In urban regions with karst developments, grouting is commonly utilized to fill cavities. However, the extent and control standards of grouting reinforcement are primarily determined through experience and field testing, which poses challenges in ensuring its effectiveness. Based on the instability mechanism of surrounding rocks in underwater karst shield tunnels, this study develops a mechanical model for analyzing the grouting reinforcement extent of such tunnels using strength theory. The reinforcement range for karst formations at various tunnel locations is clarified, and corresponding grouting reinforcement control standards are proposed based on cusp catastrophe theory. The findings indicate the following: the primary cause of surrounding rock instability in underwater karst shield tunnels is that the reduction in surrounding rock thickness during shield tunneling modifies the original constraints and boundary conditions and disrupts the initial equilibrium state. These changes influence the water content of the surrounding rocks and disturb the surrounding rock and soil mass, leading to surrounding rock instability. When grouting causes damage to the surrounding rocks between the karst and tunnel, the system is simplified into cantilever beam and plate models for analysis. It is determined that the grouting reinforcement extent is primarily influenced by factors such as karst size, properties of the karst filling material, and tunnel span. The total potential energy of the rock mass between the karst and tunnel is calculated, leading to the development of an instability and catastrophe model for the surrounding rocks. The proposed grouting reinforcement control standards are mainly dependent on factors such as the distance of the karst, characteristics of the reinforced surrounding rocks, shield machine support force, material properties post-reinforcement, and karst size.

Microbial-induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) is an emerging in situ grouting technology for sand ground improvement, slope stability, and subgrade reinforcement, featuring rapid implementation and low energy consumption. The precipitated calcium carbonate crystals can rapidly fill and cement sand particles so as to form a new soil structure that effectively reduces liquefaction sensitivity and dynamic damage. The centrifuge shake table test is an effective method for simulating liquefaction of sandy soil layers under shear wave excitation. Many studies have been conducted on this topic in recent years. However, the study on dynamic response, especially the liquefaction resistance of MICP-cemented sands by centrifuge shake table tests, is rare. In order to investigate the cementation effect of microbial treatment, centrifuge shake table tests were performed on two models, i.e., untreated and MICP cemented sand model. The test results indicated that, compared with untreated sand model, the liquefaction resistance of the MICP model was significantly improved in terms of acceleration response, shear stiffness, stress-strain relationship, and ground surface settlement. This study contributes to a better understanding of the mechanical law in the liquefaction process and enriches the engineering application of microbial grouting treatment of sand foundation prone to liquefaction.

To study the disturbance characteristics of double-line shield tunnel excavation on sand bodies in grouting-reinforced water-rich sand stratum, a similar model test was carried out. Firstly, the physical parameters and strength indexes of the overlying soil strata of the tunnel in the water-rich sand stratum were determined by laboratory tests. The similar soil and tunnel support structures of each stratum were prepared. Then, considering the different seepage modes of upper and lower soil strata under the influence range of tunnel excavation, the model test of double-line shield tunnel excavation in a grouting-reinforced water-rich sand stratum is conducted. The variation rules of sand deformation, surface settlement, and sand body stress during the excavation of a double-line shield tunnel are analyzed utilizing monitoring and analyzing systems such as a flowmeter, micro earth pressure sensors, and dial indicators. It is found that during the excavation of the double-line tunnel, the self-stabilization ability of the grouting reinforced sand bodies is strong under the action of stable seepage. Under the influence of grouting reinforcement, the seepage path around the tunnel structure will change, the fluid-solid coupling effect will decrease, and the sand stratum will be uplifted to varying degrees. The sand body will change its mechanical properties due to the influence of seepage. The fluid-solid interaction effect will be enhanced. The fluid-solid coupling effect of soil particles and water will be further enhanced when the excavation of the subsequent tunnel is carried out. The effect of unsaturated seepage in the overlying soil stratum leads to greater stress at the arch waist of the arch tunnel. In the actual construction process, the grouting amount and grouting time should be strictly controlled. The tunnel basement is supported by anchor spray support to prevent the tunnel structure and surface uplift.

Grouting is a widely used approach to reinforce broken surrounding rock mass during the construction of underground tunnels in fault fracture zones, and its reinforcement effectiveness is highly affected by geostress. In this study, a numerical manifold method (NMM) based simulator has been developed to examine the impact of geostress conditions on grouting reinforcement during tunnel excavation. To develop this simulator, a detection technique for identifying slurry migration channels and an improved fluid -solid coupling (F -S) framework, which considers the influence of fracture properties and geostress states, is developed and incorporated into a zero -thickness cohesive element (ZE) based NMM (Co-NMM) for simulating tunnel excavation. Additionally, to simulate coagulation of injected slurry, a bonding repair algorithm is further proposed based on the ZE model. To verify the accuracy of the proposed simulator, a series of simulations about slurry migration in single fractures and fracture networks are numerically reproduced, and the results align well with analytical and laboratory test results. Furthermore, these numerical results show that neglecting the influence of geostress condition can lead to a serious overestimation of slurry migration range and reinforcement effectiveness. After validations, a series of simulations about tunnel grouting reinforcement and tunnel excavation in fault fracture zones with varying fracture densities under different geostress conditions are conducted. Based on these simulations, the influence of geostress conditions and the optimization of grouting schemes are discussed. (c) 2024 Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY -NC -ND license (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).