Title: A review of research developments on submerged floating tunnel

Authors: Sahil Rana; M. Abdul Akbar

Addresses: Department of Civil Engineering, Dr. B R Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, G.T. Road, Amritsar Bypass, Jalandhar – 144011, Punjab, India ' Department of Civil Engineering, Dr. B R Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, G.T. Road, Amritsar Bypass, Jalandhar – 144011, Punjab, India

Abstract: Submerged floating tunnel as a high investment project has been conceptualised multiple times by different countries, but has not been implemented yet. Being a critical infrastructure, the complexities and challenges involved in the construction of this underwater tunnel is a natural progression of the multiple factors that need consideration in its engineering analysis and design. The improvement in computational resources and techniques of the 21st century has enabled a closer to accurate engineering analysis of this structure under the influence of dynamic effects of water including design consideration for blast loading and tsunami. The techniques proposed to keep the tunnel afloat, along with the variations in the nature of its support with the seabed, have seen the coalition of multiple disciplines of engineering. The paper presents a comprehensive review of various engineering analysis that has been performed on submerged floating tunnel in addition to a review of the different policy-based conclusions on this new technology. The current trends and challenges ahead are also discussed based on projections into the future as a natural extrapolation of the current state of progress.

Keywords: submerged floating tunnel; computational fluid dynamics; stress analysis; structural design; transportation; underwater tunnel; critical infrastructure.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCIS.2023.129068

International Journal of Critical Infrastructures, 2023 Vol.19 No.1, pp.58 - 78

Received: 08 Jan 2021
Accepted: 08 Mar 2021
Published online: 17 Feb 2023 *