ABSTRACT
Researches on submerged floating tunnels (SFTs) are under-going by several groups in the world. Until now, the construction of submerged floating tunnels has not been done globally. In order to realize the construction of submerged floating tunnel, it is necessary to develop feasible construction methods of submerged floating tunnels as well as to apply various research results of design, analysis, safety and maintenance of submerged floating tunnels. In this study, some conceptual construction methods of submerged floating tunnels are proposed and some proposed construction methods are numerically simulated to show whether construction methods are feasible. For example, numerical simulations are carried out on the construction method extending the construction of the immersion tunnels which can share many parts with the submerged floating tunnels. In this method, it is very important to connect the already-constructed tunnel parts with the submerged floating tunnel module. Numerical simulations of the proposed construction methods are needed for the basic designs of the construction equipment against the marine environmental loads during construction or installation of submerged floating tunnels.
