Immersed tunnel settlements - Part 1: nature of settlements

The prediction of short-term and long-term settlements is crucial in the design of all types of immersed tunnels. Settlement can result in immediate or future problems due to cracking and leakage, which can lead to corrosion of structural reinforcing steel, ice on the roadway, life-long pumping costs and deterioration of tunnel finish. This paper provides an overview of settlement experience that may be of help to future tunnel designers in more fully understanding this phenomenon when developing their projects. This is the first part of a two-part paper. Part 2 describes a series of immersed tunnel settlement case histories. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.