Modeling of 3D inflatable large deformation air plug in contact with concrete lining

authored by
Anan Liao, Hui Shang, Xiaoyong Kou, Jun Huang, Xiaoying Zhuang
Abstract

Resilient tunnel plug is a recently developed technique for the block of flood in tunnel by using an inflatable cylindrical airbag with air concealed. The plug, i.e., air bag surface, itself is made of textile composite with high strength, lightweight and easily foldable. The air plug can be inflated in a short amount of time and aligns with the internal surface of the tunnel tightly so that the fluid will be stopped at the required position. The use of air plug provides new solutions to the response of emergencies and accidents in tunnel operation such as the screening of smoke from fire and flood from precipitation. Recently, the possibility of using the air plug for the rescue of accidents in tunneling construction is being explored. In this paper, the feasibility of utilizing air plug to screen the soil and water flow in case of boring face failure is investigated. Membrane element is used to model the plug, and surface-based fluid modeling based on the Uniform Pressure Method (UPM) is used to model the coupling between the deformation and the pressure of the plug. Surface-to-surface contact interaction is used to model the frictional contact between the tunnel lining and the air plug surface. It is revealed that for embedded depth up to 20 m, the air plug can provide sufficient friction to resist the flow of water and soil without inducing excessive deformation of the tunnel structure. However, the careful choice of the pressure is important to avoid excessive deformation of the tunnel lining.

Organisation(s)
Institute of Continuum Mechanics
External Organisation(s)
Tongji University
Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Co. Ltd.
Type
Contribution to book/anthology
Pages
105-121
No. of pages
17
Publication date
21.02.2018
Publication status
Published
Peer reviewed
Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Automotive Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Fluid Flow and Transfer Processes
Electronic version(s)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7149-2_8 (Access: Closed)
 

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