Design of Cylindrical Reinforced Concrete Tunnel Liners to Resist Air Overpressures

摘要

This report presents a procedure for the design of cylindrical reinforced concrete shelters that are buried with their axes parallel to the ground surface. The method is based on a study of combinations of thrust and bending moment which must be resisted by a reinforced concrete tunnel section when the section and surrounding soil are subjected to blast loading. On the basis of this study, it has been possible to define a design thrust, as a function of depth of burial, and a design bending moment, as a function of the cylinder stiffness, for a cylinder buried in a granular material. The design procedure is believed to be valid for air overpressures from nuclear detonations ranging up to 1,000 psi. The over-all reasonableness of the procedure has been confirmed by comparisons of the design requirements with the results of laboratory and field tests on reinforced concrete and metal cylinders buried in granular materials. (Author)