Reliability analysis of circular tunnel with consideration of the strength limit state

Probability-based design codes have been developed to sufficiently confirm the safety level of structures. One of the most acceptable probability-based approaches is Load Resistance Factor Design (LRFD), which measures the safety level of the structures in terms of the reliability index. The main contribution of this paper is to calibrate the load and resistance factors of the design code for tunnels. The load and resistance factors are calculated using the available statistical models and probability-based procedures. The major steps include selection of representative structures, consideration of the limit state functions, calculation of reliability for the selected structures, selection of the target reliability index and calculation of load factors and resistance factors. The load and resistance models are reviewed. Statistical models of resistance (load carrying capacity) are summarized for strength limit state in bending, shear and compression. The reliability indices are calculated for several segments of a selected circular tunnel designed according to the tunnel manual report (Tunnel Manual). The novelty of this paper is the selection of the target reliability. In doing so, the uniform spectrum of reliability indices is proposed based on the probability paper. The final recommendation is proposed based on the closeness to the target reliability index.