Abstract: Water inrush, which is one of the challenging issues and hot topics in the tunneling industry, is very easy to occur during the construction of karst tunnels. The mechanism of water inrush of karst tunnels is discussed and analyzed in the paper: the water inrush of karst tunnels is generally divided into three steps, i.e., the forming of the hazard source, the forming of the water inrush passage and the failure of the anti-inrush rock mass. The failure of the anti-inrush rock mass of karst tunnels are classified into 5 types, i. e., the integral tensile-shear failure, the hydraulic fracturing, the infiltrationinduced sliding of the filling medium, the loss of key blocks and the comprehensive water inrush mode. The failure mechanism is studied on basis of typical cases and by means of numerical simulation or theoretical analysis. Conclusion is drawn that most of the water inrushes in actual tunneling are comprehensive water inrushes, which are the comprehensive results of the interrelation and interaction of various water inrush types, and that different types of water inrushes have related continuity and progressive evolution relationships under certain conditions.
Keywords: karst tunnel; water inrush; mechanism; numerical simulation; failure mechanism
Source: Chinese Railways No.5 2023 Serial No.61
