The influence of weakness zones on the tunnel stability based on investigations in Bodøtunnelen

• Main Author: Renström, Viktor
• Format: Bachelor Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Luleå tekniska universitet, Geoteknologi 2016
• Subjects: Rock mechanics; Numerical modeling; Geology; Geologi; Geophysics; Geofysik; Geotechnical Engineering; Geoteknik; Bodø; Norway; Northern Norway
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-59939

When planning for a tunnel, the ground conditions in which the tunnel is going to be excavated through will be investigated to different extent. Lack of relevant pre-investigation data or misinterpretations of the available data can cause both economical and/or unexpected stability problems. Weakness zones that are expected to cross the tunnel could be investigated thoroughly with a variety of methods. Refraction seismicity survey and 2D resistivity survey are two geophysical methods that are common in Norway for obtaining information about the rock quality in weakness zones. In this work, a twin tunnel under construction in Bodø (northern Norway) called the Bodøtunnel is studied. The predictions based on the pre-investigation for crossing of some expected weakness zones are compared to the actual conditions encountered during tunneling. Tunneling observations (Geological mapping and photos), rock samples and measurement while drilling (MWD) were used to describe the weakness zones that were encountered during tunneling. Rock samples were collected from two weakness zones and the general rock mass. These samples were tested in a point bearing machine for determination of their uniaxial compressive strength (UCS). These results indicated that the rock samples gathered from the weakness zones had significantly lower UCS than the samples from the rock mass. This was exceedingly clear for the samples of fault rock gathered in connection with a shear zone. The results from this work demonstrate that refraction seismicity had a high success rate for locating weakness zones, with the exception for the crossed narrow zones that were interpreted lacking a shear component. Empirical formulas relating Q-value and UCS with the seismic wave speed were used for calculating these factors for some interesting locations. The empirically calculated UCS was similar to the obtained UCS from the point bearing tests, while the empirically calculated Q-value showed large deviations from the mapped Q-value. The resistivity measurements ...