Constraint Embankment Construction to Prevent the Collapse of Underground Caves
Dozens of underground karst caves were found before constructing the Changli highway. The thickness-to-span ratio of nearly half of the caves is less than 0.05, and the greatest ratio is only 0.35, far less than the value demanded by local construction specifications (0.8). The caves located at K50 ...
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| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2019-01-01
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| Series: | Advances in Civil Engineering |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/3607574 |
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| author | Zhen Zhang Zhongda Chen |
| author_facet | Zhen Zhang Zhongda Chen |
| author_sort | Zhen Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Dozens of underground karst caves were found before constructing the Changli highway. The thickness-to-span ratio of nearly half of the caves is less than 0.05, and the greatest ratio is only 0.35, far less than the value demanded by local construction specifications (0.8). The caves located at K50 + 700 and K178 + 800 are by far the only two caves that have become unstable. Only one passive measure was taken when constructing the highway, i.e., building 0.5 m thick continuous reinforced concrete slabs above the embankment; this measure did not contribute to the improvement of the stability of the underground caves. Numerical solutions based on strength reduction and analytical solutions based on the beam hypothesis are used to assess the stability of underground caves. The capacity of an underground cave to bear embankment construction is observed to be proportional to the tensile strength of the rock mass and the square of the thickness-to-span ratio of the cave roof. The tensile strength of the rock mass is ψ times lower than that of the intact rock. The value of ψ is mainly determined by the geological strength index (GSI). To prevent instability of underground caves, the embankment height should be reasonably controlled. However, local construction specifications requiring that the thickness-to-span ratio of underground cave be greater than 0.8 are conservative. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3de28819a89d41a4a6927124c64ab065 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1687-8086 1687-8094 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2019-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Advances in Civil Engineering |
| spelling | doaj-art-3de28819a89d41a4a6927124c64ab0652025-02-03T05:52:16ZengWileyAdvances in Civil Engineering1687-80861687-80942019-01-01201910.1155/2019/36075743607574Constraint Embankment Construction to Prevent the Collapse of Underground CavesZhen Zhang0Zhongda Chen1Key Laboratory for Special Area Highway Engineering of Ministry of Education, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710064, ChinaKey Laboratory for Special Area Highway Engineering of Ministry of Education, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710064, ChinaDozens of underground karst caves were found before constructing the Changli highway. The thickness-to-span ratio of nearly half of the caves is less than 0.05, and the greatest ratio is only 0.35, far less than the value demanded by local construction specifications (0.8). The caves located at K50 + 700 and K178 + 800 are by far the only two caves that have become unstable. Only one passive measure was taken when constructing the highway, i.e., building 0.5 m thick continuous reinforced concrete slabs above the embankment; this measure did not contribute to the improvement of the stability of the underground caves. Numerical solutions based on strength reduction and analytical solutions based on the beam hypothesis are used to assess the stability of underground caves. The capacity of an underground cave to bear embankment construction is observed to be proportional to the tensile strength of the rock mass and the square of the thickness-to-span ratio of the cave roof. The tensile strength of the rock mass is ψ times lower than that of the intact rock. The value of ψ is mainly determined by the geological strength index (GSI). To prevent instability of underground caves, the embankment height should be reasonably controlled. However, local construction specifications requiring that the thickness-to-span ratio of underground cave be greater than 0.8 are conservative.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/3607574 |
| spellingShingle | Zhen Zhang Zhongda Chen Constraint Embankment Construction to Prevent the Collapse of Underground Caves Advances in Civil Engineering |
| title | Constraint Embankment Construction to Prevent the Collapse of Underground Caves |
| title_full | Constraint Embankment Construction to Prevent the Collapse of Underground Caves |
| title_fullStr | Constraint Embankment Construction to Prevent the Collapse of Underground Caves |
| title_full_unstemmed | Constraint Embankment Construction to Prevent the Collapse of Underground Caves |
| title_short | Constraint Embankment Construction to Prevent the Collapse of Underground Caves |
| title_sort | constraint embankment construction to prevent the collapse of underground caves |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/3607574 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT zhenzhang constraintembankmentconstructiontopreventthecollapseofundergroundcaves AT zhongdachen constraintembankmentconstructiontopreventthecollapseofundergroundcaves |