The Floor Heave Mechanism of a Deep Clastic Rock Tunnel in Southwest China: An Experimental Study Based on Excavation Stress Paths

Excavation in deep weak rock engineering can significantly alter the stress state in the surrounding rock, often leading to varying degrees of floor heave. The excavation stress paths from the immediate floor to the interior floor were determined by simulating tunnel excavation and monitoring stress changes at fixed points on the floor. The characteristic stresses, failure modes, acoustic emission and deformation features of three types of clastic rock under excavation stress paths were experimentally investigated to reveal the floor heave mechanism. The study found that as the distance from the excavation boundary increased, the bearing capacity of the clastic rock gradually enhanced, and the risk of macroscopic failure decreased, transitioning from tensile failure to tensile-shear mixed failure. Simultaneously, the excavation-induced dilational deformation rapidly decreased. A novel method was proposed to evaluate the dilational deformation of surrounding rock induced by excavation based on the strain features of the samples under the different stress paths. The results demonstrated a rapid decrease in dilational deformation from the immediate floor to the interior floor for the three types of surrounding rock, with the maximum total dilation and the greatest risk of floor heave observed in contact cementation surrounding rock. Finally, the floor heave mechanisms of three types of clastic rock were summarized as follows: unloading dilation combined with macroscopic failure; slight rebound of the immediate floor coupled with multiple microcracks; notable rebound of the immediate floor accompanied by few microcracks. This study provides new insights into the mechanics disasters and selection of support measures for deep-buried tunnels. Experiments were conducted on three types of clastic rock under excavation stress paths from the immediate floor to the interior floor.The characteristic stress, failure mode, AE characteristics and deformation behavior induced by excavation of three types of clastic rock were studied.A method was proposed to evaluate the dilational deformation of surrounding rock induced by tunneling.The floor heave mechanisms of three types of clastic rock were revealed.