Abstract

In general, the stress is concentrated on the pillar of very near parallel tunnel (VNPT), and the pillar has been reinforced by using steel-wires to maintain the stability of the tunnel. However, since the strength of the pillar decreases in the soil layer, the reinforcing pillar with the steel-wires is insufficient for tunnel stability. In this study, the laboratory tunnel experiment was conducted to examine the reinforcement effect for a new method, of which the pillar of VNPT is strengthened by using steel-pipes. As a result, against overburden stress, the bearing capacity of the steel-pipe reinforcement was 22% greater than that of the steel-wire reinforcement. In using the Particle Image Velocimetry method, the analysis shows that the steel-pipe reinforcement forms a more favorable condition of which uniformly the overburden load acts on the VNPT and the pillar than the steel-wire reinforcement. Based on the results, the steel-pipe reinforcement is expected to bring a more positive effect on tunnel stability than the steel-wire reinforcement.