Roof failure of shallow tunnel based on simplified stochastic medium theory

The failure mechanism of tunnel roof is investigated with upper bound theorem of limit analysis. The stochastic settlement and nonlinear failure criterion are considered in the present analysis. For the collapse of tunnel roof, the surface settlement is estimated by the simplified stochastic medium theory. The failure curve expressions of collapse blocks in homogeneous and in layered soils are derived, and the effects of material parameters on the potential range of failure mechanisms are discussed. The results show that the material parameters of initial cohesion, nonlinear coefficient and unit weight have significant influences on the potential range of collapse block in homogeneous media. The proportion of collapse block increases as the initial cohesion increases, while decreases as the nonlinear coefficient and the unit weight increase. The ground surface settlement increases with the tunnel radius increasing, while the possible collapse proportion decreases with increase of the tunnel radius. In layered stratum, the study is investigated to analyze the effects of material parameters of different layered media on the proportion of possible collapse block.