Abstract

shield tunneling method has been increasingly employed to minimize environmental damages and civil complaints in the populated and developed area. A lining segment, which is a main structure of the shield tunnel, consists of joints. Conventional foreign and domestic design data have been commonly used for design practices without a specific verification of structural analysis models, design load, and the effect of soil characteristics on the performance of lining segment. In this study, the suitability of existing analytic models used for the design of shield tunnel lining segment has been evaluated through a comparison between analytical and numerical solutions. Based on the evaluation of their suitability performed in the study, a full-circumferential beam jointed spring model (1R-S0) is proposed for design practices by considering user's convenience, the applicability of field conditions and the accuracy of analysis result. By using the proposed model, the parameter analysis was performed to investigate the effects of joint stiffness, ground rigidity, joint distribution and the number of joints on the behavior of lining segment. Parameters considered in the investigation have been appeared to affect the behavior of lining segment. Among those parameters, joint stiffness has been appeared to have the most significant effect on the bending moment and displacement of lining segment.