GS 681: Underground Excavation Technology

Syllabus​

Use and scope of underground excavation in India, methods of excavation, tunnel boring machine (TBM), drilling and blasting, trenchless technology, underground supports: shield supports, remote and automation support, lining, reinforcements, rock bolting, cable bolting, rock anchoring, roof stretching.
Underground environment: dust suppression, ventilation, lighting, communication, fire protection, underground openings: dimensions, shape, structural response, sequence of excavation, rock conditions, stress distribution and failure prediction, caving and subsidence, failures in underground excavation. Structurally control instability, influence of geometry, in-situ stress, pillar design and failure, fracture propagation, stiffness, energy and stability, static and dynamic response of rock material during excavations.
Design and construction of large excavation: hydro-power station caverns, metro-railways, large diameter trenches, water carrying tunnels, excavation for waste disposal, stability evaluation and analysis – monitoring, back analysis, case histories, instrumentation and monitoring of load and deformational characteristics of rock mass. Conventional and non-conventional monitoring of roof, side walls. Excavation in difficult situations – squeezing, freezing and swelling rock mass.

Texts/References

  • Sinha, R.S. Underground Structures: Design and Construction, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1991
  • Mahtab, M.A. and Grasso, P. Geomechanics Principal in the Design of Tunnels and Caverns in Rock, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1992
  • Esex, E.J. Geotechnical Line Reports for Underground Construction: Guidelines and Practices, American Society of Civil Engineers Pub., 1997
  • Singh, J.G. Underground Mining, Monark Press, Bruj-Kalp Publisher, Varanasi, 1999
  • Hudson, J. A. Comprehensive Rock Engineering, Vol.3&5, Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1993