KE WU et al: A STUDY ON NEW SOIL-SIMILAR MATERIAL FOR TEST MODELS TO INVESTIGATE THE …

A Study on New Soil-Similar Material for Test Models to Investigate the Effect of
Wet-Dry Cycles on the Expansion of Soil Surrounding Tunnels

Ke WU *, Wen ZHANG, Haotian WU, Yajun WANG, Yalin YU

School of Civil Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan Shandong, 250061, P.R. China

Abstract - With the development of highway and high-speed railway construction in China, increasingly more tunnels are being
built. The areas which have to bear the volume expansion and reduction of soil around tunnels are subject to conditions of wetting
and drying which exert enormous forces on tunnel walls. These can easily lead to tunnel deformation exceeding the design values
causing tunnel collapse. To understand the failure mechanism of such cases many researchers used numerical simulation and
theoretical analysis. However, physical test models have not been widely used because the similar material for the expansive soil is
not easy to compound. In this paper we propose and develop a new similar material for the expansive soil around tunnels and use it
in a test model to simulate most features during the wet-dry cycles. Then, the failure mechanism and deformation rules are
investigated using the new similar material. The results show the new material behaves well in the test model.

Keywords- similar material, expansive soil, tunnel, model test, deformation.

I. INTRODUCTION
The expansive soil is one medium of geological
hazard in civil engineering, which is widely distributing in
the south west of China [1]. With the development of
highway and high-speed railway, a lot of tunnels in civil
engineering have to be built in those areas. As we all
know, the expansive soil has many features such as water
swelling and dry shrinking, which is easy to cause the
surrounding rock of tunnel to bring the large deformation
[2]
. So, many researches are used the theoretical deduction,
numerical simulation and basic experiments of soil
mechanics to investigate the failure mechanism of tunnel
in expansive soil area [3-6]. However, the model test, as
one research method, is less used to study the
characteristics of expansive soil [7, 8]. One reason is
difficult for similar material to simulate the expansive soil
[9]
. For this reason, one new model test similar material of
expansive soil is researched and defined which can
simulate the most features of expansive soil during
wetting and drying cycles. Then, the failure mechanism
and deformation rules of expansive soil tunnel are
investigated based on the new similar material.
swelling soil. For strong expansive soil, the similar
material is comprised of 100 parts of clay and greater than
or equal to 22 parts but less than 30 parts of swelling soil.
And for model test similar material of expansive soil
in tunnel engineering, the similar material preparation
process is following,
 The clay and swelling soil are screening from
4.75m cheese;
 According to the actual calculation, the expansive
level of expansive soil is determined by the test;
 The raw material weight ratio is defined by
expansive level. Then, the different expansive level of
expansive soil are researched for model test;
 The similar materials are feeding and mixing
which is to make the material mixed evenly;
 Comparing the initial water content of actual
material and model test similar material, the water is
mixing for meeting the design water content;
 According to the compaction degree control
method, the model test similar materials are compacted
and produced.
For example, the mechanical properties of similar
material for medium expansive soil is shown as table 1.

II. SIMILAR MATERIAL OF EXPANSIVE SOIL

TABLE I. THE COMPOSITION AND PHYSICAL
The model test similar material of expansive soil is MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MATERIALS OF MEDIUM
EXPANSIVE SOIL.
mainly comprised of clay and swelling soil which are
(I-1)
screening from 4.75m cheese. For different expansive
level, it is made by weight ratio of ingredients. For weak Proportion of raw material
Level Free expansion ratio /% 
expansive soil, the similar material is comprised of 100 Clay Swelling Soil
parts of clay and greater than or equal to 2 parts but less
than 10 parts of swelling soil. For medium expansive soil, medium 100 10 60
the similar material is comprised of 100 parts of clay and
greater than or equal to 10 parts but less than 22 parts of

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 KE WU et al: A STUDY ON NEW SOIL-SIMILAR MATERIAL FOR TEST MODELS TO INVESTIGATE THE …

(I-2) proportion and it is brittle materials, which has only the

Load expansion ratio /%
mechanical properties of the compressive and tensile
Level
10KPa 25KPa 50KPa properties. And the anchor is used aluminum wire to
medium 5.41 3.89 3.14 simulation. So, the mechanical parameters of prototype
(I-3) and model is given in table 2.
Expansion Plasticity Compaction Initial water TABLE II. THE MECHANICAL PARAMETERS OF
Level force index degree content PROTOTYPE AND MODEL TEST.
/KPa /% /% /% (II-1)
medium 85.38 26.2 0.96 25.7 Modulus of elasticity Cohesional strength
Structure
E/GPa c/kPa
type
Prototype Model test Prototype Model test
IV level of
III. TEST MODEL FOR EXPANSIVE SOIL surrounding 9.9 0.198 200 4.0
AROUND TUNNELS rock
V level of
surrounding 5.2 0.104 50 1.0
According to the Nahe tunnel in the high-speed rock
railway of YunGui in Guangxi province, the proportion of Two lining
31 0.62
model test is 1:50 and the new similar material of support
expansive soil is filling in the model test which is used the Initial support 23 0.46
medium expansive level. The size of model test is shown Anchor 210 4.2
in figure 1. Then, according to the proportion of model (II-2)
test and medium expansive level, the similar material of Poisson’s ratio u Friction angle φ/°
Structure type
expansive soil is compounded, which also mixes a little of Prototype Model test Prototype Model test
quartz sand and barite powder for auxiliary material. The IV level of
0.17 0.17 30 30
purpose of adding quartz sand is to reduce the strength surrounding rock
V level of
and elastic modulus of material. When the certain content surrounding rock
0.17 0.17 25 25
of barite powder and bulk density of the material will be Two lining support 0.2 0.2
increased with the content of quartz sand decreased. Initial support 0.2 0.2
When the barite powder, quartz sand, a certain amount of Anchor 0.2 0.2
water, the material elastic modulus and compressive (II-3)
strength will increase with the increase of the content of Bulk density r/kNm-3
gypsum. And, when a certain amount of quartz sand, the Structure type
Prototype Model test
material bulk density, compressive strength, elastic model IV level of surrounding rock 16.8 16.8
is also increasing with the increase of barite powder V level of surrounding rock 16.6 16.6
content. Two lining support 25 25
Initial support 23 23
Anchor 23 23

The deformation of surrounding rock in expansive soil

Figure 1. Size of test model.
The materials of model test are divided into three
categories, which are the main body of rock, the initial
support or two lining similar materials and the bolt similar
materials. Among them, the initial support similar
material is used the gypsum to simulation and applied in
the outside of two lining in model test, which can make
the lining and surrounding rock fully pressuring. The two
lining support is composed of lime and water in a certain
tunnel is measuring by micro displacement meters. And,
the stresses of surrounding rock and supports are obtained
by miniature earth pressure box. All data from sensors are
collected in the data acquisition instrument YE2539.
Based on the similar materials and monitoring instruments,
the model test is found in figure 2. Among them, the
tunnel’s excavation in the model test is used artificial
excavation by upper and lower steps excavation, likely as
figure 3. And, the rainfall is realized through the artificial
rainfall which is used one plastic bucket with lots of 2mm
holes. The time of rainfall is converted by the actual
rainfall time.

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 KE WU et al: A STUDY ON NEW SOIL-SIMILAR MATERIAL FOR TEST MODELS TO INVESTIGATE THE …
Figure 2. Test Model.
Figure 3. Artificial excavation.
IV. RESULTS OF TEST MODEL
The layout of monitoring points is shown in figure 4.
After the artificial rainfall, the tunnel in test model is
beginning to be excavated. All monitoring instruments are
recording the strain and stress of surrounding rock of
expansive soil tunnel.
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Figure 4. Layout of monitoring points.
Figure 5 gives the displacement of different
monitoring points. The monitoring points have 4 points
which are from inside to outside of tunnel. It can be
observed that: (1) the displacements of 4 points are
increasing with the development of time of artificial
rainfall and excavation. (2) The displacement of inside
point of tunnel is larger than that of outside. (3) The
curves of displacement have two notable changing. The
first one is because that expansive soils are wetting and
exposing to the atmosphere, which cause the similar
material volume expansion. The second one is because
that the lower step is excavated which leads surrounding
rock of tunnel to deform. (4) The displacements of
expansive soil tunnel are increasing when they are wetting
and exposing to the atmosphere. It is because of the
features of expansive soil.
Figure 5. Displacement of different monitoring points.
Figure 6 gives the pressure of different monitoring
points. The monitoring points have 4 points which are
from inside to outside of tunnel. It can be obtained that:(1)
the earth pressures of different monitoring points are
increasing with the development of artificial rainfall and
excavation. (2) The pressure of inside point of tunnel is
larger than that of outside. These features of curves are
similar to the displacements of different monitoring points.
(3) The curves of earth pressures have not two notable
changing like as the curves of displacements. These are
 
 KE WU et al: A STUDY ON NEW SOIL-SIMILAR MATERIAL FOR TEST MODELS TO INVESTIGATE THE …
always increasing because the expansive soils are wetting
and their volumes are expansion. Only in the lower step
excavation, the curves of earth pressures are fluctuating
because the surrounding rock are excavation unloading.
Figure 6. Pressure of different monitoring points.
V. CONCLUSIONS
In order to investigate the features of expansive soil
tunnel in model test during wetting and drying cycles, one
new similar material of expansive soils is researching and
defining which can simulate the most features of
expansive soil during wetting and drying cycles. Then, the
displacement and earth pressure rules of expansive soil
tunnel are investigated based on the new similar material.
Through the research and development of new similar
material, those are able to obtain that the new similar
material is good at simulate the expansive soil and is able
to use for model test to investigate the features of
expansive soil tunnel subjected to wetting and drying
cycles.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This research was financially supported by National
Natural Science Fund(51308323) and Open Fund of
Research Center of Dam safety and Disease Control in
Ministry of Water Resources(2014008).
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