ABSTRACT
Tunnels may suffer to significant damage during earthquakes caused by the movement of active faults. However, prior research has not successfully developed a comprehensive analytical method that accounts for the impact of fault zones. In this study, a FE model was utilized to investigate the interaction between soil and tunnel structures in tunnels crossing reverse active fault zones. By employing the Pasternak Elastic Foundation Beam theory, this paper attempts to formulate an analytical approach which can reflect the characters of soil-tunnel interaction and the influence of fault zone. The proposed analytical model was then validated with the FE results. The comparison confirmed that the model accurately reflects the soil-tunnel interaction, including the non-linear distribution of the compressive and frictional interactive stress, and closely matched the finite element results. This newly developed analytical model provides an important computational tool for designing tunnels in areas with reverse active faults.
