RESEARCH

CURRENTLY I AM WORKING ON...

I am currently working on development of  Efficient Coupled Reliability Finite Element Limit Analysis Methods for Surcharge and Support pressure estimation of tunnels in rock masses.

Tunnel stability is one of the major issues which depends on many parameters such as the type and the condition of the geomaterials, presence of joints, faults, shear planes in case of rocks, speed of tunnel boring machine (TBM) and even the adjoining nearby underground structures. In addition, rock mass properties contain both aleatory and epistemic uncertainties due to their formation history and the lack of knowledge related to them. This makes it difficult for rock practitioners to predict the response of rock tunnels and underground excavations exactly in the field. Response predicted using deterministic methods by ignoring these uncertainties can be well different from the in-situ observed responses. This can raise many questions on the stability of tunnels from surcharge carrying capacity on the ground surface and the adequacy of the designed support measures for heavily fractured rock masses. This leads to an increase in the popularity of reliability methods over deterministic methods due to their capability of considering uncertainties in rock tunnel analysis. Hence, it is necessary to assess the stability of tunnels and underground structures so as to negate the effect of any potential catastrophes that may happen during the onset of the tunnelling process or a long way down the line i.e. long-term stability.