A study on the optimization technique for the plan of slope reinforcement arrangement of soil-nailing in tunnel portal area

Abstract

In order to ensure the stability of tunnel portal slope, reinforcement method such as anchors, soil nails and rock bolts have been used in Korea. When selecting slope reinforcement methods in tunnel portal area such as reinforcement arrangement and length, trial and error method can be very time-consuming and it was also not easy to verify the selection of an optimum condition. In this study, using the FISH language embedded in the finite difference code FLAC3D program, the optimization technique was developed with the Differential Evolution Algorithm (DEA). After building a database on the soil nailing method in tunnel portal area, this system can be selected to an optimum arrangement plan based on the factor of safety through the FLAC3D analysis. Through the results of numerical analysis, it was confirmed that the number of analysis was decreased by about 8 times when DEA based optimization technique was used compared to the full combination (FC). In case of the design of slope reinforcement in tunnel portal area, if this built-system is used, it is expected that the selection of an optimum arrangement plan can be relatively easier.