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Geotechnical and geological studies of Adit-6 of the railway tunnel between Rishikesh and Karnprayag in India focusing on the excavation methods and design of support analysis: a case study

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Abstract 

This paper presents a comprehensive geotechnical and geological investigation of the rock masses along 1024-m long adit-6 of the rail line tunnel between Rishikesh and Karnprayag. The adit lies in the tectonically active Garhwal Himalaya, over North Almora Thrust (NAT), which has experienced two disastrous earthquakes in the last two decades. NAT in the study area, characterized by five principles and numerous smaller faults, presents an unprecedented risk to the stability of the adit. Geotechnical conditions have been assessed using rock mass rating (RMR) and geomechanic classification (Q) system for assessment of rock mass qualities along the adit alignment, and the result was correlated using NATM for the performance of support design and excavation method based on empirical rock mass classification, stability was measured, and corresponding tunnelling support system is proposed and verified by numerical modelling. Results reveal that the adit is highly unstable due to the existence of faults and fold, and therefore strong support is recommended for poor and very poor rock class, especially on the portal.

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  1. https://themetrorailguy.com/rishikesh-karnaprayag-rail-project-route-map-stations-tenders-updates/

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to express their deep gratitude to the Indian RVNL Addl. General Manager Mr. Vijay Dangwal sir (Geologist) and site engineers Arun Gangwar, Vinod Kumar for their help and permission to write this paper. As this paper is a part of a rail link between Rishikesh and Karanprayag (125 km) Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) project, we also sincerely acknowledge the TUMAS India Pvt Ltd. for sharing the data. The first author is grateful to Ph.D. advisors Dr. Vimal Singh and Dr. Shashank Shekhar for providing valuable suggestions and acknowledges the financial support in the form of a fellowship from the Department of Geology University of Delhi.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology (Centre for Advanced Studies), Delhi University, Delhi, India, 110007

    Md Alquamar Azad, Somendra Kumar Singh, Apurva Alok & Prem Kumar

  2. Inter-University Accelerator Centre, Delhi, 110067, India

    Meenakshi

  3. Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Delhi, 110016, India

    Saurav Shekhar

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  1. Md Alquamar Azad
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Correspondence to Md Alquamar Azad.

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Azad, M.A., Singh, S.K., Alok, A. et al. Geotechnical and geological studies of Adit-6 of the railway tunnel between Rishikesh and Karnprayag in India focusing on the excavation methods and design of support analysis: a case study. Arab J Geosci 15, 129 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-021-09355-7

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