GOVERNMENT COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING,

JALGAON 425002
Department Of Civil Engineering

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project report entitled, “IMMERSED TUNNEL

TECHNIQUE” which is being submitted herewith for the award of B.E. is the result
of the work completed by TURKAR MANOJKUMAR T, SALUNKHE VICKY V,
THAKARE ABHIJIT K, MARATHE YUGANDHAR M, KAWALE NIKHIL V
under my supervision and guidance within the four walls of the institute and
the same has not been submitted elsewhere for the award of any degree.

(Prof. V. R. Saraf)
Guide Head of Civil Department

Principal Examiner

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 DECLARATION

We hereby declare that the seminar report entitled, “IMMERSED TUNNEL

TECHNIQUE” was carried out and written by us under the guidance of Prof. V. R.
SARAF, Assistant Professor, Department Of Civil Engineering, Govt. College of
Engineering, Jalgaon. This work has not been previously formed the basis for the
award of any degree or diploma or certificate nor has been submitted elsewhere for the
award of any degree or diploma.

PLACE: JALGAON TURKAR MANOJKUMAR T. (…………)

DATE : 28/04/2014 SALUNKHE VICKY V. (…………)
THAKARE ABHIJIT K. (…………)
MARATHE YUGANDHAR M. (…………)
KAWALE NIKHIL V. (…………)

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It is indeed a matter of great pleasure and privilege to be able to present this

project report on “IMMERSED TUNNEL TECHNIQUE” under the valuable
guidance of Prof. V. R. SARAF for his valuable guidance, advice and constant
aspiration to our work. We would like to express our deep sense of gratitude to Prof.
V. T. PATIL (Head of Civil Engineering Department).
Also here we would like to thank our honorable Principal Prof. DR. R. P.
BORKAR who made all facilities and faculty of technology available for our in the
college premises. We are obliged and We are also thankful to all my teachers and
principal of this institute for providing us constant support and facilities.
It has been great fun to work together with problem related with seminar
financial support from our parents it’s gratefully acknowledged. We would thank our
parents for their understanding and support during this year. Many thank to our group
members for their patience, encouragement among us.

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 ABSTRACT

Since the first Cross Harbour Tunnel was constructed using the immersed tube
technique in 1972, four other immersed tunnels were successfully constructed to cross
Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong. With the advantages of using immersed tube
technique across harbour/rivers, more immersed tunnels are to be constructed in Hong
Kong and Korea.
Many new techniques have been developed for that tunnel project. This report
for the development of design theory and construction technology and summarises the
historical development of immersed tunnels in Hong Kong and recent development of
the construction techniques in Korea.
Immersed tube tunnel is an alternative to bridges and bored tunnels for the
crossing of harbours/rivers. Immersed tube tunnel units of length of about 100m long,
usually forming a length of complete tunnel cross-section with both ends temporarily
sealed by a bulkhead are fabricated in a dry dock. The sealed units are floated and
towed to the tunnel location and lowered into a pre-dredged trench in the sea or river
bed. On one end of each tunnel element an endless Gina gasket is mounted. When the
tunnel unit is immersed, it is then pulled firmly up against the preceding immersed
tunnel unit with a hydraulic jack. When the Gina gasket has full contact around the
total circumference of the adjacent tunnel unit, the water between the bulkheads is
pumped out. Due to the pressure difference between the bulkheads and the hydrostatic
pressure on the outside of the tunnel, the Gina profile compresses and seals the joint.
The units will then form a continuous tube and the trench is backfilled progressively.

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 CONTENTS

Chapter Title Page No.

No.
Certificate i
Declaration ii
Acknowledgement iii
Abstract iv
List of Figures ix
List of Tables x
1 Introduction 1
1.1 General 1
1.2 Advantages Of An Immersed Tunnel 3
1.3 Disadvantages Of An Immersed Tunnel 3
1.4 Why Choose An Immersed Tunnel ? 4
1.5 Theory Related To Immersed Tunnel 5
1.5.1 Single Shell Steel Tunnel 6
1.5.2 Double Shell 6
1.5.3 Sandwich Construction 7
2 Literature Review 8
2.1 History 8
2.2 Some Immersed Tunnels 10
2.2.1 Great Belt Tunnel, Denmark 10
2.2.2 Busan-Geoje Immersed Tunnel, Korea 10
2.2.3 Fehmarn Belt Denmark, Germany 10
2.2.4 Preveza -Aktio Crossing, Greece 10
2.2.5 Copenhagen Harbour Tunnel, Denmark 11
2.2.6 Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Fixed Link 11
2.2.7 Oresund Tunnel, Sweden 11
2.2.8 Soderstroms Tunnel, Stockholm, Sweden 12
3 Case Study 13
3.1 Introduction 13
3.2 Limerick Tunnel 13

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 3.3 PPP Scheme 14
3.4 The Project 15
3.4.1 The Route 15
3.4.2 Features Of The Scheme 16
3.4.3 Constructions Facts 16
3.5 Environmental Impact 17
3.6 Impact On Community 17
3.6.1 Traffic 17
3.6.2 Air Quality 17
3.6.3 Noise 18
3.6.4 Construction Impact 18
3.6.5 Climate 18
3.7 Benefits of Limerick Tunnel 18
3.8 Operation And Maintenance 19
3.9 Engineering And Construction Challenges 19
3.10 Protecting The Environment 20
4 The Proposed Tunnel 21
4.1 Introduction 21
4.2 Site Selection 21
4.2.1 Dharamtar Creek 22
4.2.2 Details About Karanja And Rewas 22
4.2.3. Reason For Connecting Karanja And Rewas: 23
4.2.4 Site Survey 23
4.2.5 Why Immersed Tunnel At This Place 24
4.3 Geotechnical Tests 25
4.3.1 Sieve Analysis Test 25
4.3.2 Pycnometer Test 26
4.3.3 Liquid Limit And Plastic Limit 27
4.4.4 Standard Proctor Test 27
5 Methodology 29
5.1 Dredging 29
5.1.1 Suitability Of The Dredged Soil 31
5.2 Casting Unit 31

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 5.2.1 Method Adopted For Casting 32
5.2.2 Working 32
5.3 Foundation Bed Preparation 33
5.3.1 Stone Columns 34
5.3.2 Bed Preparation 35
5.4 Transportation 35
5.4.1 Conditions For Transportation Of Elements: 36
5.4.2 Handling Of Tunnel Elements: 36
5.4.3 Transportation Technique: 37
5.5 Installation Method 37
5.5.1 Equipment used for installation 37
5.6 Installation Procedure 40
5.6.1 Lowering 40
5.6.2 Positioning 41
5.6.3 Locking 42
5.6.4 Procedure 43
5.7 Backfilling 43
5.7.1 Materials Used For Backfilling 44
5.7.2 Backfilling Details 44
5.7.3 General Backfill 45
5.8 Protection Blanket 46
5.8.1 Anchor Release Protection 46
5.9 Tunnel Ventilation 46
5.9.1 Tunnel Ventilation Methods 47
5.9.2 Ventilation Systems 48
5.9.3 Ventilation Design 48
5.10 Tunnel Description 49
5.10.1 Key Facts 49
5.10.2 Impact Of Construction Of The Proposed 50
Tunnel
5.10.3 Contribution To Environment And Economy 51
5.10.4 Feasibility Report 51
5.11 Activity Planning 52

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 5.12 Comparison Between Bridge And Immersed Tunnel 54
5.13 Water Pressure Calculation 55
6 Safety 57
6.1 General 57
6.2 Safety Of Immersed Tunnels Requires Consideration 57
6.3 Accidental Loads 57
6.4 Incident Management 59
6.5 The Factors Influencing the Spread of Fire 60
6.6 Fire Protection Material 62
6.6.1 Criteria For Fire Resistant Materials 62
6.6.2 Required Performance 62
6.6.3 Types of Fire Resistance Materials 64
6.7 Essential Services For Fire Protection 66
6.7.1 Air Supply And Smoke Extraction Systems 67
6.7.2 Suspended Ceilings, Smoke Extraction Plenum 67
6.7.3 Cable Protection Systems 68
6.7.4 Safe havens 69
6.7.5 Fire Doors 69
6.8 Evacuation procedure 70
6.9 Hazardous Goods In Tunnels 71
7 Result 73
8 Conclusion 74
References 75

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 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure No. Title Page No.

1.1 Immersed Tunnel 1

1.2 Transportation Of Tunnel Element By Floating 2
1.3 Placement Of An Immersed Tunnel 3
1.4 Cross-Section Of A Typical Immersed Tunnel 4
1.5 Single Shell Steel Tunnel 6
1.6 Double Shell 7
1.7 Sandwich Construction 7
3.1 Limerick Tunnel 13
3.2 Route Of Limerick Tunnel 15
3.3 Construction Of Limerick Tunnel 16
4.1 Site Selection 21
4.2 Contour Plan 23
5.1 Clamshell Dredger 29
5.2 Dredging The Material 30
5.3 Location Of Casting Basin 31
5.4 Casting Basin 32
5.5 Casting Basin 33
5.6 Foundation Bed Preparation 35
5.7 Transportation Of Tunnel Element 36
5.8 Pantoons 38
5.9 Wires 39
5.10 Positioning With EPS 39
5.11 Lowering Procedure 41
5.12 Lowering Procedure 41
5.13 Positioning With EPS 42
5.14 Locking Of The Element 42
5.15 General Backfill 45
5.16 Ventilation System 47
5.17 Cross Sectional Details Of Proposed Tunnel Element 49
5.18 Network Diagram For Activity Planning 52

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 LIST OF TABLES

Table No. Title Page No.

4.1 Observation Of Sieve Analysis 25

4.2 Observation Of Pycnometer Test 26
4.3 Observation Of Standard Proctor Test 28
6.1 Types Of Fire Resistance Materials 66