The paper discusses continuum and discontinuum modelling in tunnel engineering. A brief review of fundamentals is presented in connection with the use of closed-form solutions and computer based numerical methods. A few remarks are derived on the choice of ...

In this paper, the shape and size of the plastic zone around an underground excavation are predicted using three different approaches: the convergence-confinement method, a continuum numerical approach and a discontinuum numerical model. The results show that ...