Numerical prediction of tunnel performance during centrifuge dynamic tests

In this paper, a comparison between numerical analyses and centrifuge test results relative to the seismic performance of a circular tunnel is provided. The considered experimental data refer to two centrifuge tests performed at Cambridge University, aimed at investigating the transverse dynamic behaviour of a relatively shallow tunnel located in a sand deposit. For the same geometry, different soil relative densities characterise the two tests. The four seismic actions considered, of the pseudo-harmonic type, are characterised by increasing intensity. The 2D numerical analyses were performed adopting an advanced soil constitutive model implemented in a commercial finite element code. The comparison between numerical simulations and measurements is presented in terms of acceleration histories and Fourier spectra as well as of profiles of maximum acceleration along free-field and near-tunnel verticals. In addition, loading histories of normal stress and bending moments acting in the tunnel lining were considered. In general, very good agreement was found with reference to the ground response analyses, while a less satisfactory comparison between observed and predicted results was obtained for the transient and permanent loadings acting in the lining, as discussed in the final part of the paper.