Author(s)

Sadao Kimura, Takashi Kitani, Atsushi Koizumi

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Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Kanazawa Institute of Technology, Ishikawa, Japan.

The concept of performance-based design, which mainly focuses on mechanical performance, has become the international standard, as in the case for ISO. The standardization of tunnel design has not been achieved because it requires integration of separate specialized fields, such as geotechnical engineering, structural engineering and concrete engineering. It is also required to clarify performance-based criteria for tunnel structures to suit specific use purposes (objectives), establish the concept of survey, planning, design, construction and maintenance based on such criteria, and develop proper management systems for operation and maintenance to suit specific tunnel use purposes. To this end, it is vital to develop a methodology for evaluating and verifying the performance of existing tunnels. This paper presents a new concept of performance requirements for tunnel structures and describes the method of quantitatively evaluating the total performance of existing tunnels in relation to the required performance, assuming the total performance to be based on the Analysis Hierarchy Process.

Tunnel; Performance Criterion; Life Cycle Design; Performance-Based Design; Asset Management; Maintenance; Analysis Hierarchy Process

S. Kimura, T. Kitani and A. Koizumi, "Development of Performance-Based Tunnel Evaluation Methodology and Performance Evaluation of Existing Railway Tunnels," Journal of Transportation Technologies, Vol. 2 No. 2, 2012, pp. 113-128. doi: 10.4236/jtts.2012.22013.