Impact Analysis of Submerged Floating Tunnel for External Collision

Abstract

Submerged floating tunnel is an innovative tunnel infrastructure passing through the deep sea independent of wave and wind so that high speed vehicle or train can run. It doesn't depend on water depth and is cost effective due to modular construction on land. The construction period can be reduced drastically. In this paper, a concept design of submerged floating tunnel is introduced and a method to analyze structural behavior of the body in case of collision with ships or submarines is proposed for securing safety. In this study, the local damage and global behavior of submerged tunnel in collision with submerged moving body are simulated via commercial hydrocode ANSYS LS-DYNA. In simulations, a conceptual tunnel section prepared in Korea is considered and various penetration and deformation responses with respect to impact velocity, applied materials and collision scenarios are obtained. Finally, for a conceptual design of submerged floating tunnel, maximum deformation, bending moment and impact forces are analyzed based on force and energy equilibrium.