Dissertation Presentation Open Univ of Greece

Instrumental Systems of Geomechanical Structural Monitoring for Underground Tunnel Projects in urban areas The intensively continued concentration of population and evolution of towns in big urban cities leads the technical world το find solutions for quick and safe transportation of people to and from cities and simultaneously integrate the necessary infrastructure within the existing urban form, without further disturbance of the remaining slender natural environment. The technical solution chosen most often by project leaders, is to implement complex and modernized underground structures and infrastructure, within the densely built-up urban cities, aiming to improve daily routine and quality living of human population and to preserve human environment and public areas. Demanding modern underground works performed within the urban environment require the implementation of sophisticated monitoring systems for the construction of the project under safety regime and to prevent irreversible structural failures and nuisance in above-ground and underground existing structures. At the same time the economy of a project, the construction speed, good resource management and timely delivery in underground work, remain non-negotiable priority objectives and make geomechanical structural monitoring, a crucial tool for achieving these goals. After an in-depth data collection to under construction and recently constructed projects, this dissertation thesis aims to present the aggregated results of systematic research conducted on available sources of data, legislation and literature. The aim is to present and analyze the processes and the Geomechanical - Structural Monitoring systems incorporated in an underground transportation project within an urban environment, where the tunneling excavation is executed by Tunnel Boring Machines (T.B.M). Additional detailed analysis is given to the involved risks, the technological equipment, the computer programs and the available software. At the same time, the aim of the thesis is to become a starting tool for further academic study and analysis of the integrity of such systems of Structural Geomechanical Monitoring in underground urban transportation projects and present any specification gaps in relation to the obligation of implementing a monitoring system appropriate to the importance and the category of such underground structures Respectively within the expected results of the project is to give the opportunity to the reader to understand in depth the procedures and the mechanisms incorporated and fully operated during the construction period of an underground project and also to highlight the benefits of running such type of systems during the construction and operation of an underground urban project.