Surface construction vibration impacts on underground tunnels: Approaches for using measurements and finite-element modeling to predict vibration in the frequency and time domain

Quantitative analyses of vibration impacts on underground tunnel structures were carried out on two projects. The first project was a new facility situated above an existing physics laboratory accelerator tunnel embedded in soil where the concern was vibration interference with sensitive research. Published and in-house data for construction equipment source levels were combined with measured transfer functions, between the ground surface and the tunnel, to estimate vibration transmitted to the tunnel in the frequency domain. This case study presents an approach for site-specific evaluations of construction vibration where spectral data are needed for evaluating vibration-sensitive equipment/receivers. The second project was a new facility situated above a storm relief tunnel embedded in rock where the concern was for potential vibration damage to the tunnel. A 3-D finite-element model of the rock and tunnel structure was developed to calculate the peak particle velocity and strain response of the tunnel walls in the time domain. This case study presents an approach for site-specific evaluations of construction vibration where peak velocity amplitudes and strain data are needed for evaluating structural damage potential.