Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association ISSN:2233-8292(Print) 2287-4747(Online) 한국터널지하공간학회 논문집

Prediction of ground condition ahead of tunnel face might be the most important factor to prevent collapse during tunnel excavation. In this study, a non-destructive method to evaluate the phase velocity in model rock mass using wavelet transform of surface wave was proposed aiming at ground condition assessment ahead of tunnel face. Model tests using gypsum as a rocklike material composed of two layers were performed. A piezoelectric actuator with frequencies ranging from 150 Hz to 5 kHz was selected as a harmonic source. The acceleration history was measured with two accelerometers. Wavelet transform analysis was used to obtain the dispersion curves from the measured data. The experimental results showed that the near-field effects can be neglected if the distance between two receivers is chosen to be three times the wavelength. A simple inversion method using weighted factor based on the normal distribution was proposed. The inversion results showed that the predicted phase velocity agreed reasonably well with the measured one when the wavelength influence factor was 0.2. The depth of propagation of surface wave was from 0.42 to 0.63 times the wavelength. The range of wavelength varying with phase velocity in dispersion curve matched well with that estimated by inversion technique.