9/4/2019 Blog | Dewatering for Tunnels and Shafts

 
Blog | Dewatering for Tunnels and Shafts

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DEWATERING FOR TUNNELS Blog

AND SHAFTS Dewatering for
3 December 2015
Basement
Dewatering and groundwater control is often Construction
required as part of tunnelling projects – dealing with 12 March 2016
groundwater is one of the challenges of working
Groundwater can be
underground. In the past tunnelling projects have
a signi cant problem
occasionally su ered slow progress due to
when excavating for
groundwater problems, or have even been ooded
basement
out due to inundation by groundwater. However,
construction. This
there is a range of techniques that can be used to
blog discusses the
control groundwater; with careful design and
available techniques
planning groundwater need not be problem.
that can be used to

This blog discusses the groundwater control options dewater during

for tunnelling projects. basement

construction.
DEWATERING APPLICATIONS IN TUNNELLING Read More

The overall objective of dewatering on tunnel

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projects is to allow excavation, lining and other
construction works to be carried out safely in dry
and stable conditions. The most common tunnelling
situations where groundwater control techniques
are needed include:

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Construction of shafts or station boxes to launch Tweets by

@GroundwaterEng
or receive Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs), using
pumped well systems, low permeability cut-o walls Groundwater Eng
Retweeted
or a combination of these techniques.
History_of_Geology
@Geology_History
Construction of cross passages, tunnel
August 29, 1883, the
enlargement, adits or other connections where the #tsunami waves
created by #Krakatoa
ground around a tunnel or shaft may be exposed eruption create a
temporarily. This can be achieved by pumped well visible rise in English
Channel 32 hours
systems, grouting, arti cial ground freezing or a after explosion
forbes.com/sites/davi
combination of these techniques. dbre…

Pumped well dewatering for recovery of damaged

or ooded TBMs.

Pumped well dewatering to lower groundwater

levels to below invert to allow open face tunnelling Aug 29, 2019

methods to be used in otherwise unstable ground.

Groundwater Eng
This is sometimes used when a TBM designed for Retweeted

relatively stable soils present over most of the tunnel Geoscience EnvAge
@GeoscienceEA
length has to traverse a short section of alluvial or New research from
our Evidence
glacial soils which may be present in a buried
Embed View on Twitter
channel or other geological feature.
Pumped well dewatering to control groundwater
velocities to allow use of ground treatment methods
(such as arti cial ground freezing or grouting) in
problematic conditions.

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Tunnels themselves also present conditions when

the tunnel is successfully excavated and lined below
groundwater level without any apparent dewatering
measures. However, as will be described later in this
blog, some tunnel construction methods are de-facto
dewatering methods.

OBJECTIVES OF TUNNEL DEWATERING

Groundwater can cause two main types of problems

on tunnel projects. The rst potential problem is
ooding or inundation of the tunnel or shaft by
groundwater in ow. The second potential problem is
face instability or base instability due to groundwater
seepage or unrelieved groundwater pressures.

Managing Groundwater In ows

In relatively stable ground conditions (such as

ssured rock) the main challenge is to manage
groundwater in ows to prevent ooding or
inundation. In many cases, provided there is space in
the tunnel or shaft to deploy pumps of su cient
capacity to handle the water without excessively
hindering excavation and lining, even large
groundwater in ows can be managed safely and
e ectively. If in ows are too large to handle, grouting
can be used to reduce the permeability of the
material ahead of the face; this can reduce (but not
eliminate) in ows.

However, some in ow can be good, and in hard rock

tunnels the urge to seal every in ow should be
resisted, as the in ows may usefully depressurise
the ground ahead of the face, and seepage to the
tunnel may reduce with time.
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Managing Face Stability and Base Stability

In soils and soft rocks, stability of the face of a tunnel

or the base of a shaft is the principal concern. Here,
even small rates of water seepage can cause
signi cant instability and loss of ground, especially in
ne-grained sands and silts or erodible rocks. This
can lead to ‘running sand’ conditions, when high
water pressures in a granular material below or
around an excavation result in very low levels of
e ective stress. Under these conditions the soil will
lose all its strength and will ow or ‘run’ into an
excavation, lling it up with uid sand. Soil
mechanics theory tells us that ‘running sand’ is
actually a state in which a granular material can
exist, when pore water pressures are high, causing
low e ective stresses, as result of which the soil can
uidise. This insight tells us that dewatering can
reduce pore water pressures and transform running
sand into more stable ground – this has been done
many times in practice.

POSSIBLE APPROACHES TO TUNNEL DEWATERING

The geotechnical process commonly known as

dewatering is more correctly described as
groundwater control. Groundwater control on tunnel
projects can be achieved using a range of
techniques, depending on the geology and the type
of type of tunnel, shaft or other underground space.
The choice of technique may also be in uenced by
the capability of local contractors or the availability
of equipment.

The Tunnel as a Drain

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In many cases, tunnels do not need external

dewatering, even though they are below
groundwater level. Where open face shields or TBMs
are used, this is probably because a tunnel with an
open face below groundwater level will act as a
‘drain’ and water will ow into the tunnel via the face,
and via any unlined sections. If the rates of
groundwater in ow are manageable and,
importantly, do not cause instability at the face, then
water can be simply managed by pumping to keep
the face workably dry.

This unsophisticated approach is proven and

successful in hard rock tunnels. Work becomes more
di cult if the rate of water in ow is very large, or if
the tunnel is in soil or soft rock that can be
destabilised by groundwater seepage.

This type of ‘dewatering by tunnel’ is sometimes

aided by drilling small diameter probe holes along
the tunnel alignment, ahead of the face. Such probe
holes can act to relieve groundwater pressures in
front of the face, so that when that ground is mined
it has already been drained. On large diameter
tunnels a smaller diameter pilot tunnel is sometimes
driven ahead of the main tunnel to promote
drainage of groundwater.

Compressed Air Tunnelling

Although letting the tunnel act as a drain can be an

e ective way of working below groundwater level, it
can lead to wet and muddy conditions at the face,
and is only really feasible when working at shallow
depths below groundwater level. Faced with these

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problems, tunnellers have developed technologies to

allow the tunnel to be pressurised to balance the
external groundwater head at the face, e ectively
keeping the water out and providing a relatively dry
working space, even signi cantly below groundwater
level. This approach was used as early as the 19th
century, when compressed air working was
developed. In this method the tunnel is pressurised
with air to balance the groundwater pressure, and
the miners work in a compressed air environment
(i.e. at a pressure signi cantly above atmospheric).
However, in modern practice it is known that there
are health risks associated with operatives working
in compressed air, and the use of the technique is
now less common, apart from in special
circumstances (such as interventions to replace
cutter heads) under close medical controls.

Full Face Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs)

A more modern technique to exclude groundwater

from the tunnel face is the full-face tunnel boring
machine (TBM) – this balances the groundwater
pressure with uid pressure in the tunnel. This
method was developed in the latter half of the 20th
century. These complex machines allow the very
front part of the TBM (immediately behind the
cutting head) to be pressurised to balance external
ground and groundwater pressures. This can be
achieved using either the earth pressure balance
(EPB) method or the slurry method. This allows the
main tunnel working area to be in ‘free air’ (i.e. at
atmospheric pressure) and can allow a shirt sleeve
working environment in tunnels, even deep below
groundwater level.

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External Pumping Systems

Despite the widespread use of full face TBMs, there

are many cases where pumped groundwater control
techniques may be needed to deal with potential
groundwater problems in tunnels and shafts

Often on tunnelling projects, the available access

space and geometry is a key factor. For shafts or
station boxes the construction compound may allow
surface access to install vertical dewatering wells or
vertical cut-o walls/grout curtains around the shaft.
However, on many projects surface access for drilling
of dewatering wells or grout curtains from above the
tunnel alignment is either limited or impossible, and
in most cases this precludes conventional
dewatering measures drilled from surface for tunnel
construction. Where EPB or slurry TBMs are used
this does not cause a problem, because these
technologies do not usually need external
dewatering.

When external pumped dewatering systems are

used there are three main techniques – wellpoints,
deep wells and ejector wells (also known as eductor
wells). Each method is brie y described below.

Wellpoints

The wellpointing method uses lines or rings of

closely spaced shallow wells (wellpoints) installed
around the excavation.

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The wellpoints are connected to a headerpipe and

pumped by wellpoint pumps that can handle both
air and water. The system operates on the suction
principle, so drawdown by this method is limited to
approximately 5 or 6 m below the level of the
wellpoint pump. If deeper drawdown is required
than wellpoints may have to be installed in multiple
stages. Further information on the wellpoint
dewatering technique can be found here.

Deep wells

The deep well method uses bored wells pumped by

electric submersible pumps to lower the
groundwater level below the excavation.

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Deep wells are normally installed at relatively wide

centres around the outside perimeter of the
excavation such as a shaft. The method is well suited
to relatively deep excavations where large
drawdowns are required. Further information on the
deep well dewatering technique can be found here.

Ejector wells

The ejector well method (also known as eductor

wells) is a specialist dewatering method used to
control pore water pressures in low permeability
materials such as very silty sands, silts or ssured
clays.

The method operates on the venturi principle,

whereby circulation of high-pressure water through
eductors in the base of each well creates a vacuum
that promotes drainage of low permeability strata.
Further information on the ejector well dewatering
technique can be found here.

Internal Pumping Systems

One of the challenges of dewatering on tunnelling

projects is the limited space and limited access

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available. Sometimes there is no choice but to deploy

pumped dewatering techniques from within the
tunnel or shaft itself.

There are two main types of internal well systems

used on tunnelling projects – relief wells and tunnel
drains. Each method is brie y described below.

Relief wells

This method is used when permeable, pressurised

water-bearing layers exist below the base of a shaft,
station box or other underground space. Relief wells
are vertical boreholes drilled and lled with
permeable material (sand or gravel) to provide a
permeable upward pathway to relieve high pore
water pressures at depth. The most common
application on tunnelling projects is to reduce the
risk of hydraulic uplift or heave in the base of a shaft
or station box. The water owing from the relief
wells is removed by sump pumping. Further
information on the relief well dewatering technique
can be found here.

Tunnel drains

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Tunnel drains are sometimes used when there is a

need to break out from an existing tunnel and
expose potentially pressurised water-bearing
ground, without the protection of a TBM. Examples
of this situation include cross passages, tunnel
enlargements, adits or other connections. If
groundwater pressures are not reduced, the
exposed ground is likely to be unstable, leading to
severe construction di culties, and the risk of loss of
ground and consequent settlement. The tunnel drain
method involves drilling small diameter wells radially
outward from the tunnel, with the objective of
providing a controlled hydraulic connection into the
tunnel from any potentially permeable zones outside
the tunnel that contain high groundwater pressures.
In such cases, drains will ow into the tunnel without
the need for pumping, with ow driven by the
external groundwater head; water entering the
tunnel can be removed by sump pumping. In some
cases, to maximise the depressurisation e ect,
drains are pumped directly, either by a wellpoint
system or an ejector system.

Low Permeability Cut-o Walls and Barriers

Low permeability cut-o walls and barriers are often

used as part of the groundwater control strategies
for shafts, station boxes and TBM launch/recovery
structures. The method involves installing a very low
permeability physical cut-o wall to exclude
groundwater from the excavation, thereby reducing
the rates of groundwater in ow to a dewatering
system within the excavation. If an impermeable
stratum exists at shallow depth beneath the
excavation, then the cut-o wall can penetrate down
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to that stratum to create a full cut-o , thereby

reducing groundwater in ows to very low levels.

Groundwater control using low permeability cut-o

walls is widely applied in situations when there is a
risk of external impacts (e.g. e ective stress
settlements of nearby structures or detrimental
e ects on other water users) caused by groundwater
lowering. An exclusion system can, if carried out
e ectively and if ground conditions are favourable,
minimise any groundwater lowering outside the
dewatered site area.

Several di erent geotechnical methods can be used

to form low permeability cut-o walls and barriers:

Steel sheet-piles
Concrete diaphragm walls and secant pile walls

Slurry walls and trenches

Grout curtains (including permeation grouting,
rock grouting and jet grouting)
Freeze walls (produced by arti cial ground
freezing)

Some of the cut-o wall methods are temporary; for

example the groundwater will thaw out when
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arti cial ground freezing is discontinued, or steel

sheet-piles can be extracted at the end of the job.
These temporary methods should not have a
signi cant e ect on groundwater conditions at the
site once the project is completed. However,
methods that permanently a ect soil permeability
(for example grouting) can permanently alter
groundwater ow regimes at a site – it is essential
that the potential impact of this be assessed at
design stage.

MANAGEMENT OF WATER DISCHARGES

A key aspect of dewatering systems for tunnel and

shaft construction is that they will generate water
from pumped wells or from sumps and drains within
the tunnel. Some of this water, particularly from
sumps, will be ‘dirty water’ and will require some
form of treatment (most commonly to remove
suspended solids) before it can be disposed of. Some
of the water may be ‘clean water’ (particularly from
dewatering wells or tunnel drains) that may require
little or no treatment. As a general rule, it is good
practice to maximise the proportion of clean water
and minimise the proportion of dirty water.

Pumped water must be disposed of by suitable

means (most commonly disposal to surface water, to
groundwater via recharge wells or to sewer). Water
should be disposed of in accordance with the local
environmental regulations, and speci c permissions
are often required (for example from the
Environment Agency in England).

CONCLUSION

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Tunnelling work below groundwater level presents

many challenges. However, there is a range of
techniques that can be used to control groundwater;
with good site investigation information, careful
design and planning can mean that groundwater
need not be a signi cant impediment to tunnelling
or shaft sinking.

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