Fibre-reinforced concrete (FRC) is a suitable alternative to the traditional reinforced concrete used in the manufacture of precast segments used to line tunnels excavated with a tunnel boring machine (TBM). Moreover, its use as a structural material has been approved by several national codes and by the current fib Model Code (2010). The use of FRC in segmental linings confers several technical and economic advantages, evidenced by the fact that structural fibres have been used to partially or entirely replace reinforcing bars in many TBM tunnels built over the past 20 years or currently under construction. FRC could also have been used in other tunnels, which are currently in the planning stage or under construction. However, despite its technical suitability and approval in current codes, the use of FRC was not possible in some cases. The impediment has sometimes been an incomplete understanding of the structural behaviour of the material, but a more general motive has been that comparisons of materials have taken into account only direct material costs and have not considered indirect costs or social and environmental factors. The aim of the present research is to develop a method for analysing the sustainability of different concrete and reinforcement configurations for segmental linings of TBM tunnels using the MIVES method (a multi-criteria decision making approach for assessing sustainability). This MCDM method allows minimising subjectivity in decision making while integrating economic, environmental and social factors. The model has been used to assess the sustainability of different alternatives proposed for manufacturing the segmental tunnel lining for the extension of the rail line of Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) to Terminal 1 of El Prat Airport in Barcelona.

Peer Reviewed