A new CETU publication the impact of TBM excavation on deep foundations
The CETU, ENTPE, Gustave Eiffel University and the Société des Grands Projets have published a summary of the findings from the TULIP research project (TUnnel Boring Machines : Limiting their Impact on Piles) . Carried out between 2018 and 2024, this project included a full-scale experiment, a predication exercise, two PhD theses and a postdoctoral research project.
This document is structured into seven chapters covering the main aspects of the project. At the end of each chapter, ‘Key points and areas for attention’ provide a concise summary of the main conclusions reached. These conclusions can guide engineers in charge of new projects who are faced with issues relating to impacts on neighbouring structures in their design studies.
In particular, the TULIP project has shown that the interaction mechanisms between the tunnel boring machine, the ground and the piles are complex, and that estimating the displacements induced in the ground and on the piles remains challenging. The numerical modelling methods developed on the basis of comprehensive measurements from the full-scale experiments are now more firmly established. Whilst they should be extrapolated with caution to different situations, they can provide a basis for engineers’ considerations.
With this assistance in identifying the key parameters of their models, engineers should be better able to determine the safety margin of tunnel design and more accurately identify the uncertainties that need to be resolved through specific investigations.
The French version of the document is available here.
An English version will be published on our web site very shortly.