Abstract

Submerged floating tunnel (SFT) is a type of tunnel that allows tunnel segments to float underwater by buoyancy, and is being actively studied in recent years. When the submerged floating tunnel is connected to the ground, the tunnel and the bored tunnel inside the ground must be connected. There is risk that the stress will be concentrated at the connection between the two tunnels due to the different constraints and behavior of the two tunnels. Therefore, special design and construction methods should beapplied to ensure the stability around the connection. However, previous studies on the stability at the connection site have not been sufficiently carried out, so study on the basic stage of the stability at connection site are necessary. In this study, numerical analysis simulating the connection between submerged floating tunnel and the bored tunnel confirmed that the shear strain concentration occurred in the ground around the connection, and it was analyzed that the structural factors can be handled during construction to have effects on the stability of the ground around the connection. Numerical results show that the risks from disproportionate displacements in the two tunnels can be mitigated through the construction of grouting material and joint design. Although the results from this study are qualitative results, it is expected that it will contribute to the determination of structural factors and risk areas that should be considered in the design of connections between the submerged floating tunnel and bored tunnel in the future studies.