Mechanical behavior and shape optimization of lining structure for subsea tunnel excavated in weathered slot

Subsea tunnel lining structures should be designed to sustain the loads transmitted from surrounding ground and groundwater during excavation. Extremely high pore-water pressure reduces the effective strength of the country rock that surrounds a tunnel, thereby lowering the arching effect and stratum stability of the structure. In this paper, the mechanical behavior and shape optimization of the lining structure for the Xiang'an tunnel excavated in weathered slots are examined. Eight cross sections with different geometric parameters are adopted to study the mechanical behavior and shape optimization of the lining structure. The hyperstatic reaction method is used through finite element analysis software ANSYS. The mechanical behavior of the lining structure is evidently affected by the geometric parameters of crosssectional shape. The minimum safety factor of the lining structure elements is set to be the objective function. The efficient tunnel shape to maximize the minimum safety factor is identified. The minimum safety factor increases significantly after optimization. The optimized cross section significantly improves the mechanical characteristics of the lining structure and effectively reduces its deformation. Force analyses of optimization process and program are conducted parametrically so that the method can be applied to the optimization design of other similar structures. The results obtained from this study enhance our understanding of the mechanical behavior of the lining structure for subsea tunnels. These results are also beneficial to the optimal design of lining structures in general.