Securing submerged floating tunnels

PhD student

Wei Lin

Supervisors

Prof Yinghui Tian	Prof Mark Cassidy

Project Details

A submerged floating tunnel is a conceptual design of a tunnel that floats in water, supported by its buoyancy (specifically, by employing the hydrostatic thrust, or Archimedes' principle). Although the idea can be stemmed back to the late 19th century, none submerged floating tunnel has been built yet. One of the key barriers for this promising new infrastructure is how the tunnel can be securely moored to the seabed. This project aims to provide an efficient geotechnical solution through a loop of conceptual development, numerical modeling, centrifuge modelling and final verification using large scale model tests. Expected outcomes include a rigorously verified mooring system, quality first-hand observations and scientific knowledge advance, which are expected to pave the way for constructing the first submerged floating tunnel.