Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme is the world’s largest multipurpose lift scheme in Telangana State, India. The scheme is designed to lift surplus water from the river Godavari. Water will be lifted during the monsoonal period for the drought-prone upland districts of the state. The entire scheme was divided into 28 packages with a total of 20 lifts and 20 reservoirs for the storage of 147.71 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) of water. All reservoirs are interconnected through a network of tunnels and canals to take water up to 500 km from the source river. At package-6, three very large underground parallel caverns are constructed. Coarse-grained gray granite and charnockite, which were intersected by basic enclaves, are the main rock types. Persistent twin joints more than 50 m at the crown level, a weathered shear dyke band, and limited rock ledges between these caverns were the main challenges during the construction. Detailed engineering, geological, and geotechnical investigations were carried out, and rock mass quality assessment was done using the tunneling quality Index “Q” system. Rock masses were generally encountered fresh (W-I) to moderately weathered (W-III) in nature. These large underground caverns are constructed within limited rock ledges between them and were challenging for Designers, Geologists, and Engineers. In this paper, major geological challenges, provided additional rock support systems, and Unwedge studies are discussed in detail.

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Geological Challenges During the Construction of Three Large Underground Parallel Caverns: A Case Study from Lift Irrigation Project, India

  • D. S. Rawat,
  • A. K. Naithani,
  • L. G. Singh,
  • Prasnna Jain

摘要

Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme is the world’s largest multipurpose lift scheme in Telangana State, India. The scheme is designed to lift surplus water from the river Godavari. Water will be lifted during the monsoonal period for the drought-prone upland districts of the state. The entire scheme was divided into 28 packages with a total of 20 lifts and 20 reservoirs for the storage of 147.71 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) of water. All reservoirs are interconnected through a network of tunnels and canals to take water up to 500 km from the source river. At package-6, three very large underground parallel caverns are constructed. Coarse-grained gray granite and charnockite, which were intersected by basic enclaves, are the main rock types. Persistent twin joints more than 50 m at the crown level, a weathered shear dyke band, and limited rock ledges between these caverns were the main challenges during the construction. Detailed engineering, geological, and geotechnical investigations were carried out, and rock mass quality assessment was done using the tunneling quality Index “Q” system. Rock masses were generally encountered fresh (W-I) to moderately weathered (W-III) in nature. These large underground caverns are constructed within limited rock ledges between them and were challenging for Designers, Geologists, and Engineers. In this paper, major geological challenges, provided additional rock support systems, and Unwedge studies are discussed in detail.