Model test of prefabricated underground utility tunnel crossing active ground fissures

•A test model of a prefabricated underground utility tunnel crossing active ground fissure was developed.•Soil pressure, crack distribution and structure deformation was analyzed to study the structure-soil interaction law.•The waterproof failure model of rubber is established to study the waterproof failure mode.•Prefabricated underground utility tunnel is more likely to suffer from interface seepage than structural damage.•Foundation treatment and changing the rubber form can effectively deal with waterproof failure. The establishment of an underground utility tunnel system has been projected for Xi'an, the transportation center in western China. However, this city are suffering the damage that ground fissures have inflicted on the subterranean engineering. The traditional cast-in-place underground utility tunnel could not well adapt to thr activity of ground fissures. The activity of ground fissures may result in numerous damages such as tunnel fractures and waterproof failure. To reduce such hazards, a large-scale physical model was set up to study the stress and deformation characteristics of the prefabricated underground utility tunnel crossing active ground fissures. The findings from the analysis of the soil pressure, distribution of soil cracks, and structure deformation show that waterproof rubber is more susceptible to failure due to a large interface tension displacement occured near the ground fissure.