Probabilistic assessment of tunnel convergence considering spatial variability in rock mass properties using interpolated autocorrelation and response surface method

This study aims at the probabilistic assessment of tunnel convergence considering the spatial variability in rock mass properties. The method of interpolated autocorrelation combined with finite difference analysis is adopted to model the spatial variability of rock mass properties. An iterative procedure using the first-order reliability method (FORM) and response surface method (RSM) is employed to compute the reliability index and its corresponding design point. The results indicate that the spatial variability considerably affects the computed reliability index. The probability of failure could be noticeably overestimated in the case where the spatial variability is neglected. The vertical scale of fluctuation has a much higher effect on the probabilistic result with respect to the tunnel convergence than the horizontal scale of fluctuation. And the influence of different spacing of control points on the computational accuracy is investigated. [Display omitted] •Spatial variability is considered in the probabilistic assessment of tunnel convergence.•Interpolated autocorrelation method is employed to model the 2-D random field.•Spatial variability greatly affect the probabilistic result of tunnel convergence.•Scale of fluctuation in vertical has a much higher effect than that in horizontal.