aiassa, 2006; Cheng &
Lu, 2015; Choo & Ong, 2015; Li, Yang, Tu, & Wang,
2012; Zhang, Liu, & Qin, 2016), and has been widely used
in constructing tunnels for sewers, gas and water pipelines,
and electricity and telecommunication cable ducts
(Bergeson, 2014; Chapman, Rogers, Burd, Norris, &
Milligan, 2007; Milligan, 1996; Shimada, Sasaoka,
Khazaei, Yoshida, & Matsui, 2006; Shou & Chang, 2006;
Shou & Liu, 2004; Sofianos, Loukas, & Chantzakos,
2004). At present, the shapes of tunnel sections in pipe
jacking mainly consist of circular and rectangular shapes
(Khazaei, Shimada, Kawai, Yotsumoto, & Matsui, 2006),
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: mabaosong@163.com (B.S. Ma).
space utilization rate and may be not suitable for congested
urban underground spaces with a shallow cover and a com-
plex surrounding environment (Gao, Feng, & Cheng,
2018). As a comparison, rectangular box jacking provides
higher structural section utilization, which can save about
20% of the space, and, therefore, it is more applicable to
various types of connected aisles in urban areas (Peng,
Wang, Ye, & Yang, 2015). Installing box culverts at a
depth of less than the height of the box culvert either is
not economical compared with the open-cut method or
requires special caution as it may cause large surface settle-
ment (Mamaqani & Najafi, 2014). Since 1999, when rectan-
gular box jacking was first used in a subway construction
project in Shanghai, China, more and more rectangular
box jacking projects have been constructed in various
aspects of municipal engineering in China (Table 1).
However, current research on pipe jacking technology
mainly focuses on circular pipe jacking and studies on rect-
angular box jacking are relatively rare. Li et al. (2012)

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.undsp.2019.08.003
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102 X.L. Chen et al. / Underground Space 6 (2021) 101–125

determined the upper and lower bound of the jacking force
of a shallow rectangular box jacking project to ensure the
stability of the excavation face by assuming two failure
mechanisms respectively for collapse failure and blow-out
failure. On the basis of a rectangular box jacking project
traversing two existing metro tunnels, Zhang et al. (2016)
analyzed the ground surface settlement and the metro tun-
nel deformation during the construction by performing
three-dimensional numerical simulation and on-site moni-
toring. Sun, Wu, Sun, Li, and Shao (2018) investigated
the field performances and geo-environmental impacts by
analyzing the field monitoring data in a case study of two
parallel tunnels constructed by using rectangular box jack-
ing. The above studies enable us to have a certain under-
standing of rectangular box jacking, including the control
of construction parameters and its impact on the environ-
ment; however, they lack a summary of the key techniques
of the rectangular box jacking construction. Owing to the
lack of relevant specifications, the rectangular box jacking
project mainly refers to the construction experience of cir-
cular pipe jacking, which has many shortcomings and may
cause problems in the field. Therefore, development of
specifications and presentation of key construction tech-
niques of rectangular box jacking are needed.
The utility tunnel near Chengbeidong Road in Suzhou
was constructed by using rectangular box jacking; its cross
section has a width of 9.1 m and a height of 5.5 m. The tun-
nel was jacked 233.6 m, which is the longest known rectan-
gular box jacking project in China. It passed through
complex strata with high groundwater with the possibility
that the boxes may float or sink unevenly during crossing
underneath the Yuanhetang River. In addition, surface
structures, which are sensitive to external disturbance,
increased the challenges of the construction. A series of
measures were taken to ensure the successful completion
of the project with good results. This paper introduces
key techniques such as the construction of working shafts,
launch and reception of the box jacking machine, long-
distance grouting and friction resistance reduction technol-
ogy, trajectory control and application of an anti-buoyancy
slab under the river, and deformation monitoring. The
objectives are to form a complete set of technical schemes
and to provide reference for further rectangular box jack-
ing projects.
2 Project description
2.1 Site overview
As stated earlier, the utility tunnel constructed by using
rectangular box jacking has a cross section size of 9.1 m in
width and 5.5 m in height, and a total length of 233.6 m;
the average depth of cover is approximately 9 m. The con-
struction site was located near the intersection of Cheng-
beidong Road and Qimen interchange in Suzhou, China.
There were the Qimen interchange, gas stations, residential
buildings, and commercial buildings along the alignment of
the tunnel, as it passed beneath the Yuanhetang River
when it was just a short distance from the receiving shaft.
The plan layout of the project is illustrated in Fig. 1. Fig-
ure 2 depicts the relative position between the utility tunnel
and the pier foundation of the Qimen interchange. It can be
seen that the horizontal distance between the utility tunnel
and the pile cap is only 0.6 m, and the horizontal distance
from the utility tunnel to the nearest pile is only 1.1 m. The
box jacking machine attitude, jacking speed, and jacking
axis needed to be strictly controlled during the construc-
tion. When the tunnel crossed underneath the Yuanhetang
River, the distance from the riverbed to the tunnel vault
was only 3.5 m, which could lead to the risk of leakage
of the box jacking machine and box joints. Moreover, there
was a possibility of uneven settlement on the riverbanks
during the construction.
2.2 Soil characteristics
The geological section of the box jacking zone is
depicted in Fig. 3. Through soil borings, various soils were
discovered, including plain fill ①-5, clay ④, silty clay with
silt ⑤, silty sand with silt ⑥-1, silty sand ⑥-2, silty clay ⑦,
clay ⑧, and silty clay with silt ⑨-1; miscellaneous fill ①-3
was also found in some areas, and the riverbed of Yuan-
hetang was deposited with muck ①-1. The groundwater
level ranged from an elevation of 1.51–1.58 m; the water

Table 1
List of several rectangular box jacking projects in China.
Year Project Cross section (m  m) Length of jacking (m) Box jacking machine
1999 Subway pedestrian passage (Shanghai) 3.8  3.8 62.25 Earth pressure balance
2004 Underpass beneath the road (Shanghai) 7.85  3.42 130 Earth pressure balance
2006 Subway pedestrian passage (Shanghai) 6.24  4.36 42.7 Earth pressure balance
2008 Underpass beneath the railway (Suzhou) 9.1  7.4 37 Earth pressure balance
2009 Subway pedestrian passage (Shanghai) 64 23 Earth pressure balance
2010 Subway pedestrian passage (Shanghai) 6.9  4.2 49.1 Earth pressure balance
2012 Passage over street (Foshan) 6.0  4.3 43.5 Slurry balance
2012 Subway pedestrian passage (Wuhan) 64 62.4 Earth pressure balance
2013 Underpass beneath the road (Zhengzhou) 10.4  7.5 110 Earth pressure balance
2016 Utility tunnel (Baotou) 7  4.3 85.65 Earth pressure balance
2016 Subway pedestrian passage (Shenzhen) 7.7  4.3 133.5 Earth pressure balance
 X.L. Chen et al. / Underground Space 6 (2021) 101–125
Fig. 1. Plan layout of the project.
Fig. 2. Relative position between box jacking and bridge foundation.
level of the Yuanhetang River was 1.72 m. Table 2 presents
the physical and mechanical parameters of different soils
obtained from laboratory tests. Among them, the compres-
sion coefficient a1-2, which indicates the secant slope of the
compression curve when the compressive stress is from
100 kPa to 200 kPa, was obtained by using the confined
compression test and the cohesion (c) and the internal fric-
tion angle (u) were obtained by using the quick direct shear
test.
Figure 3 illustrates that the box segments were located in
layers ⑥-1 and ⑥-2, either of which had a large internal
friction angle and a low cohesion. Both of these two layers
were below the groundwater level and were in a saturated
state, wherein the moisture content of layer ⑥-1 was
30.2% and the moisture content of layer ⑥-2 was 28.9%.
Moreover, layers ⑥-1 and ⑥-2 were deposited between
103
layers ⑤ and ⑦, with the permeability coefficient being
far less than those of layers ⑥-1 and ⑥-2. Therefore, layers
⑥-1 and ⑥-2 became a confined aquifer with a total thick-
ness of approximately 8 m. When the box jacking machine
was launched or received, the sealing device had to be
strengthened to prevent the working shaft from collapsing
due to soil erosion. In addition, thixotropic slurry suitable
for the water-rich layer needed to be used to ensure the
smooth advancement of boxes during long-distance
jacking.
3 Key techniques
3.1 Construction of the working shafts
Two rectangular working shafts were excavated by the
open-cut method before the box jacking. The launching
shaft had a length of 15.1 m, a width of 14 m, and a depth
of 15.826 m. The plan and section of the launching shaft
are shown in Figs. 4 and 5, respectively. The retaining
structures of the launching shaft consisted of inner walls,
drilling piles, outer waterproof curtain, and high-pressure
jet grouting piles. The outer waterproof curtain formed
with double-row triaxial mixing piles with a diameter of
850 mm and a center-to-center distance of 600 mm was first
constructed, extending 24 m underground. Double-row
drilling piles with a diameter of 1200 mm and a center-to-
center distance of 1400 mm were constructed to increase
the stiffness of the reaction wall, while there were single-
row piles on other sides. Owing to the silty sand layer, there
was a concern that the quality of the triaxial mixing piles
might not be so ideal and, hence, the formed waterproof
104 X.L. Chen et al. / Underground Space 6 (2021) 101–125

Fig.3. Geological section of box jacking zone.

Table 2
Physical and mechanical parameters of the soil.
Layer x q e a1-2 c u kh kv
(%) (g/cm3) (MPa 1) (kPa) (°) (cm/s) (cm/s)
①-5 30.4 1.92 0.865 0.33 27.9 16.8 4.4  10–6 3.2  10 6

④ 26.2 1.99 0.737 0.24 41.4 15.7 1.9  10–7 1.3  10 7

⑤ 30.0 1.92 0.841 0.29 16.8 22.7 7.2  10–6 5.4  10 6

⑥-1 30.2 1.91 0.836 0.20 4.6 31.4 2.9  10–3 1.6  10 3

⑥-2 28.9 1.94 0.789 0.19 3.8 33.4 3.8  10–3 2.1  10 3

⑦ 29.9 1.93 0.840 0.30 25.7 17.7 6.1  10–6 4.6  10 6

⑧ 24.6 2.02 0.691 0.22 43.8 15.9 2.8  10–7 2.0  10 7

⑨-1 27.4 1.97 0.765 0.26 31.5 17.4 5.1  10–6 3.8  10 6

Notes: x is the natural moisture content, q is the natural density, e is the void ratio, a1-2 is the coefficient of compressibility, c is the cohesion, u is the
internal fiction angle, k is the horizontal permeability coefficient, and kv is the vertical permeability coefficient.

curtain would lose efficiency during the excavation of
shafts. Therefore, high-pressure jet grouting piles with a
diameter of 800 mm and a center-to-center distance of
400 mm were used between the waterproof curtain and
the drilling piles as well as inside the drilling piles.
To prevent soil deformation caused by the box jacking,
we used triaxial mixing piles with a diameter of 800 mm
and a center-to-center distance of 650 mm to reinforce
the backrest soil; the reinforced area was approximately
348 m2, and the soil of the exit opening was also reinforced
by the same triaxial piles with a reinforced area of approx-
imately 68 m2. The bottom of the launching shaft was rein-
forced with a thickness of 5 m; high-pressure jet grouting
piles as referred to above were also applied between the
foundation and the drilling piles. As shown in Fig. 5, an
internal bracing system consisting of one reinforced con-
crete support and four steel supports was used during the
excavation of the shaft. Before the inner walls of 1 m thick-
ness were constructed, the steel supports were gradually
removed and the second reinforced concrete support was
installed at the initial location of the third steel support.
Figure 6 illustrates the field scene of the completed launch-
ing shaft.
The receiving shaft was constructed with a length of
14.1 m, a width of 10 m, and a depth of 16.72 m; the retain-
ing structures and supporting method are the same as those
of the launching shaft, the only difference being the scope
of the construction.
3.2 Selection of the box jacking machine
It is critical to select a suitable box jacking machine
based on the engineering properties (e.g., site conditions,
formation property, and groundwater level). Referring to
the aforementioned cases of rectangular box jacking, we
used two common types of rectangular box jacking
machine, namely, a slurry balance pipe jacking machine
and an earth pressure one. However, the earth pressure bal-
ance pipe jacking machine was selected in the vast majority
of cases.
During the construction of the earth pressure balance
pipe jacking, the treatment of the soil is simple and conve-
nient. It does not need to occupy excessive ground space
compared with the separation device of sludge water used
in the construction of the slurry balance pipe jacking. What
is more, the main type of cutterheads used for the earth
pressure balance pipe jacking machine is the spoke type,
whose cutter opening rate is high, and, therefore, the earth
pressure measured by the earth pressure gauge in the soil
chamber is almost equal to that of the excavation face, as
it is convenient to control the earth pressure. Generally,
earth pressure balance construction also has the advan-
tages of high speed and low cost. Most important of all,
the overburden can be shallow during the construction of
the earth pressure balance pipe jacking (Ma, 2008), and,
therefore, it is more suitable for the pass underneath the
Yuanhetang River, where the minimum depth of
 X.L. Chen et al. / Underground Space 6 (2021) 101–125
Fig. 4. The plan of launching shaft.
overburden is only 3.5 m. Therefore, an earth pressure bal-
ance pipe jacking machine with 9.12 m width and 5.52 m of
height was chosen for the project.
As shown in Fig. 7, a combined cutter plate was selected
to reduce the disturbance to the surrounding soil and to
control the ground deformation. There were seven cutter-
heads in total with four different diameters aimed at
increasing the cutting area, including one largest cutter-
head with a diameter of 4200 mm, two medium cutterheads
with a diameter of 2980 mm, two medium cutterheads with
a diameter of 2520 mm, and two small cutterheads with a
diameter of 1450 mm. These cutterheads were installed
symmetrically about the vertical axis of the box jacking
machine. The total cutting area was 41.082 m2, and the rate
of cutting was 82.2%. The box jacking machine was assem-
bled in the launching shaft. Figure 8 illustrates the struc-
tures of the box jacking machine used in the construction.
3.3 Box structures
In this project, precast reinforced concrete boxes with
dimensions of 9.1 m in width, 5.5 m in height, and 1.5 m
in length were used. The wall thickness was 650 mm. An
F-shaped bell and a spigot joint fitted with two sealing rub-
ber rings were used for sealing between segments. The
strength of the concrete was C50 (50 N/mm2), and the
anti-seepage grade was P8 (0.8 MPa, according to the
GB/T 50082–2009 standard for test methods of long-term
105
performance and durability of ordinary concrete). The
weight of each box segment was approximately 66.8 t,
and the allowable design value for jacking of the box seg-
ment was 156 169 kN. The cross section and the side view
are shown diagrammatically in Fig. 9(a) and (b), respec-
tively. Two types of grouting holes were reserved in the
walls of the box segment. There were 14 grouting holes
with inbuilt DN25 (nominal diameter of 25 mm) steel tubes
per box segment distributed near the spigot joint; they were
used for injecting the thixotropic slurry. In addition, twelve
grouting holes with inbuilt DN66 (nominal diameter of
66 mm) steel tubes, which were placed in the middle of
the box segment, were reserved for replacing the slurry at
the end of the jacking operation. The outer wall of the
box segment was pre-embedded with eight steel tubes,
whose external diameter was 119 mm and thickness was
8 mm. These steel tubes were embedded with every two
on each side for hoisting of the box segment. Figure 10
shows the box segment used in the construction.
3.4 Launch and reception of the large-section box jacking
machine
The smooth launch and reception of the box jacking
machine are very important in a jacking project. When
the box jacking machine is to be launched or received,
the alignment and slope must be strictly controlled to avoid
excessive deviation. Furthermore, owing to the poor
106 X.L. Chen et al. / Underground Space 6 (2021) 101–125

Fig. 5. The section of launching shaft.

Fig. 6. The field scene of launching shaft.

stability of the silty sand layer and the presence of extensive
groundwater in the construction area, ground deformation
caused by soil erosion can easily occur during the launch
and reception, which threatens the construction safety.
Therefore, taking the corresponding water stop measures
is critical.
3.4.1 Launch of the box jacking machine
3.4.1.1 Chiseling of the shaft opening. Before the box jack-
ing machine is launched or received, it is necessary to chisel
the drilling piles in the scope of the shaft opening. Steel
bars on the side unexposed to soil should be first chiseled
until the steel bars on the other side are exposed, and then
 X.L. Chen et al. / Underground Space 6 (2021) 101–125
Fig. 7. Cutterhead combination.
the remaining steel bars are removed when the box jacking
machine is formally launched. After that, it is important to
clean up the concrete slag and debris generated by chiseling
and to check that there are no residual steel bars in the
scope of the opening. Figure 11 shows the chiseling of
the shaft opening.
Several aspects need to be considered during chiseling.
For the convenience of the installation of a rubber water
stop and the entry of the box jacking machine, a certain
structure void should be reserved, and, therefore, the deter-
mined chiseling area is 9.4 m wide and 5.8 m tall. Before
each gouge, the method of core boring is used. When a
weak layer behind the drilling piles, gushing of water, or
another unfavorable geology is found, it is not allowed to
Fig. 8. Structures of the box jacking machine used in construction: (a) upper half, (b) bottom half, (c) cutterhead, and (d) assembled machine.
107
chisel the opening until the corresponding reinforcement
measures have been taken to avoid the occurrence of soil
erosion. When cutting off the steel bars exposed to soil,
gas welding is suggested to be adopted to prevent the rub-
ber water stop from being burnt. The crushing of the dril-
ling piles ought to be carried out in the order from top to
bottom and from the outside to the inside. The final con-
crete crushing should be carried out continuously with
the jacking machine.
3.4.1.2 Sealing device of the shaft opening. As described in
Section 3.1, to prevent the groundwater from flowing into
the shaft when the box jacking machine started, we used
the method of three-axis mixing piles to strengthen the soil
in a certain range of the exit opening. As shown in Fig. 12,
to further ensure the sealing effect, we installed the rubber
water stop before jacking, which can also prevent the thix-
otropic slurry from being lost to ensure the formation of a
complete and effective slurry jacket.
The sealing device is mainly composed of a pre-
embedded steel ring, a mounting steel ring, a rubber water
stop, and many pressure plates. The inner diameter of the
pre-embedded steel ring is the same size as the reserved
opening, and a plurality of split anchors is welded on the
side in contact with the concrete so that it can be firmly
embedded in the wall. The mounting steel ring is welded
onto the pre-embedded steel ring and has bolts on the sur-
face for mounting the rubber water stop and the pressure
plates. As the box jacking machine is inevitably deviated
108 X.L. Chen et al. / Underground Space 6 (2021) 101–125

Fig. 9. Schematic diagram of the box segment: (a) diagrammatic cross-section, and (b) diagrammatic side elevation.

Fig. 10. Box segment. Fig. 11. Chiseling of the shaft opening.

from the designed axis when it is launched, the rubber

water stop should allow an axis deviation of 2 cm. If the
deviation exceeds 2 cm, the installation position of the
water stop must be adjusted according to the actual
deviation.
3.4.1.3 Initial attitude control.
(1) Installation of the jacking base, reaction steel box,
and jacking system
The jacking base must be positioned stably and correctly
to avoid the occurrence of displacement, deformation, or
settlement when bearing various loads. Guide rails on both
sides must be of equal height and parallel to the jacking
axis. Neither the horizontal deviation nor the elevation
deviation of the guide rail can be more than 3 mm. A
43 kg/m heavy rail was adopted in the construction. The
reaction steel box was installed as a steel framework
together with the concrete framework of the reaction wall,
to ensure that the reaction steel box was in full contact with
the concrete reaction wall; in this way, the reaction force
generated during the jacking process could be evenly dis-
tributed on the wall. The elevation deviation of the reaction
steel box cannot be more than 5 mm, and the horizontal
deviation cannot be more than 7 mm. When installing the
jacking system, it is necessary to control the verticality of
the steel frame. Jacks on both sides should be symmetri-
cally arranged about the central plumb line of the box;
 X.L. Chen et al. / Underground Space 6 (2021) 101–125 109

Fig. 12. Sealing device of the shaft opening: (a) installation of the rubber water stop, and (b) sealing effect.

the actual error must be less than 10 mm so that both the

box segment and the reaction wall are in good condition
during the jacking process. The installation of the jacking
base, reaction steel box, and jacking system is shown in
Figs. 13 and 14.

(2) Measures for preventing the sinking of the machine

head
It is possible that the head of the box jacking machine
sinks when the surrounding soil is destroyed or that soil
and water loss exist during launching. The soil reinforce-
ment measures of the exit opening can, to a certain extent,
avoid this phenomenon. Considering the heavy weight and
large size of the box jacking machine used in this project,
we raised the head by 5 mm when the machine was in posi-
tion and adjusted the center of the jacking force provided
by the jacks in time for rectification once a sinking ten-
dency was found. Fig. 14. Reaction steel box and jacking system.

(3) Anti-retreat device

resistance around the boxes, which could potentially cause
the retreat of the boxes, damage the sealing device, and
In the initial jacking stage, the water-earth pressure on
result in soil erosion when the jacks are retracted. To this
the excavation surface may be greater than the friction
end, the anti-retreat support frame was installed on the
bottom of the launching shaft; the distance between the
shaft opening and the support frame was 3 m. After the
box had been jacked in place, before the jacks were
retracted, a plug was inserted into the hoisting hole of
the box, so that the concrete box was fixed by the anti-
retreat device (Fig. 15). The anti-retreat device was used
until the friction resistance around the boxes became
greater than the water-earth pressure at the front of the
box jacking machine.

3.4.2 Reception of the box jacking machine

Fig. 13. Jacking base and guide rails.
After the completion of the receiving shaft, the position
of the arriving hole must be measured immediately. The
receiving base was installed according to the designed ele-
vation, and chiseling of the drilling piles in the scope of
the opening was carried out before the arrival of the box
jacking machine. When the box jacking machine is
110 X.L. Chen et al. / Underground Space 6 (2021) 101–125

& Kastner, 2002). This project has a large jacking length;

the crossing stratum is mainly composed of silty sand,
which is loose, with a small cohesion and a large internal
friction angle. For the rectangular box jacking, part of
the soil will collapse on the top surface of the boxes because
of self-weight and will move forward together with the
boxes owing to the large friction resistance, which will
exacerbate the disturbance to the surrounding soil. Accord-
ing to the most unfavorable factors, the maximum jacking
force estimated was close to the reaction force that the
reaction wall could provide and to the maximum allowable
bearing capacity of the box segment, i.e., there was a cer-
tain risk. Therefore, it was necessary to take reasonable
measures to reduce the resistance.

3.5.1 Application of the thixotropic slurry

Fig. 15. Anti-retreat device. 3.5.1.1 Performance requirements for the thixotropic slurry.
For box jacking with a comparatively long alignment or in
difficult geological conditions, application of lubricants is
gradually approaching the receiving shaft, the frequency
essential to reduce the required jacking force (Shou, Yen,
and accuracy of the measurement should be strengthened;
& Liu, 2010). Thixotropic slurry has been widely used for
the axis deviation should be controlled within a small
rectangular box jacking. After the slurry is injected into
extent for an accurate reception.
the gap between the outer surface of the boxes and the sur-
There was a 20-cm peripheral clearance between the
rounding soil, it does not need to flow circularly, but needs
arriving hole and the outside surface of the machine. To
to be kept in the peripheral gap for a long time to form a
prevent soil erosion, when the box jacking machine was
complete gel to maintain a good lubrication effect. The
6 m away from the receiving shaft, we stopped the grouting
main factors to consider when compounding thixotropic
of the first box segment and had to gradually move back-
slurry are as follows:
ward the grouting position in the subsequent jacking.
Then, the soil plug with a length of approximately 6 m
(1) Sufficient viscosity and small filtration loss. Sufficient
would be formed well before the reception of the box jack-
viscosity causes less disturbance to the soil around the
ing machine, which could avoid a large loss of thixotropic
boxes, and the small filtration loss allows the slurry to
slurry. During the jacking in the reinforcement area, water
remain in the high-permeability silty sand layer for a
injection was carried out in an appropriate amount to
long time without leakage.
ensure a smooth slag discharge; the jacking speed was
(2) Good thixotropy. After the slurry is injected, it can
appropriately slowed down, and the earth pressure in the
quickly become gelatinous and support the surround-
chamber was gradually reduced to ensure that the machine
ing soil; the formed gel will reduce the resistance dur-
was in good condition and that the structure of the opening
ing the jacking process.
was stable.
(3) Excellent stability. The slurry does not lose stability
When the first box segment entered into the inner wall
owing to groundwater intrusion as time goes by.
with a length of 400 mm, the box jacking machine was
closed down and disengaged from the box segment imme-
diately, and the clearance area was blocked the moment
3.5.1.2 Slurry formula. To obtain a suitable formula of the
the machine was received. Blocking of the clearance area
thixotropic slurry, we prepared raw materials including
was carried out rapidly from bottom to top on both sides.
Na-bentonite, low-viscosity carboxymethylcellulose
After the blocking was completed, the clearance area was
(CMC) (considering that viscosity is not the main perfor-
grouted in time to control the ground deformation of the
mance index in the silty sand layer), hydrolyzed polyacry-
opening area.
lamide (PHP), NaOH, and water, and then we conducted
parametric tests on site to examine the compatibility of
3.5 Lubrication and friction resistance reduction technology the materials and to obtain the parameters of the slurry
such as the static filtration loss (API filtration loss) and
During the jacking process, the jacking force needs to the viscosity. The test results are shown in Table 3.
overcome the effect of resistance on the excavation face, As shown in Table 3, when 10% Na-bentonite, 1.5%
friction resistance around the boxes, and resistance caused CMC, 1.0% caustic soda, and 0.3% PHP were added into
by steering corrections (Ma, Stein, & Jiang, 2004). For water, the slurry after mixing had superior performance,
long-distance jacking construction, the main component with a viscosity of 78 s and an API filtration loss of
of the jacking force is friction resistance (Pellet-Beaucour 16 mL/h. However, it is not economical because the
 X.L. Chen et al. / Underground Space 6 (2021) 101–125
Table 3
Parametric test results.
Number x(Na-bentonite) (%) x(CMC) (%) x(NaOH) (%)
1 5 0.5 0.5
2 5 1.0 1.0
3 5 1.5 1.5
4 7.5 0.5 1.0
5 7.5 1.0 1.5
6 7.5 1.5 0.5
7 10 0.5 1.5
8 10 1.0 0.5
9 10 1.5 1.0
Notes: The proportion of each material is expressed as a percentage of the total mass of the slurry. The viscosity was measured using the Markov funnel
method.
amount of raw materials is large and the viscosity of the
slurry is too high to pump for a long distance, and, there-
fore, it can only be used in a local district where the amount
of water loss is large.
When the slurry passes through the silty sand layer, its
viscosity should be greater than 45 s and the API filtration
loss should be less than 30 mL/h. Therefore, for the general
district, a mixture ratio of 5% Na-bentonite, 1.0% CMC,
1.0% NaOH, and 0.6% PHP was used; the viscosity of
the slurry was 48 s; and the API filtration loss was
24 mL/h. When the slurry passed through a district with
high water pressure beneath the Yuanhetang River, a spe-
cial slurry formula of 7.5% bentonite, 1.5% CMC, 0.5%
NaOH, and 0.6% PHP was adopted, wherein the propor-
tions of Na-bentonite and CMC were correspondingly
increased to increase the viscosity and decrease the API fil-
tration loss.
3.5.1.3 Grouting technology in construction. Grouting con-
sists of synchronous grouting and secondary grouting.
The purpose of the synchronous grouting is to fill the exca-
vation gap immediately after the box jacking machine
passes to reduce the instantaneous settlement of soil, and
a slurry jacket can be formed gradually to reduce the fric-
tion resistance during the jacking process. The purpose of
the secondary grouting is to further maintain the effect of
the synchronous grouting, supplement the volume of lost
slurry owing to leakage or consolidation, and ensure the
integrity of the slurry jacket. The grouting steps consist
of grouting before jacking, grouting coupled with jacking,
and timely replenishing (Yang, Rong, & Xu, 2016).
Because of the shallow overburden, a screw pump was
used for grouting. The screw pump had a strong self-
suction capacity; there was no pulsation during the grout-
ing process, and the grouting pressure was stable (Yang
et al., 2016). Grouting included a main pipe and several
branch pipes, wherein a steel pipe of DN50 (nominal diam-
eter of 50 mm) was adopted for the main pipe and a hose of
DN25 (nominal diameter of 25 mm) was adopted for the
branch pipe. One ball valve was disposed at the joint
between each branch pipe and the main pipe. The ball valve
111
x(PHP) (%) Viscosity (s) API filtration loss (mL/h)
0.3 36 34
0.6 48 24
0.9 49 26
0.9 37 28
0.3 50 26
0.6 62 20
0.6 68 24
0.9 72 20
0.3 78 16
was also installed at the connection between the branch
pipe and the DN25 grouting hole, to realize positioning
grouting through the valve switch. A check valve was
installed on the other end of the DN25 grouting hole to
prevent slurry backflow and soil blockage. A schematic
diagram of the grouting pipelines is shown in Fig. 16.
Among them, only 10 grouting holes were put into service
during the construction. A field scene of the grouting
pipelines is shown in Fig. 17.
The box jacking machine and the subsequent four box
segments were simultaneously grouted during the jacking
process. The box jacking machine was mainly grouted on
the upper surface to prevent the soil from moving together
with the machine owing to friction resistance; the subse-
quent four box segments were fully grouted around the
box to make the slurry completely fill the gap. The sec-
ondary grouting was carried out for every one or two
box segments from the box segment located in the passage
hole to the fifth box segment behind the box jacking
machine. In general, the secondary grouting is only applied
on the upper surface of the box. When the loss of slurry is
serious, the secondary grouting should also be done on the
two sides or on the bottom. The grouting parameters
mainly include the grouting volume and the grouting pres-
sure, of which the grouting volume is mainly controlled
and the grouting pressure control is supplemented. Consid-
ering that the project mainly passes through a silty sand
layer where the slurry is prone to leak and the groundwater
is plentiful, the synchronous grouting volume of each seg-
ment was set to 4 times of the theoretical grouting volume
and the secondary grouting volume of each segment was set
to 0.3 times of the synchronous grouting volume. The
grouting pressure was set from 1.1 to 1.3 times of the for-
mation pressure. The grouting volume and pressure were
adjusted reasonably according to the data records during
the construction.
3.5.2 Other friction resistance reduction measures
3.5.2.1 Waxing on the surface of boxes. Figure 18 illustrates
the waxing and baking on the box surface. A fully refined
no. 60 paraffin wax with a high melting point was used. The
112 X.L. Chen et al. / Underground Space 6 (2021) 101–125

Fig. 16. Schematic diagram of grouting pipelines.

paraffin wax was melted and smeared on the outer surface

of the box and was fired to guarantee the infiltration of the
paraffin wax into the concrete. Because of the adhesiveness,
emulsifying property, and smoothness of the paraffin wax,
the surface roughness of the box will decrease greatly and
the friction resistance between the boxes and the surround-
ing soil can then be reduced. The technology is especially
suitable for a water-rich sand layer. Moreover, the wax
layer can prevent the box structure from being affected
by the external corrosive environment and improve the ser-
vice life of the box.

3.5.2.2 Intermediate jacking station. For long-distance box

jacking, the intermediate jacking stations were installed
and activated successively during the jacking process to les-
Fig. 17. The field scene of grouting pipelines. sen the jacking force provided by the jacking system. The
outer dimensions of the intermediate station were the same

Fig. 18. Box surface waxing and baking: (a) waxing, and (b) baking.
 X.L. Chen et al. / Underground Space 6 (2021) 101–125 113

as those of the box segment, with a width of 9.1 m and a

height of 5.5 m. The length of the intermediate jacking sta-
tion was 50 cm and the effective jacking length was 30 cm.
There were 60 jacks with a jacking force of 500 kN
arranged symmetrically inside. Figure 19 illustrates the
intermediate jacking station installed during the jacking
process. Through calculation, a total of three intermediate
jacking stations were set up in the project. The first, second,
and third intermediate jacking stations were set at jacking
lengths of 37.5, 117, and 196.5 m, respectively.

3.5.2.3 Application of the thick mud. Owing to the limitation

of the site conditions, the hydration time of thixotropic
slurry is often insufficient and the actual ratio is different
from the experimental ratio. When the secondary grouting
is not carried out in time or when the downtime is too long,
Fig. 20. Thick mud prepared on site.
the slurry jacket that formed outside the box can easily lose
its stability owing to groundwater intrusion, resulting in
excessive jacking resistance.
To solve the above problem, we prepared a type of high-
concentration mud, which is called thick mud (Fig. 20).
Bentonite was the main raw material of the thick mud, in
which a small amount of polyacrylamide was mixed to
improve the variability. The thick mud was injected into
the peripheral gap through the reserved DN66 (nominal
diameter of 66 mm) grouting hole (Fig. 21) as it could bet-
ter support the surrounding soil and block the particle void
when crossing the permeable silty sand layer. The thick
mud can stay on top of the boxes for a long time because
of its poor fluidity and low fluid loss property, and, there-
fore, it can be combined with the traditional thixotropic
slurry to maintain the lubricity of the slurry jacket when
the jacking is suspended.

Fig. 21. Injection of thick mud.

3.5.3 Lubrication and friction resistance reduction effect
To analyze the friction resistance reduction effect during
the construction, according to the measured jacking force
and jacking length, we calculated the friction resistance
Fig. 19. Intermediate jacking station.
per unit area during the jacking process. Figure 22 shows
the variation in jacking force with the jacking length. The
variation in calculated friction resistance per unit area is
shown in Fig. 23. It can be seen in the figure that, when
the jacking length was less than 6 m, the friction resistance
per unit area around the boxes was abnormally high and
the maximum was close to 180 kPa. This was due to the
existence of a reinforcement zone with a thickness of
approximately 6 m in the exit opening and no grouting
measures were taken at the initial launching, resulting in
a large friction resistance. During the jacking process from
6 to 13 m, ordinary slurry was injected into the outside
space of the boxes to reduce the resistance, such that the
‘‘solid-to-solid” friction between the boxes and the soil
became the ‘‘solid-to-liquid” friction gradually. The fric-
tion resistance decreased to a certain extent and fluctuated
in the range of 20–100 kPa. However, the effect was not
ideal because the leakage was serious after the injection
into the silty sand layer. After the jacking process up to
13 m, the suitable slurry obtained from the parametric tests
114 X.L. Chen et al. / Underground Space 6 (2021) 101–125

Fig. 22. Variation curve of jacking force.

Fig. 23. Variation curve of friction resistance per unit area.

was used. Except for some sections where the construction 70 m. It shows that the thixotropic slurry can better adapt
was stopped, the friction resistance per unit area was to the formation conditions and form a good slurry jacket
rapidly reduced; it was less than 7 kPa when jacking to around the box to play a lubricating role. After the jacking
 X.L. Chen et al. / Underground Space 6 (2021) 101–125
Fig. 24. Connection between box jacking machine and box segments.
Fig. 25. Measuring apparatus.
length exceeded 70 m, the thick mud was also adopted to
assist the jacking construction. The injected thick mud
was kept in the silty sand layer for a long time owing to
the high content of the bentonite, and, together with the
subsequent replenishment, the integrity of the slurry jacket
could be maintained. Therefore, a more obvious effect of
friction resistance reduction was achieved and the friction
resistance per unit area was controlled at a low level from
3 to 5 kPa once the thick mud was adopted. This shows
that the lubrication and friction resistance reduction tech-
nology used in the project has gained an obvious effect,
greatly reducing the jacking force required for construc-
tion. On this account, the preset intermediate jacking sta-
tions were not activated during the jacking process,
which improved the construction efficiency.
115
3.6 Trajectory control
For the large-section rectangular box jacking project,
the head of the box jacking machine is prone to sinking
during the jacking process, and an imbalance of the soil
cabin pressure can occur easily, which makes it difficult
to control the attitude of the box jacking machine. The dis-
placement and deflection of the box jacking machine will
directly affect the smooth reception of the machine and
the assembly of the box segments and may cause an incline
of the utility tunnel, which affects the normal usage func-
tion. To ensure that the box segments were smoothly
jacked in accordance with the designed alignment, we per-
formed the following measures in the project for the trajec-
tory control.
(1) Initial attitude control to ensure the high-precision
launching of the box jacking machine
The construction quality of the reaction wall, the
smoothness and verticality of the reaction steel box, and
the installation accuracy of the jacking system were strictly
controlled; they were checked repeatedly when installing
the guide rails so that the centerline, elevation, and slope
met the requirements strictly. When the box jacking
machine was in position, the head was raised 5 mm to pre-
vent the phenomenon of sinking.
(2) Connection between the box jacking machine and the
box segments
In cases such as encountering a weak stratum or a
heterogeneous formation, the box jacking machine can
easily loosen or detach from the subsequent box segments,
causing jacking deviations and jacking quality-related acci-
dents. As shown in Fig. 24, to prevent similar occurrences,
we connected the box jacking machine and the subsequent
five specially reinforced boxes by welding the steel bars to
prevent the box jacking machine from drifting and loosen-
ing. The connection could also reduce the rotation of the
machine while cutting the soil and has a guiding effect dur-
ing the jacking process.
(3) Establishment of an automatic measuring system
A strict fixed measuring platform was set on the wall of
the launching shaft to place the total station, and special
prisms were installed on the box wall and in the box jacking
machine to coordinate with the total station for precise ori-
entation. For each measurement, the total station was first
installed on the measuring platform, roughly aiming at a
starting azimuth prism, and then workers in the handling
room pressed the ‘‘start” button for an uninterrupted mea-
surement. The measuring period could be adjusted, and the
measurement could be stopped at any time. In the jacking
process, the horizontal deviation, elevation deviation, lon-
gitudinal slope, lateral rotation, and jacking length were
116 X.L. Chen et al. / Underground Space 6 (2021) 101–125

Fig. 26. Horizontal deflection angle of the box jacking machine.

Fig. 27. Trajectory deviation of the box jacking machine axis.

obtained through real-time measurements. The rectifica- (4) Selection of reasonable corrective measures
tion was performed in time according to the measurement
results. Figure 25 shows the measuring apparatus used in When the box jacking machine was deflected because of
the project. an imbalance in earth pressure, the speed of the double
 X.L. Chen et al. / Underground Space 6 (2021) 101–125 117

Fig. 28. Schematic plan of the anti-buoyancy slab and steel pipe pile cofferdams.

Fig. 29. Cross-section diagram of steel pipe pile cofferdam.

helix machine and the volume of the soil conveyed out the top and the bottom side in the soil cabin. When the
from the soil cabin were adjusted to control the pressure box jacking machine was seriously deflected, the co-
difference between the left and the right side or between rotation of several cutterheads was controlled to enable
118 X.L. Chen et al. / Underground Space 6 (2021) 101–125

Fig. 30. Schematic plan of steel pipe pile cofferdam.

the box jacking machine to obtain the reverse torque in a

certain direction for assisting rectification. When an
upward or downward deviation of the box jacking machine
occurred, the oil cylinders for rectification were put into
service selectively, generating a force couple to rectify the
attitude of the machine.
According to the actual monitoring data during the
jacking process, the attitude deflection of the box jacking
machine is shown in Fig. 26; the horizontal and vertical
deviations of the axis are shown in Fig. 27. Taking the
designed alignment as a reference, we can see that the
deflection angle is positive when the machine is right-
handed and negative when the machine is left-handed;
the horizontal deviation is positive to the right and negative
to the left; and the vertical deviation is positive upward and
negative downward. As can be seen from Fig. 26, the
deflection angle was controlled within ±0.1°; the box jack-
ing machine was substantially horizontal during the jack-
ing process. It can be seen from Fig. 27 that both the
horizontal deviation and the vertical deviation were con-
trolled within the range of ±40 mm on the whole.
Although a large deviation occurred when the box jacking
machine crossed underneath the Yuanhetang River, correc-
tive measures were taken in time and good results were
obtained. Before the machine arrived at the receiving shaft,
the horizontal and vertical deviations were both controlled
within 20 mm, which was consistent with the design align-
ment, ensuring the smooth reception of the box jacking
machine.

3.7 Construction of the anti-buoyancy slab in the

Yuanhetang River

When the tunnel was jacked beneath the Yuanhetang
River, the minimum depth of overburden was only approx-
imately 3.5 m. Disturbance of the construction may cause
the penetration of the riverbed, resulting in seepage of
the machine or box joints. The shallow buried box seg-
ments may float upward, and there is a hidden danger after
being put into use in the later stage. To this end, temporary
steel pipe pile cofferdams were built in the Yuanhetang
River and an anti-buoyancy slab was constructed after
pumping, dredging, and leveling. To minimize the impact
Fig. 31. Steel pipe pile cofferdam: (a) construction equipment, (b)
construction process, and (c) backfilling clay.
on the river, we divided the cofferdam construction divided
into two phases. In the first phase, the construction of the
steel pipe pile cofferdam was carried out from the west side
of the Yuanhetang River to the east side; in the second
phase, the construction was carried out from the east side
to the west side. An earth cofferdam was adopted at the
junction of the two steel pipe pile cofferdams. Figure 28
 X.L. Chen et al. / Underground Space 6 (2021) 101–125 119

Fig. 32. Cross-section diagram of anti-buoyancy slab.

Fig. 33. Plan layout of ground deformation monitoring points.

Fig. 34. Schematic diagram of transverse monitoring section.

illustrates the schematic plan of the anti-buoyancy slab and
the steel pipe pile cofferdams.
Double-row steel pipe piles were adopted for the steel
pipe pile cofferdam with a width of 3 m. The cross-
section diagram and schematic plan are shown in Figs. 29
and 30, respectively. The length of the steel pipe pile was
9 m, the wall thickness was 7 mm, and the outer diameter
was 27.3 cm. The elevation of the pile bottom was
5.9 m, and the elevation of the pile top was 3.1 m; the
center-to-center distance between the steel pipe piles was
50 cm. To strengthen the rigidity of the steel pipe pile wall,
we welded steel pipes with an outer diameter of 15.9 cm
120 X.L. Chen et al. / Underground Space 6 (2021) 101–125
(a)
(b)
Fig. 35. Daily ground deformations of monitoring points on the CJ1 section: (a) x = ±3 m, (b) x = ±7 m, (c) x = ±11 m, and (d) x = ±17 m.
and a wall thickness of 4.5 mm on the outer side of the steel
pipe piles and pulled the wire ropes between the two rows
of the steel pipe piles. On the inner side of the steel pipe pile
wall, an earthwork cloth was laid on the steel pipe pile
through the geotechnical grille. After the sludge on the riv-
erbed was removed, the clay was backfilled until above the
water level to ensure the water-proof effect of the cofferdam
body. A snapshot of the construction of the steel pipe pile
cofferdam on site is shown in Fig. 31.
The anti-buoyancy slab was constructed with 800-mm-
thick reinforced concrete slabs. The construction area is
shown in Fig. 28. The cross-section diagram is shown in
Fig. 32. C20 concrete (strength of 20 N/mm2) and
HRB400 steel bars (strength of 360 N/mm2) were used in
the construction; the diameter of the steel bars was
18 mm along the jacking direction and 25 mm along the
traverse direction. Before the construction of the anti-
buoyancy slab, dredging and leveling were first carried
out and then the concrete cushion was constructed. The
(c)
(d)
elevation of the cushion was controlled strictly to ensure
the flatness of the anti-buoyancy slab, and a sump pit
was set to prevent partial seepage from interfering with
the construction.
The anti-buoyancy slab achieved good results. During
the process of jacking beneath the Yuanhetang River, there
was neither uplifting of the box segments nor seepage of
the machine or box joints. After the steel pipe piles were
removed, the holes left were backfilled and grouted in time
to prevent the displacement and settlement of the sur-
rounding soil.
4 Ground deformation caused by box jacking
4.1 Field monitoring plan
Box jacking will inevitably cause ground deformation;
excessive deformation will endanger the safety of the struc-
tures on the surface. Therefore, three ground deformation
 X.L. Chen et al. / Underground Space 6 (2021) 101–125
Fig. 36. Daily ground deformations of monitoring points at different transverse distances on the CJ1 section.
monitoring sections (CJ1, CJ2, and CJ3 sections), as shown
in Fig. 33, were arranged along the jacking direction. The
CJ1, CJ2, and CJ3 sections were, respectively, 69.37,
111.35, and 182.9 m away from the launching shaft. As
shown in Fig. 34, twenty-three monitoring points were
arranged perpendicular to the jacking direction on the
CJ1 and CJ3 sections. There were only 17 monitoring
points on the CJ2 section owing to the space limit.
4.2 Monitoring results
For convenience, the transverse distance between a
monitoring point and the tunnel medial axis is expressed
as the letter ‘‘x”, e.g., on the CJ1 section, x = –1 m repre-
sents the CJ1-1 monitoring point.
4.2.1 Daily ground deformation
In this study, four groups of monitoring points on the
CJ1 section, i.e., x = ±3 m, x = ±7 m, x = ±11 m, and
x = ±17 m, were selected to analyze the variation in
daily ground deformation. The two monitoring points
of each group were symmetrically distributed on both
sides of the jacking axis. The monitoring results are
shown in Fig. 35. It can be seen in the figure that the
monitoring points equidistant from the jacking axis are
closely affected by the construction; the daily ground
deformation is approximately the same, but not com-
pletely coincident. Even though the monitoring points
are symmetrically distributed, small differences in forma-
121
tion conditions, deflection of the box jacking machine,
and differences in grouting volume will cause different
ground deformations. It is obvious that the daily defor-
mation of each monitoring point fluctuates repeatedly
between the settlement and the uplift, which is mainly
caused by the artificial control of the grouting and the
attitude adjustment. For instance, owing to the stoppage
of grouting on November 7, the above eight monitoring
points all showed a large settlement, and then a large
uplift occurred on November 8 because of the injection
of a large amount of slurry. The effect of grouting on
the ground deformation in the project with shallow over-
burden was very noteworthy.
Figure 36 illustrates the daily ground deformations at
different monitoring points on the CJ1 section. It has been
concluded from the above analysis that the monitoring
points equidistant from the jacking axis are closely affected
by the construction, and, therefore, only the monitoring
points on the right side of the jacking direction are selected
in Fig. 36. As shown in Fig. 36, deformations of the mon-
itoring points at different distances vary with a similar ten-
dency. However, the daily ground deformation at x = 0 m
fluctuates most sharply compared with that at another dis-
tance; the deformation shows a gradual decrease as the dis-
tance to the jacking axis increases, which indicates that the
construction has a greater impact on the monitoring point
closer to the axis. When the distance from the monitoring
point to the jacking axis reaches 17 m, the daily ground
deformation is basically within ± 3 mm.
122 X.L. Chen et al. / Underground Space 6 (2021) 101–125
(a)
(b)
Fig. 37. Deformation-time curves of monitoring points at different transverse distances: (a) CJ1, (b) CJ2, and (c) CJ3.
4.2.2 Cumulative ground deformation
Figure 37 presents the deformation-time curves of the
monitoring points at different transverse distances of the
CJ1 [Fig. 37(a)], CJ2 [Fig. 37(b)], and CJ3 [Fig. 37(c)] sec-
tions. For any monitoring section, it can be seen in the fig-
ure that the trends of cumulative deformations at different
transverse distances are similar and that the closer the
monitoring point is to the jacking axis, the greater is the
influence degree of the jacking process. These characteris-
tics are consistent with the characteristics of daily
deformations.
At the same time, common characteristics can be found
from different monitoring sections. When the box jacking
machine was at a certain distance from the monitoring sec-
tion, because of the disturbance to the surrounding soil, a
small amount of settlement occurred at each monitoring
point. As the box jacking machine approached, additional
stress was generated on the front soil, which caused a cer-
tain degree of uplift on the ground. The uplift is beneficial
for reducing the final surface settlement (Zhang et al.,
(c)
2016). When the box jacking machine arrived at the mon-
itoring section, the ground quickly settled and reached a
maximum settlement after the box jacking machine had
completely passed. This may be because the outer dimen-
sions of the box jacking machine were slightly larger than
those of the subsequent box (the outer dimensions of the
box jacking machine were 9.12 m in width, 5.52 m in
height, while the outer dimensions of the box segment were
9.1 m in width 5.5 m in height), and the synchronous grout-
ing could not fill the peripheral gap around the box in a
short time, which caused the collapse of the upper soil
and resulted in large surface subsidence. It can be seen in
Fig. 37 that the settlement on the CJ2 and CJ3 sections
was significantly larger than that on the CJ1 section; this
was due to the fact that a slurry spillover occurred near the
CJ2 section, while the amount of grouting was less on the
CJ3 section. After the box jacking machine had completely
passed, a slurry jacket gradually formed and remained intact
through the secondary grouting. The ground settlement on
the CJ1 and CJ2 sections was alleviated to a certain extent;
 X.L. Chen et al. / Underground Space 6 (2021) 101–125
(a)
(c)
Fig. 38. Settlement trench on the monitoring section: (a) CJ1, (b) CJ2, and (c) CJ3.
however, there was a subsequent settlement on the CJ3 sec-
tion due to the small grouting volume; the maximum ground
settlement exceeded 70 mm.
4.2.3 Settlement trench
Figure 38 shows deformations of the monitoring points
at different times on the CJ1 [Fig. 38(a)], CJ2 [Fig. 38(b)],
and CJ3 [Fig. 38(c)] sections, wherein the transverse dis-
tance on the horizontal labels represents the relative dis-
tance between the monitoring point and the jacking axis.
Overall, the ground deformation curves on the three sec-
tions are approximately symmetrically distributed with
respect to the jacking axis and are basically in the form
of a settlement trench. For the CJ1 and CJ2 sections, when
the box jacking machine passed completely on September
17, 2017, and September 30, 2017, respectively, the surface
settlement reached a maximum value and then gradually
decreased under the action of grouting. Owing to frequent
and uneven grouting, the ground settlement on the CJ1 sec-
tion was small but fluctuated frequently; during the jacking
123
(b)
process, a slurry spillover occurred near the CJ2-1 point,
and, therefore, the maximum settlement appeared at the
CJ2-1 point, followed by a lack of subsequent monitoring
values, and the surface settlement on the CJ2 section was
larger than that on the CJ1 section. For the CJ3 section,
owing to the relatively small amount of grouting, the settle-
ment was larger than that on the CJ1 and CJ2 sections.
After the box jacking machine passed completely on Octo-
ber 24, 2017, the surface settlement continued to increase.
Moreover, the settlement curve showed an obvious form
of ‘‘W”, which was due to the amount of grouting in the
middle part being large at the end of the process.
5 Summary and conclusions
In this paper, a case study of the longest large-section
rectangular box jacking project in China is presented.
The box jacking passed through a silty sand layer with
groundwater, and the minimum depth of overburden was
only 3.5 m when crossing underneath the Yuanhetang
124 X.L. Chen et al. / Underground Space 6 (2021) 101–125
River. In this case, key techniques of the construction were
described in detail and the ground deformation caused by
box jacking was analyzed. The experience encountered
and the technology used in the construction can be summa-
rized as follows:
(1) Considering that the box jacking passed through a
silty sand layer with high potential groundwater
flows, a combination system of the waterproof cur-
tain and high-pressure jet grouting piles was selected
and the soil in front of the shaft opening was rein-
forced with triaxial mixing piles. A rubber water stop
was installed to avoid the phenomenon of soil erosion
during the launch of the box jacking machine, which
ensured the safety of the launching shaft.
(2) Various measures were taken for trajectory control.
The flatness and verticality of the reaction wall and
the reaction steel box were strictly controlled, and
the center line, elevation, and slope of the guide rails
were checked repeatedly to meet the requirements,
and the head was raised 5 mm when the box jacking
machine was in position to control the launching atti-
tude. The box jacking machine and the subsequent
five specially reinforced concrete boxes were con-
nected by welding the steel bars to prevent the box
jacking machine from drifting and loosening during
long-distance jacking. An automatic measuring sys-
tem was developed to obtain the deflection and devi-
ation data of the box jacking machine. Corrective
measures were reasonably selected to ensure that
the tunnel was jacked according to the planned
alignment.
(3) For the reduction of the friction resistance during the
jacking process, paraffin wax was melted and smeared
on the outer surface of the box and was fired to guar-
antee the infiltration of the paraffin wax into the con-
crete, which not only could increase the smoothness
of the concrete wall but also could prevent the box
structure from being affected by the external corro-
sive environment. Parametric tests were conducted
on site to determine a suitable formula of the thixo-
tropic slurry, and a thick mud, which had a good fill-
ing and supporting effect, was also used to ensure the
integrity and lubricity of the slurry jacket.
(4) Temporary steel pipe pile cofferdams were built in the
Yuanhetang River, and an anti-buoyancy slab was
constructed after pumping, dredging, and leveling.
The cofferdam construction was divided into two
phases and had little impact on the flow. The anti-
buoyancy slab achieved good engineering results;
there was neither uplifting of the box segments nor
seepage of the machine or box joints.
(5) For the large-section rectangular box jacking project
with shallow overburden, an earth pressure balance
box jacking machine was selected and a combined
cutter plate was adopted to reduce the disturbance
to the ground. During the construction, the grouting
pressure needed to be reasonably controlled and the
slurry should be injected in time. A slurry spillover
occurred near the CJ2 section owing to excessive
grouting pressure, resulting in larger surface settle-
ment; the maximum settlement on the CJ3 section
was over 70 mm because of insufficient grouting.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Shanghai Civil Engineering Co.,
Ltd., of CREC for cooperation in the field tests and data
collection of rectangular box jacking.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest
to this work.
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