Angus Maxwell’s scientific contributions

Tunnel projects are often dominated by spatial uncertainty in geological-geotechnical conditions. In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the use of geostatistical or random field methods for probabilistic subsurface modeling in tunneling applications. These methods provide the means for modeling the spatial variability and quantifying the spatial uncertainty in geological-geotechnical conditions. This, in turn, can help in characterizing geotechnical risk, though the extension from spatial uncertainty to tunneling risk is only emerging. This paper presents some examples of use cases from several tunneling projects globally to examine the applicability of such methods in tunneling practice. These use cases include geological modelling, spatial risk assessment quantification and mitigation planning. Both the advantages and limitations from a modelling standpoint are discussed, as well as the implications on various aspects of tunnelling projects including tenders, baseline reports and mitigation planning. The specific ways in which tunnelling risk is better quantified is clearly documented.