Influence of Rotational Stiffness Modeling on the Joint Behavior of Quasi-Rectangular Shield Tunnel Linings

Featured Application (1) In quasi-rectangular tunnels, a new type of special-section shield tunnels, the effect of nonlinear joint behavior is much more important than in circular tunnels. (2) An iterative nonlinear spring-beam model for the prediction of lining deformations and bending moments in a shield tunnel is presented. (3) The predictions are validated against unique full ring test results. (4) The relevance of the presented method, compared to a constant joint stiffness approach, is demonstrated. (5) A parametric study into the design parameters for quasi-rectangular tunnels is presented. A beam-spring model with constant rotational stiffness is a practical tool for the prediction of the general deformations and bending moments in circular tunnel linings. However, in reality, the rotational stiffness of a segmental joint is not constant, due to nonlinear deformations and local yielding in the vicinity of the joint. These are a result of the specific geometry at the joint, which is related to water-tightness measures and buildability issues. For quasi-rectangular tunnels this nonlinearity should not be neglected, as the bending component in the lining is significantly larger compared to circular linings. To date, there are only few studies that have investigated a calculation method for consideration of the joint's nonlinear moment-axial force and shear-axial force interaction behavior and its consequences on the calculated lining behavior. In this paper, an iterative incremental method is proposed to tackle this issue, based on rotational stiffness curves derived from 3D nonlinear finite element modelling of the joints, and substantiated by testing. The significance of the variable rotational stiffness is highlighted through a comparison with results based on a constant stiffness assumption. Further, using the proposed calculation method, the effects of the circumferential joints, the bending moment transmission and several other parameters on the full-ring behavior of quasi-rectangular tunnels are discussed for a wide interval of design parameters. The results provide some new insights into the behavior of this non-traditional tunnel type. Although the presented results are related to specific overall and local geometries, the presented method is considered to be useful for the design of other special tunnel geometries.