Tunnel Excavation

Application ID: 9750


This example models the behavior of soil during a tunnel excavation. The surface settlement and the width of the plastic region around the tunnel are important parameters needed to predict required reinforcements during the excavation.

Two study steps are used. The first study computes the stress state of the soil before excavating the tunnel. The second computes the elastoplastic behavior after soil removal, and uses the in situ stresses calculated from the first step. In the first step, the soil is considered elastic and in the second step, a soil plasticity feature with the Drucker–Prager criterion is added. The model is solved in 2D with plane strain conditions.

This model example illustrates applications of this type that would nominally be built using the following products: