Shield Tunneling in Rock–Soil Interface Composite Formations

With increased demand for the tunnel construction in rock–soil interface composite formations, the influence on surrounding environment especially the excavation face instability during construction and ground settlement in the long term has gained great attention. The researches about environmental disturbance by shield tunneling construction in single ground as the soil or rock conditions have been developed continuously. However, due to the complexity and uncertainty of the interaction between rock–soil interface composite formations and shield machines, works on these special conditions have not been carried out sufficiently. In this paper the theoretical, experimental and numerical researches on the excavation face stability and ground settlement are discussed while the in situ datum are used to support them. First, the typical projects in rock–soil interface composite formations are listed and the difficulties met are summarized. Second, the failure model of excavation face and support pressure from the tunneling shield in rock–soil interface composite formations are discussed. Then, a comprehensive survey of the factors of ground settlement during and after construction and some effective prediction models are made. Finally, the existing problems and directions for future research are introduced. © 2016, Springer International Publishing Switzerland.