Experimental study on the tension of cables and motion of tunnel element for an immersed tunnel element under wind, current and wave

The tension of cables and motion response significantly affect safety of an immersed tunnel element in the immersion process. To investigate those, a hydrodynamic scale-model test was carried out and the model experiments was conducted under wind, current and wave loads simultaneously. The immersion standby (the process that the position of the immersed tunnel element should be located before the immersion process) and immersion process conditions have been conducted and illustrated. At the immersion standby conditions, the maximum force of the cables and motion is much larger at the side of incoming wind, wave and current, the maximum force of Element-6 (6 cables directly tie on the element) is larger than for Pontoon-8 (8 cables tie on pontoon of the element), and the flexible connection can reduce the maximum force of the mooring cables and motion of element (i.e. sway is expecting to decrease approximate 40%). The maximum force of the mooring cables increases with the increase of current speed, wave height, and water depth. The motion of immersed tunnel element increases with increase of wave height and water depth, and the current speed had little effect on it. At the immersion process condition, the maximum force of the cables decrease with the increase of immersion depth, and dramatically increase with the increase of wave height (i.e. the tension of cable F4 of pontoons at wave height of 1.5 m (83.3t) is approximately four times that at wave height of 0.8 m). The current speed has no much effect on the maximum force of the cables. The weight has little effect on the maximum force of the mooring cables, and the maximum force of hoisting cables increase with the increase of weight. The maximum value of six-freedom motion amplitude of the immersed tunnel element decreases with the increase of immersion depth, increase with the increase of current speed and wave height (i.e. the roll motion at wave height of 1.5 m is two times that at wave height of 0.8 m). The weight has little effect on the maximum motion amplitude of the immersed tunnel element. The results are significant for the immersion safety of element in engineering practical construction process.