The response of Rock Tunnel When Subjected to Blast Loading: Finite
Element Analysis
Abstract
Tunnels had been undergone accidental and intentional blast in the past.
An analysis of a rock tunnel when subjected to internal blast loading
has been presented in this paper. A three-dimensional finite element
model of a huge rock mass comprising the tunnel has been developed in
Abaqus/CAE. Diameter of the tunnel has been kept constant to a two-lane
transportation tunnel. However, liner thickness of the concrete,
overburden pressure on the tunnel has been varied to observe the
response in different possible conditions. To incorporate the
elastoplastic response of rock mass, Mohr-Coulomb constitutive material
model has been considered. For modelling of trinitrotoluene (TNT),
Jones-Wilkins-Lee material model has been adopted. Concrete Damage
Plasticity material model has been adopted for tunnel lining. For the
blast loading, Coupled-Eulerian-Lagrangian (CEL) model has been
considered. Results highlight the importance of tunnel lining thickness
and overburden depth while designing the tunnel in rocks. Under any
amount of explosive, deep tunnels have been found to be safer than
shallow tunnel.