PURPOSES: It is difficult to estimate tunnel stability because of lack of timely information during tunnel excavation. Tunnel deformability refers to the capacity of rock to strain under applied loads or unloads during tunnel excavation. This study was conducted to analyze a methods of pre-evaluation of stability during tunnel construction using the critical strain concept, which is applied to the results of tunnel settlement data and unconfined compression strength of intact rock or rock mass at the tunnel construction site. METHODS: Based on the critical strain concept, the pre-evaluation of stability of a tunnel was performed in the Daegu region, at a tunnel through andesite and granite rock. The critical strain concept is a method of predicting tunnel behavior from tunnel crown settlement data using the critical strain chart that is obtained from the relationship between strain and the unconfined compression strength of intact rock in a laboratory. RESULTS: In a pre-evaluation of stability of a tunnel, only actually measured crown settlement data is plotted on the lower position of the critical strain chart, to be compared with the total displacement of crown settlement, including precedent settlement and displacement data from before the settlement measurement. However, both cases show almost the same tunnel behavior. In an evaluation using rock mass instead of intact rock, the data for the rock mass strength is plotted on the lower portion of the critical strain chart, as a way to compare to the data for intact rock strength. CONCLUSIONS : From the results of the pre-evaluation of stability of the tunnel using the critical strain chart, we reaffirmed that it is possible to promptly evaluate the stability of a tunnel under construction. Moreover, this research shows that a safety evaluation using the actual instrumented crown settlement data with the unconfined compression strength of intact rock, rather than with the unconfined compression strength of a rock mass in the tunnel working face, is more conservative.

This study is aimed to examine the influence of the rotational stiffness of U-shaped ribs on the local buckling behaviors of laminated composite plates. Applying the orthotropic plates with eight layers of the layup [(0°)4]s and [(0°/90°)2]s, 3-dimensional finite element models for the U-rib stiffened plates were setup by using ABAQUS and then a series of eigenvalue analyses were conducted. There is a need to develope a simple design equation to establish the rotational stiffness effect, which could be easily quantified by comparing the theoretical critical stress equation for laminated composite plates with elastic restraints based on the Classical laminated plate theory. Through the parametric numerical studies, it is confirmed that there should clearly exist an increasing effect of local plate buckling strength due to the rotational stiffness by closed-section ribs. An applicable coefficient for practical design should be verified and proposed for future study. This study will contribute to the future study for establishing an increasing coefficient for the design strength and optimum design of U-rib stiffened plates.