HYDROGEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION AND MONITORING ANALYSIS OF WATER-RELATED HAZARDS IN OPERATIONAL HIGHWAY TUNNELS IN WATER-RICH REGIONS

19th WORLD CONFERENCE OF THE ASSOCIATED RESEARCH CENTRES FOR THE URBAN UNDERGROUND SPACE, Belgrade, Serbia, November 4-7, 2025. (Paper No: 3.11.162,  pp. 560-572)

 

АУТОР(И) / AUTHOR(S): Yubo Luo, Junsheng Yang, Qi He, Zhiheng Zhu, Youcai Tan

 

Download Full Pdf   

DOI:  10.46793/ACUUS2025.3.11.162

САЖЕТАК / ABSTRACT:

Water-related hazards frequently occur in operational highway tunnels in Guangdong Province, China, posing significant risks to tunnel safety and stability. This study combines hydrogeological investigations with an analysis of 36 documented cases from six tunnels in the region. The key characteristics examined include hazard depth and location within the tunnel, surrounding rock lithology, hazard manifestations, rock mass quality, preferential seepage pathways, and surface topography, all of which were evaluated for their influence on hazard occurrence. In the Dayaoshan No. 1 Tunnel, monitoring instruments were installed to obtain six months of continuous rainfall and water pressure data, which facilitated an investigation of their correlations. The findings indicate that poor rock mass quality, intense rock weathering, concentrated heavy rainfall, runoff-converging topography, and subsurface preferential seepage pathways are critical contributors to water-related hazards in tunnels. The water pressure response to rainfall demonstrates both temporal lag and spatial variability, with a lag time of approximately 3–7days in this case. Moreover, drainage blockages were found to sustain elevated water pressure levels. Based on the case study, the formation of tunnel water-related hazards can be generalized into three sequential stages: (1) continuous heavy rainfall induces rapid infiltration through preferential pathways; (2) drainage system failure maintains high water pressure; and (3) prolonged high water pressure ultimately leads to structural damage.

КЉУЧНЕ РЕЧИ / KEYWORDS:

water-related hazards, operational highway tunnels, rainfall–water pressure monitoring, hydrogeological investigation

ПРОЈЕКАТ / ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant number 52378422) and Research Project on the Post-Evaluation Methodology System and Key Maintenance Technologies for Highway Tunnel Drainage Systems.

ЛИТЕРАТУРА / REFERENCES:

  • Li, L., Lei, T., Li, S., Zhang, Q., Xu, Z., Shi, S., & Zhou, Z. (2015). Risk assessment of water inrush in karst tunnels and software development. Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 8(4), 1843–1854. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-014-1365-3
  • Wang, X., Li, S., Xu, Z., Li, X., Lin, P., & Lin, C. (2019). An interval risk assessment method and management of water inflow and inrush in course of karst tunnel excavation. Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology, 92, 103033. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2019.103033
  • Wu, X., Feng, Z., Yang, S., Qin, Y., Chen, H., & Liu, Y. (2024). Safety risk perception and control of water inrush during tunnel excavation in karst areas: An improved uncertain information fusion method. Automation in Construction, 163, 105421. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2024.105421
  • Li, Z., Chen, Z., He, C., Chen, K., Zhang, H., Ma, C., Li, X., & Liu, M. (2023). Experimental simulation of seepage field distribution for small interval tunnel under varying-head infiltration. Transportation Geotechnics, 41, 101029. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trgeo.2023.101029
  • Lin, P., Li, S. C., Xu, Z. H., Wang, J., & Huang, X. (2019). Water Inflow Prediction during Heavy Rain While Tunneling through Karst Fissured Zones. International Journal of Geomechanics, 19(8), 04019093. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GM.1943-5622.0001478
  • Wang, J., Chen, Y., Nie, J., Yan, Z., Zhai, P., & Feng, J. (2022). On the role of anthropogenic warming and wetting in the July 2021 Henan record-shattering rainfall. Science Bulletin, 67(20), 2055–2059. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scib.2022.09.011
  • Zhang, S., Song, D., Ye, F., Fu, W., Zhang, B., & Xiao, Q. (2024). Research on flow field characteristics in the karst tunnel face drilling hole (conduit) under the coupling between turbulence and seepage. Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology, 143, 105455. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2023.105455
  • Li, S., Xu, Z., Huang, X., Lin, P., Zhao, X., Zhang, Q., Yang, L., Zhang, X., Sun, H., & Pan, D. (2018). Classification, geological identification, hazard mode and typical case studies of hazard-causing structures for water and mud inrush in tunnels. Chinese Journal of Rock Mechanics and Engineering, 5, 1041–1069. https://doi.org/10.13722/j.cnki.jrme.2017.1332 (in Chinese)
  • Fan, H., Chen, H., Zhao, D., Zhu, Z., Zhao, Z., Zhu, Y., & Gao, X. (2024). Study on lining water pressure distribution and early warning control standard of in-service karst tunnel. Rock and Soil Mechanics, 45(7), 2153–2166. https://doi.org/10.26599/RSM.2024.9436338
  • Fan, H., Zhang, Y., He, S., Wang, K., Wang, X., & Wang, H. (2018). Hazards and treatment of karst tunneling in Qinling-Daba mountainous area: Overview and lessons learnt from Yichang–Wanzhou railway system. Environmental Earth Sciences, 77(19), 679. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-018-7860-1
  • Ou, X., Ouyang, L., Zheng, X., & Zhang, X. (2024). Hydrogeological analysis and remediation strategies for water inrush hazards in highway karst tunnels. Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology, 152, 105929. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2024.105929
  • Ma, Y., Yang, J., Li, L., & Li, Y. (2022). Analysis on ultimate water pressure and treatment measures of tunnels operating in water rich areas based on water hazard investigation. Alexandria Engineering Journal, 61(8), 6581–6589. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2021.11.040
  • Peng, Y., Wu, L., Zuo, Q., Chen, C., & Hao, Y. (2020). Risk assessment of water inrush in tunnel through water-rich fault based on AHP-Cloud model. Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk, 11(1), 301–317. https://doi.org/10.1080/19475705.2020.1722760
  • Wang, Y., Yin, X., Jing, H., Liu, R., & Su, H. (2016). A novel cloud model for risk analysis of water inrush in karst tunnels. Environmental Earth Sciences, 75(22), 1450. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-016-6260-7
  • Zhao, R., Zhang, L., Hu, A., Kai, S., & Fan, C. (2024). Risk assessment of karst water inrush in tunnel engineering based on improved game theory and uncertainty measure theory. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 20284. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-71214-8
  • Lyu, H.-M., & Yin, Z.-Y. (2023). Flood susceptibility prediction using tree-based machine learning models in the GBA. Sustainable Cities and Society, 97, 104744. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2023.104744
  • Čokorilo Ilić, M., Mladenović, A., Ćuk, M., & Jemcov, I. (2019). The Importance of Detailed Groundwater Monitoring for Underground Structure in Karst (Case Study: HPP Pirot, Southeastern Serbia). Water, 11(3), 603. https://doi.org/10.3390/w11030603
  • Wang, S., Li, L., Cheng, S., Yang, J., Jin, H., Gao, S., & Wen, T. (2021). Study on an improved real-time monitoring and fusion prewarning method for water inrush in tunnels. Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology, 112, 103884. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2021.103884
  • Chang, Y., Wu, J., & Liu, L. (2015). Effects of the conduit network on the spring hydrograph of the karst aquifer. Journal of Hydrology, 527, 517–530. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2015.05.006
  • Gao, Y., Huang, F., Wang, D. (2024). Evaluating physical controls on conduit flow contribution to spring discharge. Journal of Hydrology 630, 130754. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2024.130754
  • Gouy, A., Collon, P., Bailly-Comte, V., Galin, E., Antoine, C., Thebault, B., & Landrein, P. (2024). KarstNSim: A graph-based method for 3D geologically-driven simulation of karst networks. Journal of Hydrology, 632, 130878. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2024.130878
  • Pardo-Igúzquiza, E., Dowd, P. A., Xu, C., & Durán-Valsero, J. J. (2012). Stochastic simulation of karst conduit networks. Advances in Water Resources, 35, 141–150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2011.09.014
  • Luo, Y., Yang, J., Xie, Y., Fu, J., & Zhang, C. (2024). Investigation on evolution mechanism and treatment of invert damage in operating railway tunnels under heavy rainfall. Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment, 83(5), 160. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-024-03655-4
  • Xue, Y., Zhang, W., Wang, Y., Luo, W., Jia, F., Li, S., & Pang, H. (2023). Serviceability evaluation of highway tunnels based on data mining and machine learning: A case study of continental United States. Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 142, 105418. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2023.105418
  • Yin, M., Jiang, H., Jiang, Y., Sun, Z., & Wu, Q. (2018). Effect of the excavation clearance of an under-crossing shield tunnel on existing shield tunnels. Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 78, 245–258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2018.04.034
  • Wang, C., Wang, X., Majdalani, S., Guinot, V., & Jourde, H. (2020). Influence of dual conduit structure on solute transport in karst tracer tests: An experimental laboratory study. Journal of Hydrology, 590, 125255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2020.125255