Complex Predictions for Stress and Displacement of Deep Buried Tunnels with Concrete Lining in Parallel Inclined Multi-Layered Surrounding Rocks
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. The Establishment of the Mechanical Model
- (1)
- The deeply buried composite surrounding rock is composed of several inclined strata interlayered with each other. The interfaces between the strata are parallel and non-intersecting. Each stratum is regarded as a homogeneous, isotropic, linear elastic body, which enables explicit analytical derivations while still reflecting the key interlayer stiffness mismatch that governs stress redistribution. The strata are assumed to remain perfectly bonded, without sliding or separation. This assumption is appropriate for deeply buried rock masses where strong interlayer confinement prevents noticeable slip or separation. In geological settings with weakly bonded or soft interlayers (e.g., weak fault zones), interlayer slip may occur and more realistic interaction models would be required. In this study, the analysis focuses on conditions where the interlayers are strongly constrained and can be reasonably treated as perfectly bonded.
- (2)
- Owing to the large burial depth of the tunnel, the effect of gravity is neglected, as the far-field in situ stresses significantly exceed the self-weight component.
- (3)
- The tunnel is sufficiently long in the longitudinal direction, so the problem is treated as a plane strain condition, a standard assumption for deep and long tunnels with negligible end effects.
3. Solution for Stresses and Displacements
3.1. Complex Functions and Conformal Mapping
3.2. Solution of Stress and Displacement Components
3.3. Solution of Undetermined Complex Coefficients
3.4. Boundary Condition Constraint Equations
- (1)
- Continuity conditions at stratum interfaces
- (2)
- Stress conditions on the inner boundary of the concrete lining
- (3)
- Interaction equations between the concrete lining and the surrounding rock
4. Verification of the Solution Method
4.1. Verification of Boundary Conditions
4.2. Numerical Validation
5. Conclusions
- (1)
- The analytical model effectively captures the complex mechanical characteristics arising from the differing properties of arbitrarily inclined multilayered rock strata. This departs significantly from conventional approaches that treat the surrounding rock as a single homogeneous medium. The model also incorporates the concrete lining and considers two typical extreme interface conditions between the lining and the rock—no-slip and fully-slip. By applying the non-iterative complex variable function theory, explicit stress and displacement solutions are obtained. These solutions enable efficient and accurate analysis of the coupled mechanical response of inclined multilayered rock and concrete lining structures in multiply connected domains with multiple planar boundaries.
- (2)
- Comprehensive boundary condition checks under varying contact modes, rock layer inclinations, and lateral pressure coefficients indicate that the stress calculation error on the inner surface of the concrete lining remains on the order of 10−2 Pa. The stress and displacement component curves on both sides of the rock–concrete lining and rock layer interfaces closely coincide, demonstrating that the proposed method effectively satisfies all boundary and continuity conditions.
- (3)
- Comparisons with numerical simulations under non-hydrostatic stress fields show that the analytical predictions of von Mises stress and displacement agree closely with FEM results. Stress errors are generally below 0.03 MPa, displacement errors remain under 0.2 mm, and the maximum relative error of von Mises stress does not exceed 4%. The analytical method also accurately captures stress jumps at rock–layer interfaces and avoids the numerical oscillations typically caused by large stiffness contrasts, demonstrating strong stability and reliability.
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
| Z | Global physical coordinate system XOY; |
| z x + iy | Global physical coordinate in XOY; |
| Bij | The j-th independent boundary of the i-th inclined stratum; |
| Zij | Local physical coordinate system of Bij; |
| zij | Local physical coordinate in Zij; |
| ζij | Local mapping coordinate of zij using the conformal mapping function; |
| ωij | Conformal mapping function for Bij; |
| λij | Mapping scaling factor; |
| β | Inclination angle of parallel inclined multi-layered surrounding rocks; |
| Φij(zij), Ψij(zij) | The set of analytic complex potential functions for Bij; |
| φij(ζij), ψij(ζij) | Laurent series expansions of Φij(zij), Ψij(zij) in the mapped plane; |
| aij,0, aij,k, bij,0, bij,k | Undetermined complex coefficients in φij(ζij), ψij(ζij); |
| Ei, μi | Elastic modulus and Poisson’s ratio of the i-th stratum; |
| El, μl | Elastic modulus and Poisson’s ratio of the concrete lining; |
| Gi | Shear modulus of the i-th stratum, ; |
| κi | Material parameter of the i-th stratum, ; |
| R, r | Outer and inner diameters of the concrete lining; |
| P∞, τ∞ | Cartesian components of far-field stresses; |
| λ | Lateral pressure coefficient; |
| Polar components of far-field stresses; | |
| p0 | Normal inward pressure on the inner boundary of the concrete lining; |
| Cartesian components of stresses in the i-th stratum; | |
| Cartesian components of displacements in the i-th stratum; | |
| Polar components of stresses in the i-th stratum; | |
| Polar components of displacements in the i-th stratum; | |
| Cartesian components of stresses in the concrete lining; | |
| Cartesian components of displacements in the concrete lining; | |
| Polar components of stresses in the concrete lining; | |
| Polar components of displacements in the concrete lining. |
Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
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| Normal contact properties between the surrounding rock and the concrete lining | ||
| Tightly bonded normal contact | (33) | |
| (34) | ||
| Tangential contact properties between the surrounding rock and the concrete lining | ||
| Smooth tangential contact | (35) | |
| Fully bonded tangential contact | (36) | |
| (37) | ||
| Inner boundary of the concrete lining: B01 | Interface between surrounding rock and concrete lining: B23-B01 | Interface between rock strata: B21-B11 | |
| σρ | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
| τρθ | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
| uρ | ![]() | ![]() | |
| uθ | ![]() | ![]() |
| Inner boundary of the concrete lining: B01 | Interface between surrounding rock and concrete lining: B23-B01 | Interface between rock strata: B21-B11 | |
| σρ | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
| τρθ | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
| uρ | ![]() | ![]() | |
| uθ | ![]() |
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Hong, X.; Lin, P.; Liu, H.; Zhang, Z.; Xia, Y.; Deng, Z. Complex Predictions for Stress and Displacement of Deep Buried Tunnels with Concrete Lining in Parallel Inclined Multi-Layered Surrounding Rocks. Appl. Sci. 2025, 15, 13052. https://doi.org/10.3390/app152413052
Hong X, Lin P, Liu H, Zhang Z, Xia Y, Deng Z. Complex Predictions for Stress and Displacement of Deep Buried Tunnels with Concrete Lining in Parallel Inclined Multi-Layered Surrounding Rocks. Applied Sciences. 2025; 15(24):13052. https://doi.org/10.3390/app152413052
Chicago/Turabian StyleHong, Xuefei, Peng Lin, Haiyan Liu, Zongliang Zhang, Yong Xia, and Zhiyun Deng. 2025. "Complex Predictions for Stress and Displacement of Deep Buried Tunnels with Concrete Lining in Parallel Inclined Multi-Layered Surrounding Rocks" Applied Sciences 15, no. 24: 13052. https://doi.org/10.3390/app152413052
APA StyleHong, X., Lin, P., Liu, H., Zhang, Z., Xia, Y., & Deng, Z. (2025). Complex Predictions for Stress and Displacement of Deep Buried Tunnels with Concrete Lining in Parallel Inclined Multi-Layered Surrounding Rocks. Applied Sciences, 15(24), 13052. https://doi.org/10.3390/app152413052




















