Abstract: | Three-dimensional models of a subaqueous tunnel were built on a shaking table and vibrated for the purpose of investigating the dynamic behaviour of the tunnel. The material of the soft surface layer was gelatin gel and that of the tunnel was silicon rubber. In addition, earthquake observations at the site of the real subaqueous tunnel have been carried out using accelerometers and strain gauges set on the walls of the tunnel. At the site, micro-tremors were also measured. In these studies, it was noted that non-uniform displacements of the ground along the tunnel axis were caused by variations of the dynamic behaviour of the ground, and that the tunnel deforms correspondingly to the varying deformations of the ground. From these experimental results, a mathematical model of the subaqueous tunnel was formulated for anti-seismic design studies. |