Energy analysis of stability of twin shallow tunnels based on nonlinear failure criterion

Based on nonlinear Mohr?Coulomb failure criterion, the analytical solutions of stability number and supporting force on twin shallow tunnels were derived using upper bound theorem of limit analysis. The optimized solutions were obtained by the technique of sequential quadratic programming. When nonlinear coefficient equals 1 and internal friction angle equals 0, the nonlinear Mohr?Coulomb failure criterion degenerates into linear failure criterion. The calculated results of stability number in this work were compared with previous results, and the agreement verifies the effectiveness of the present method. Under the condition of nonlinear Mohr?Coulomb failure criterion, the results show that the supporting force on twin shallow tunnels obviously increases when the nonlinear coefficient, burial depth, ground load or pore water pressure coefficients increase. When the clear distance is 0.5 to 1.0 times the diameter of tunnel, the supporting force of twin shallow tunnels reaches its maximum value, which means that the tunnels are the easiest to collapse. While the clear distance increases to 3.5 times the diameter of tunnel, the calculation for twin shallow tunnels can be carried out by the method for independent single shallow tunnel. Therefore, 3.5 times the diameter of tunnel serves as a critical value to determine whether twin shallow tunnels influence each other. In designing twin shallow tunnels, appropriate clear distance value must be selected according to its change rules and actual topographic conditions, meanwhile, the influences of nonlinear failure criterion of soil materials and pore water must be completely considered. During the excavation process, supporting system should be intensified at the positions of larger burial depth or ground load to avoid collapses.