TY - JOUR

T1 - Unreinforced construction techniques

T2 - ECC-based unreinforced shield tunnel segment joints for enhancing underground infrastructure resilience

AU - Cai, Minjin

AU - Zhu, Hehua

AU - Zhou, Shuwei

AU - Rabczuk, Timon

AU - Zhuang, Xiaoying

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024

PY - 2024/12

Y1 - 2024/12

N2 - The development of unreinforced construction techniques for shield tunnel segments is crucial for enhancing resilience of underground infrastructure, but research in this field is still lacking. This study addresses this gap by conducting full-scale experiments on ECC-based unreinforced shield segment joints (ECCUS) and comparing their performance with traditional reinforced concrete segment joints (RCS) and ECC reinforced segment joints (ECCRS) under extreme bending loads. The research focuses on material characteristics, segmental deflection, joint behavior, bolt strain, damage propagation, failure modes, joint toughness, and ductility. The results revealed that ECCUS joints had a bearing capacity 2.64 times that of RCS and 1.32 times that of ECCRS in the elastic phase. Their ultimate load capacity surpassed RCS by 27.4% and ECCRS by 24.4%. ECCUS also demonstrated superior ductility, with increases of 131% over ECCRS and 78% over RCS, and exhibited finer, more numerous cracks, enhancing energy absorption and deformability. ECCUS bolts showed a 24% reduction in average strain and a 74% decrease in strain deviation compared to RCS and ECCRS. Furthermore, ECCUS joints displayed exceptional toughness, being 6.2 times greater than RCS and 1.5 times higher than ECCRS during normal serviceability. These findings underscore the potential of ECC in improving the performance and durability of unreinforced tunnel segments.

AB - The development of unreinforced construction techniques for shield tunnel segments is crucial for enhancing resilience of underground infrastructure, but research in this field is still lacking. This study addresses this gap by conducting full-scale experiments on ECC-based unreinforced shield segment joints (ECCUS) and comparing their performance with traditional reinforced concrete segment joints (RCS) and ECC reinforced segment joints (ECCRS) under extreme bending loads. The research focuses on material characteristics, segmental deflection, joint behavior, bolt strain, damage propagation, failure modes, joint toughness, and ductility. The results revealed that ECCUS joints had a bearing capacity 2.64 times that of RCS and 1.32 times that of ECCRS in the elastic phase. Their ultimate load capacity surpassed RCS by 27.4% and ECCRS by 24.4%. ECCUS also demonstrated superior ductility, with increases of 131% over ECCRS and 78% over RCS, and exhibited finer, more numerous cracks, enhancing energy absorption and deformability. ECCUS bolts showed a 24% reduction in average strain and a 74% decrease in strain deviation compared to RCS and ECCRS. Furthermore, ECCUS joints displayed exceptional toughness, being 6.2 times greater than RCS and 1.5 times higher than ECCRS during normal serviceability. These findings underscore the potential of ECC in improving the performance and durability of unreinforced tunnel segments.

KW - ECC

KW - ECC-based segment

KW - Resilient underground infrastructure

KW - Unreinforced construction techniques

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85206140276&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.tust.2024.106119

DO - 10.1016/j.tust.2024.106119

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85206140276

VL - 154

JO - Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology

JF - Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology

SN - 0886-7798

M1 - 106119

ER -