Abstract:Based on the comprehensive analysis on the primary components of ground movement associated with earth pressure balance(EPB) shield tunneling,a three-dimensional nonlinear finite element model for simulating EPB shield tunneling is proposed. The proposed numerical procedure can simulate the full excavation sequence and consider factors such as jack force behind the machine,earth pressure on tunneling face,excavation,advancing of shield,installation of lining,and backfill grouting. The proposed modeling techniques are applied to simulate a tunneling project in Shanghai. The distributions of soil displacement around the tunnel and on the ground surface associated with the shield tunneling operation are analyzed in detail. According to the comparisons of numerical results with field measurements,the proposed numerical procedure is found to be an effective approach for predicting the deformation due to EPB shield tunneling