Arching Effect between the Pipes of a Pipe Umbrella Support System in a Shallow-Buried Tunnel

The pipe umbrella is one of the most commonly used prereinforcement techniques in tunnel construction. Current theoretical analyses of the pipe umbrella support mechanism are primarily based on the elastic foundation beam principle, whereby only a single pipe is concerned, and the interactions among pipes are ignored. In this study, a double-parameter elastic foundation beam theory-based model was established with consideration of the arching effect between two pipes. The model can simulate the support mechanism of the pipe umbrella system in shallow-buried tunnels. The support mechanisms of a pipe umbrella system installed in a rectangular tunnel and an arched tunnel were investigated. In the two cases, the arching effect and a single pipe were considered. The results indicate that the arching effect leads to larger pipe deflection and internal forces than considering a single pipe. The influences of the diameter of a single pipe, the distance between two pipes and the shear parameters of the surrounding rock on the pipe deflection and the arching effect are discussed. In addition, the proposed model was validated by the in situ monitoring results.