Iron Lining.
—The use of iron lining for tunnels was introduced first on a large scale by Mr. Peter William Barlow in 1869, for the second tunnel under the River Thames at London, England, and it has greatly extended since that time. The lining of the second Thames tunnel consisted of cylindrical cast-iron rings 8 ft. in diameter, the abutting edges of the successive rings being flanged and provided with holes for bolt fastenings. Each ring was made up of four segments, three of which were longer than quadrants, and one much smaller forming the “key-stone” or closing piece. These segments were connected to each other by flanges and bolts. To make the joints tight, strips of pine or cement and hemp yarn were inserted between the flanges. Since the construction of the second Thames tunnel, iron lining has been employed for a great many submarine tunnels in England, Continental Europe, and America, some of them having a section over 28 ft. in diameter. Where circular iron lining is employed, the bottom part of the section is leveled up with concrete or brick masonry to carry the tracks, and the whole interior of the ring is covered with a cement plaster lining deep enough thoroughly to embed the interior joint flanges. In the succeeding [chapter] describing the methods of driving tunnels by shields several forms of iron tunnel lining are fully described.
Iron and Masonry Lining.
—During recent years a form of combined masonry and iron lining has been extensively employed in constructing city underground railways in both Europe and America. Generally this form of lining is built with a rectangular section. Two types of construction are employed. In the first, masonry side walls carry a flat roof of girders and beams, which carry a trough flooring filled with concrete, or between which are sprung concrete or brick arches. Sometimes the roof framing consists of a series of parallel I-beams laid transversely across the tunnel, and in other cases transverse plate girders carry longitudinal I-beams. In the second type of construction the roof girders are supported by columns embedded in the side walls. Where the tunnel provides for two or four tracks, intermediate column supports are in some cases introduced between the side columns. In this construction the roofing consists of concrete filled troughs or of concrete or brick arches, as in the construction first described. Examples of combined masonry and iron tunnel lining are illustrated in the succeeding [chapter] on tunneling under city streets.
Masonry Lining.
—The form of tunnel lining most commonly employed is brick or stone masonry. Concrete and reinforced concrete masonry lining has been employed in several tunnels built in recent years. The masonry lining may inclose the whole section or only a part of it. The floor or invert is the part most commonly omitted; but sometimes also the side walls and invert are both omitted, and the lining is confined simply to an arch supporting the roof. The roof arch, the side walls, and the invert compose the tunnel lining; and all three may consist of stone or brick alone, or stone side walls may be employed with brick invert and roof arch. Rubble-stone masonry is usually employed, except at the entrances, where the masonry is exposed to view. Here ashlar masonry is usually used. The stone selected for tunnel lining should be of a durable quality which weathers well. Where bricks are used they should be of good quality. Owing to the comparative ease with which brick arches can be built, they are generally used to form the roof arch, even where the side walls are of stone masonry. Masonry lining may be built in the form of a series of separate rings, or in the form of a continuous structure extending from one end of the tunnel to the other. The latter method of construction produces a stronger structure; but in case of failure by crushing, the damage done is likely to be more widespread than where separate rings are employed, one or two of which may fail without injury to the others adjacent to them. The construction is also somewhat simpler where separate rings are employed, since no provision has to be made for bonding the whole lining into a continuous structure. Where a series of separate rings is employed, the length of each ring runs from 5 ft. up to 20 ft., it depending upon the character of the material penetrated, and the method of construction employed. For the purpose of detailed discussion the construction of masonry lining may be divided into four parts,—the side-wall foundations, the side walls themselves, the roof arch, and the invert.
Concrete and reinforced concrete linings are now extensively used on account of cheapness and facility of handling, but they have the great disadvantage of resisting pressure after they become hard, which is some time after being placed. The strutting should, therefore, be left to support the roof so as to prevent direct pressure on the fresh material. The roof, as a rule, is supported by longitudinal planks held in position by five or seven segments of arched frames placed across the tunnel. A large quantity of timber and carpenter work is thus entirely wasted and these costly items, in many cases, make the concrete lining of a tunnel more expensive than the one built of brick and stone. To avoid these inconveniences tunnels have been successfully lined with concrete on the side walls and concrete blocks in the arches. These blocks have been built by hand and molded in the shape of the arch voussoirs.
Foundations.
—In tunnels through rock of a hard and durable character the foundations for the side walls are usually laid directly on the rock. In loose rock, or rock liable to disintegration, this method of construction is not generally a safe one, and the foundation excavation should be sunk to a depth at which the atmospheric influences cannot affect the foundation bed. In either case the foundation masonry is made thicker than that of the side walls proper, so as to distribute the pressure over a greater area, and to afford more room for adjusting the side-wall masonry to the proper profile. In yielding soils a special foundation bed has to be prepared for the foundation masonry. In some instances it is found sufficient to lay a course of planks upon which the masonry is constructed, but a more solid construction is usually preferred.
This is obtained by placing a concrete footing from 1 ft. to 2 ft. deep all along the bottom of the foundation trench, or in some cases by sinking wells at intervals along the trench and filling them with concrete, so as to form a series of supporting pillars.