Dr. Sauer & Partners Supports Masters Thesis

Since 21st March 2016, Dr. Sauer & Partners has been supporting a Masters Thesis in coordination with the Technical University of Graz. The topic of the thesis is “Trigger Values in Sprayed Concrete Lined (SCL) Shallow Tunnels” and is prepared by Thomas Meixner. He has been supported by Dr. Ali Nashekian and Dr. Alexandra Onisie-Moldovan at Dr. Sauer & Partners and by Ao.Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.techn. M.Sc. tit.Univ.-Prof. Helmut Schweiger at the Technical University of Graz.

During his time with Dr. Sauer & Partners, different approaches concerning trigger values for in-tunnel monitoring of SCL tunnels were studied and reviewed. Utilising and developing some of the approaches in the paper of Nasekhian et al. (2016) which was presented at the Eastern European Tunnelling Conference in Prague this year, a two dimesional (2D) model of the same tunnel assets was prepared in the Finite Element programme Phase 2.

The purpose was to observe if the variation of different parameters cause the same deviations of displacements and lining forces in 2D as in the 3D approach. In 2D, two different methods, namely the stiffness method and stress method have been employed to see their differences in modelling and to compare the results to each other and the three dimensional model.

In-tunnel monitoring levels and the associated factors:

3D model of tunnel assets and its equivalent 2D model used in the research