Water inflows in TBM driven tunnels
Abstract
Water inflows cause various degrees of difficulty in TBM tunnels. Much depends on preparedness, and on whether or not discontinuity and fault infillings are washed out in the process. This may cause exaggerated overbreak and chimney formation, an unsafe working environment and require butt-to-butt setting of steel sets. Backfilling with concrete when peak flows subside adds to the potential delays. Faulted rock may not necessarily give major water inflows if a lot of clay is present, but adjacent jointing and fracturing may give very wet conditions.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Tunneling and Rock Mechanics
Rock Mechanics and Modeling
Geotechnical Engineering and Underground Structures
Publication details
- Journal / source
- CRC Press eBooks
- Pages
- 63–64
- Publication date
- 19 January 2026
- Language
- EN
- Document type
- Book chapter