Analytical Solution for Longitudinal Seismic Responses of Circular Tunnel Crossing Fault Zone

ABSTRACT This paper proposes a simplified analytical solution for longitudinal seismic responses of a circular tunnel crossing a fault zone under longitudinally propagating shear waves. The transmissions and reflections of shear waves at two geological interfaces between the fault zone and intact rock are considered when calculating the free‐field displacement. An improved elastic foundation beam model considering different tangential contact conditions at the tunnel‒rock interface is also adopted. According to the continuous conditions at the two geological interfaces, explicit expressions for the tunnel displacement, bending moment, and shearing force are given. The effectiveness of the proposed analytical solution is validated via numerical simulations, and the importance of accounting for tangential contact conditions at the tunnel‒rock interface is emphasized. Moreover, parametric studies are performed to investigate the effects of the fault zone width, rock conditions, tunnel lining stiffness, tangential contact conditions, and earthquake frequency on the deformation and internal forces of tunnels subjected to seismic waves. This novel analytical solution can be utilized to quickly estimate the longitudinal seismic responses of circular tunnels crossing fault zones subjected to longitudinally propagating shear waves, particularly in the preliminary engineering design, and can be extended to geological conditions with multiple interfaces.