Characteristics of Vibration Waves Measured in Concrete Lining of Excavated Tunnel during Blasting in Adjacent Tunnel

The effect of a blasting vibration from an excavating tunnel on an adjacent excavated tunnel is of great importance for the stability and security of twin tunnels. Due to the relatively small distance between the tunnel face of the excavating tunnel and the concrete lining of the excavated tunnel, the impact of blasting could be significant and should be considered in a practical project. In order to control the blasting scales during the excavation of one tunnel and minimize the effect of blasting on the adjacent one, research based on field-blasting tests performed on twin tunnels is presented in this study. The particle velocities on the concrete lining of the excavating tunnel caused by blasting from the adjacent excavated tunnel were measured and analysed during six rounds of blasts. According to the measured vibration waves, it was clear that the peak particle velocity (PPV) from each blast was always induced by cut blasting, therefore, the maximum vibration due to each blast was mainly dependent on cut blasting. The measured maximum PPV for all the blasts was 15.55 cm/s, corresponding to a maximum tensile stress of 1.44 MPa observed on the concrete lining, which was smaller than the tensile strength of the concrete lining, in accordance with the one-dimensional elastic-wave theory. Moreover, the attenuation of the vibration waves varied in different regions, and they could be utilized to demonstrate the impact characteristics of the blasting; e.g., the particle velocities in the region along the excavating direction were 1.12 to 1.79 times larger than those in the region opposite to the excavating direction, and the difference increased with the increasing distance to the blasting source. The particle velocities on the side of the excavated tunnel close to the excavating tunnel were larger than those on the other side of the excavated tunnel. However, the particle velocities of the two aforementioned regions were similar when the distance between the measuring point and the blasting source was more than 6 m in the longitudinal direction of the tunnels. Furthermore, the measured vibration waves could be used to evaluate and improve the blast designs of tunnelling with the drill-and-blast method.