TY - THES

T1 - Tunnel excavation material handling using decision analysis

AU - Ritter, Stefan

N1 - embargoed until null

PY - 2011

Y1 - 2011

N2 - Success in tunneling also depends on a sustainable tunnel design, which jointly considers social, environmental, and economic issues. Planning the handling of excavated materials of a tunnel construction project will possibly avoid waste deposits, save mineral resources as well as energy, and reduce some of the project costs. Hence, planning the handling of excavated materials contributes to a sustainable tunnel design. However, this planning process is affected by many uncertainties and, thus, a challenge. This research describes how decision analysis can be used to deal with the uncertainties of tunnel excavation material handling (TEMH). Therefore, a brief review of the basic aspects of decision analysis under uncertainty is followed by an overview over TEMH and a determination of the main uncertainties of materials management in tunneling. In particular, this thesis presents a simulation model, which uses the Decision Aids for Tunneling (DAT) and their resource module, to describe and evaluate uncertainties affecting TEMH. The emphasis in this simulation model is placed on representing the individual steps in the material handling process starting with excavation and ending with the reuse or final depositing of the material. An application to a part of a real tunnel construction project, namely a part of contract section Wolf of the Brenner Base Tunnel (BBT) demonstrates the efficiency of the decision analysis. The results obtained in these materials management simulations can optimize the design of a tunnel construction project.

AB - Success in tunneling also depends on a sustainable tunnel design, which jointly considers social, environmental, and economic issues. Planning the handling of excavated materials of a tunnel construction project will possibly avoid waste deposits, save mineral resources as well as energy, and reduce some of the project costs. Hence, planning the handling of excavated materials contributes to a sustainable tunnel design. However, this planning process is affected by many uncertainties and, thus, a challenge. This research describes how decision analysis can be used to deal with the uncertainties of tunnel excavation material handling (TEMH). Therefore, a brief review of the basic aspects of decision analysis under uncertainty is followed by an overview over TEMH and a determination of the main uncertainties of materials management in tunneling. In particular, this thesis presents a simulation model, which uses the Decision Aids for Tunneling (DAT) and their resource module, to describe and evaluate uncertainties affecting TEMH. The emphasis in this simulation model is placed on representing the individual steps in the material handling process starting with excavation and ending with the reuse or final depositing of the material. An application to a part of a real tunnel construction project, namely a part of contract section Wolf of the Brenner Base Tunnel (BBT) demonstrates the efficiency of the decision analysis. The results obtained in these materials management simulations can optimize the design of a tunnel construction project.

KW - tunnel excavation material

KW - materials management

KW - Decision Aids for Tunneling

KW - uncertainty

KW - simulation

KW - Brenner Base Tunnel

KW - Tunnelausbruchmaterial

KW - Materialbewirtschaftung

KW - Entscheidungshilfen für den Tunnelbau

KW - Unsicherheiten

KW - Simulation

KW - Brenner Basistunnel

M3 - Master's Thesis

ER -