A new test setup for studying sand behaviour inside an immersed tunnel joint gap

Rheza Rheza Rahadian, Sallo van der Woude, D. Wilschut, Kees Blom, Wout Broere

Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceedings/Edited volumeConference contributionScientificpeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)
51 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

During inspections of several immersed tunnels in the Netherlands, damage of immersion joints has been observed. In some cases the Gina seal has moved inwards from its original location, and in other cases a permanent elongation of the entire tunnel structure has been measured. For both cases it has been hypothesised that a seasonal expansion and contraction of the tunnel elements allows sand to enter the joint gap between elements during winter, where it is compacted during summer, leading to an increasing amount of sand in the joint gap over the years. In order to study this mechanism and assess its impact, a 1:3 scale model joint gap has been designed and constructed. This setup can simulate expansion and contraction cycles of the joint and measure stresses in the joint gap and deformations of the Gina seal. First test results are presented here and show that compaction of the sand entering the joint gap indeed occurs and leads to the observed large inwards
deformations of the Gina seals.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationPhysical Modelling in Geotechnics
EditorsAndrew McNamara, Sam Divall, Richard Goodey, Neil Taylor, Sarah Stallebrass, Jignasha Panchal
PublisherTaylor and Francis
Pages443–448
Number of pages6
ISBN (Electronic)978-0-203-71227-6
ISBN (Print)978-1-138-34419-8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2018
EventICPMG 2018: 9th International Conference Physical Modelling
in Geotechnics
- London, United Kingdom
Duration: 17 Jul 201820 Jul 2018
Conference number: 9
http://www.icpmg2018.london/

Conference

ConferenceICPMG 2018: 9th International Conference Physical Modelling
in Geotechnics
Abbreviated titleICPMG 2018
Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
CityLondon
Period17/07/1820/07/18
Internet address

Bibliographical note

Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.

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