The blast vibration attenuation will change as the tunnel cut hole is blasted to create a new free surface. To guarantee safe tunnel construction and optimize blast design parameters, it is crucial to understand the impact of the free surface on blast vibration attenuation. Previous studies have often only qualitatively evaluated the effect of the free surface on blast vibration, failing to quantify these impacts on vibration attenuation. In this paper, by analyzing the decay law of the blast vibration velocity under different free surfaces, we quantitatively assessed the effect of the number of free faces and burden distance on the peak vibration velocity. Then, we introduced free-face parameters to enhance the current formula for predicting blast vibration velocity. The results show that the peak vibration velocity decreases with the increasing free surface number and increases with increasing burden distance; the free surface factor cannot be ignored in the decay of vibration velocity and contributes about 21% more to the total decay factor than the scale distance factor. The average tolerance rises from 24.79% in the Sadovsky formula to 13.32% in the correction formula, and the correction formula more precisely predicts the peak vibration velocity. The accuracy of the correction formula provides a good scientific basis for the design of tunnel blasting parameters. The research results were successfully applied to the Jiujiawan proximity tunnel on the Duyun-Anshun highway in Guizhou, effectively guaranteeing blasting safety with a minimum clear distance of 17.2 m.

When the drilling and blasting method is used to construct a tunnel through the karst stratum, the coupling effect of the blasting load and the karst water pressure in front of the tunnel face exposes the tunnel face to the risk of water inrush, which threatens the safety of personnel and property. It is very important for the design and construction of related tunnels to study the evolution mechanism of water inrush in karst tunnels and determine the minimum thickness of outburst prevention under blasting. Relying on the Dejiang tunnel Project in Tongren City, this paper adopts the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamic–Finite Element Method (SPH-FEM) coupling calculation method to study the evolution process of water inrush in karst tunnels under blasting, analyzing the results of water inrush in tunnels under different rock wall thicknesses under blasting. Then, according to the regression of rock wall stress peak data, the analysis determines the minimum outburst prevention thickness of the karst tunnel. The research results show that there is a superposition effect between the blasting stress wave and the gravitational interaction of the karst water itself, and that the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamic (SPH) particles in the aquifer cause damage and cracks to the rock wall under the coupling action of the blasting load and the karst water pressure, further leading to the expansion of the cracks and the formation of inrush channels. the stress, vibration velocity, and displacement of the unit at the junction of the aquifer and the rock layer show a trend that first decreases, then increases, and then decreases with an increase in the thickness of the rock wall. Based on the actual geological conditions of the Dejiang tunnel project parameters, when the thickness of the rock wall is 3.08 m, the peak stress of the rock formation unit at the junction with the aquifer reaches the maximum value. In order to avoid water inrush during blasting, the minimum outburst prevention thickness should be greater than 3.08 m. Based on the analysis results, a corresponding water inrush prevention plan was formulated on site which effectively guaranteed construction safety and, at the same time, verified the reliability of the analysis results. The relevant research results can provide useful references for similar projects.

The middle rock pillar in ultra-small-spacing tunnels is significantly narrow, and the stability of the primary support and lining are easily influenced by the blasting vibration wave from an adjacent tunnel. Therefore, understanding the vibration frequency characteristics is essential for the blasting vibration control. Based on the blasting works on a double-track roadway tunnel (Jiuwuji tunnel in Guizhou, China), this study investigates the dominant frequency attenuation in the preceding tunnel with the middle rock pillar spacing ranging from 4.0 m to 9.4 m. The results show that the ranges of the dominant frequency distributions on the primary support and lining are widely within 200 Hz, but there are varieties in their propagation laws. The distribution of the dominant frequencies on the primary support is broader than that on the lining; and the dominant frequencies are concentrated on a specific range when the lining is far from the blast face beside a particular value, which is not present on the primary support. As the presence of cavity and changing medium between the lining and the primary support, it made a significant contribution to the filtering the vibration waves. Furthermore, on the primary support, the high-frequency part of the vibration waves attenuates rapidly with distance, and then, the practical prediction equations describing dominant frequency attenuation were proposed. The comparison on frequency characteristics per delay for the millisecond delay blasting shows that multiple delay sequences blast contributes to a multi-structured amplitude spectrum of blast vibration waves; and the varies of the equivalent explosion sources dimensions and numbers of free surfaces in each blast delay resulting in diverse vibration waveforms. Finally, the dominant frequencies determined by different methods were compared, and the results show a nonlinear relationship between the ZCFs and DFs. The above research conclusion expands the understanding of blasting vibration in tunnel engineering, particularly in the frequency distribution.

It is hard to grasp the deformation law of the surrounding rock and the force characteristics of the support structure during the construction of ultra-small clearance tunnels in upper soil and lower rock composite strata. Based on the ultra-small clearance tunnel in Li Shuping, Tongxin Expressway, Guizhou, this paper adopted a combination of numerical simulation and field monitoring to analyze the influence of different burial depths and soil-rock interface positions on the deformation of the surrounding rock and the internal forces of the support structure of the ultra-small clearance tunnel. The conclusions are: (1) the monitoring data show that the stress in the steel frame of the leading tunnel increases first by the influence of proximity construction, and then decreases and reaches a stable value after the secondary lining is applied, and the stress at the arch waist of the soft soil layer furtherest from the side of the middle rock column is greater than that in the rock layer on the side of the middle rock column; (2) the position of the soil-rock interface has a significant influence on the initial support force of the first tunnel, and the bending moment of the structure increases with the downward movement of the soil-rock interface and the increase in the burial depth; (3) the influence of the soil-rock interface position on the initial support moment of the first tunnel is greater than the influence of proximity construction, a point to which attention should be paid during construction; and (4) when the soil-rock interface is located below the foot of the arch, the deformation of the surrounding rock of the following tunnel will be larger than that of the first tunnel. The results can provide a reference for the design and construction of ultra-small clearance tunnels in upper soil and lower rock composite soft strata and soil strata.

Grouting is a common method of reinforcing fractured rock mass. The mechanical property of grouted rock is a major aspect of the reinforcement effect, which depends on the geometry of the crack, the angle (β) between the load direction and the crack, and other factors. Few studies have focused on grouted rock with bi-directional crack which can reflect well the grouting reinforcement in the stratum with developed fractures. To explore the grouting effect on fractured rock mass, uniaxial compression tests were carried out on grouted rock samples with different bidirectional widths (t) and angles cracks. The results showed that: (1) when the β was 30°, the failure mode was sliding along the interface of rock and grout, when the β was 45°, the failure mode was composite failure mode, and when the β was 0°, 60°, or 90°, the failure mode was typical intact rock failure mode; (2) when the β increased from 0° to 90°, the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) decreased and then increased again; (3) when the β was 30°, the UCS had nothing to do with the grout thickness, and when the β was not 30°, the greater the grout thickness, the greater the compressive strength and the ultimate energy storage capacity. The test results can provide reference for grouting reinforcement construction and design in the underground excavation process.