Dynamic Response of a Circular Tunnel in an Elastic Half Space

The vibration of a circular tunnel in an elastic half space subjected to uniformly distributed dynamic pressure at the inner boundary is studied in this paper. For comparison purposes, two different ground materials (soft and hard soil) are considered for the half space. Under the assumption of plane strain, the equations of motion for the tunnel and the surrounding medium are reduced to two wave equations in polar coordinates using Helmholtz potentials. The method of wave expansion is used to construct the displacement fields in terms of displacement potentials. The boundary conditions associated with the problem are satisfied exactly at the inner surface of the tunnel and at the interface between the tunnel and surrounding medium, and they are satisfied approximately at the free surface of the half space. A least-squares technique is used for satisfying the stress-free boundary conditions at the half space. It is shown by comparison that the stresses and displacements are significantly influenced by the properties of the surrounding soil, wave number (i.e., the frequency), depth of embedment, and thickness of the tunnel wall.

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