Analysis of Effect of Under-Cross Slurry Shield Tunneling on Embankment of the Yangtze River

To build cross-river tunnel in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, it is inevitable to under-pass the embankment and the unevenly distributed soft soil layer, which greatly increases the risk of construction. Based on the background of diversion tunnel project of ultra-supercritical generating units for an electric plant in the south of Jiangsu province, a three-dimensional FEM study is carried out to simulate the slurry tunneling across the embankment of the Yangtze River and the unevenly distributed soft soil. The result of simulation shows that the setting rate surged when the slurry shield drove to the soft soil layer under the embankment. To solve the settlement problem in the process of slurry shield passing through the embankment, measures for controlling the slurry driving parameters, such as slurry pressure and grouting pressure, are proposed so as to reduce the risks and insure safety of the embankment.