| Abstract: | This paper attempts to present questions associated with the stability of advanced vault excavations which are driven according to the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM) without lining of the temporary invert. The dimensions of the investigated cross-section correspond to those of the tunnels driven on the new high-speed tracks for the German Federal Railways. Two possible modes of failure are investigated with the aid of continuum mechanics analyses according to the finite element method. Reference is made to structural measures which may positively influence the stability of this construction stage. Furthermore, the manner in which the stress-strain behaviour of a horizontal alternating sequence with open vertical discontinuities may be taken into consideration in a continuum mechanics analysis is also demonstrated. The analysis results presented clearly show that the load-carrying action of the rock mass which characterizes the NATM may be better described by rock mechanics analyses according to the finite element method than by conventional procedures. |
