9.

3 Excavation
The method of tunnel advance adopted can have a considerable influence on controlling
the deformation response of the rock mass to excavation and therefore on the formation
of an arch effect close to the walls of a tunnel. Consequently, although some of the decisions
concerning excavation methods will be made by the contractor on the basis of his
organisation and equipment, it is nonetheless essential that these do not conflict with
design specifications.
The criterion to follow when making operational decisions concerning excavation
methods is always that of causing the minimum disturbance to the environment and the
surrounding rock mass. This criterion can be fully complied with:
• by adopting excavation systems appropriate to the materials in question and to the
context;
• by employing full face advance whenever possible, giving the face a concave shape
and avoiding overbreak;
• by performing all the stabilisation work rapidly in full compliance with the tunnel section
types specified in the design before and after each excavation step;

Excavation: mechanical excavation of the core-face using a ripper

(Rome motorway ring road, Appia Antica tunnel, 1999, ground: granular
pyroclastites, overburden: ~ 4 m)
Excavation: mechanical excavation of the core-face using a hammer
(Caserta-Foggia railway line, S. Vitale tunnel, 1993, ground: scaly clay,
overburden: ~ 130 m)

• by preventing, when under the water table, water from standing freely at the face or
from running along the bottom of the cavity by using drainage systems to convey it to
the destination specified in the design.
When advancing under stable core-face or stable core-face in the short term conditions,
excavation can be performed with the use of explosives (providing no ground improvement
or reinforcement ahead of the face is specified) (Fig. 9.1). It is therefore important
to adopt controlled blast systems which maintain tunnel profiles. Disturbance to the surrounding
material can be minimised by performing careful drilling around the profile of
the future tunnel and adopting appropriate priming to obtain even excavation of the cross
section and a minimum of overbreak [66]. To achieve this it is necessary:
• take maximum care to ensure that holes are parallel;
• reduce the distance between them;
Fig. 9.2 Parallel cut holes
Excavation: giving the face a concave shape (line A of the Rome metro, Baldo degli Ubaldi
Station, 1996, ground: clay with sand strata, overburden: ~ 18 m)

• use explosive that is precisely tailored to the situation, for example

a detonating cord with a high gram weight (60 – 80 grams of pentrite
per metre).
As concerns other aspects, the design of the rounds to give an optimum
profile do not differ from other situations: the type of cut (Fig. 9.2),
the distribution and depth of the blast holes, the power of the charges
and the time delays must be decided on the basis of the circumstances
and characteristics of the materials tunnelled. The definition of an efficient
blast hole pattern is a highly specialised task [67].
The walls of the excavation must be scaled with the greatest care
immediately after the each round of shots.
In sections of unstable core-face tunnel and also in some cases of
core-face unstable in the short term tunnel, excavation is normally performed
in the present of cavity preconfinement intervention such as
treating the perimeter using sub horizontal jet-grouting, mechanical
precutting etc.. It is best in these cases to excavate material using mechanical
means only (excavators, demolition hammers, roadheaders,
etc.), without ever resorting to explosives which would damage the
intervention placed ahead of the face. It is essential to shape the latter
so that is concave in order to encourage the formation of a longitudinal
arch effect ahead of the face and to line it with shotcrete, fibre reinforced
if necessary, after each tunnel advance.
It may be necessary when tunnel behaviour is characterised by extrusion
and convergence of a certain magnitude, to complete the load
bearing ring structure by casting the tunnel invert at a short distance
from the face; excavation must therefore be shaped appropriately for
it. Often an acceleration in deformation phenomena is measured during
excavation of the tunnel invert. It is therefore best to cast it immediately,
especially if it performs a structural function, or in cases of
strongly squeezing ground a strut can be placed at the foot of the steel
ribs to stiffen the ring and withstand the pressure before the concrete
sets.

Lunardi, Pietro. 2008, Design and Construction of Tunnels. Analysis of Controlled Deformation in Rocks and Soils
(ADECO-RS). Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg Hal: 243-247