Submerged Floating Tunnel

The submerged floating tunnel is an innovative concept for crossing waterways, utilizing the law of buoyancy to support the structure at a moderate and convenient depth .

The Submerged floating Tunnel is a tube like structure made of Steel and Concrete utilizing the law of buoyancy .It supported on columns or held in place by tethers attached to the sea floor or by pontoons floating on the surface.

The tunnel utilizes lakes and waterways to carry traffic under water and on to the other side, where it can be conveniently linked to the rural network or to the underground infrastructure of modern cities.

Reason for Choosing Floating Tunnel

It is observed that the depth of bed varies from place to place on a great extent. The maximum depth is up to 8 km also at certain sections and the average depth is 3.3 km.

The two alternatives available for constructions are bridge above water level or tunnel below ground level. Since the depth is up to 8 km it is impossible to construct concrete columns of such height for a bridge. And also the pressure below 8km from sea surface is nearly about 500 times than atmospheric pressure so one cannot survive in such a high pressure zone. So the immersed tunnels also cannot be used. Therefore, floating tunnel is finalised which is at a depth 30m from the sea level, where there is no problem of high pressure. This is sufficient for any big ship to pass over it without any obstruction.

SFT is subjected to all environmental actions typical in the water environment: wave ,current , vibration of water level, earthquake, corrosion, ice and marine growth. It is designed to stand all actions, operational and accidental loads, with enough strength and stiffness. Transverse stiffness is provided by bottom anchoring.

Sources: engineeringcivil

wikipedia

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