Abstract: This paper presents the technical aspects and the advantages of a tunnel excavation method, Ground Pass Shield Tunneling (GPST). The analytical methods of stress in the segment tunnel structure is also introduced in the paper. The 16 points concentrated loading method used in the laboratory model test of the internally loaded segment structure under the GPST conditions with very shallow cover soil depth or negative cover depth are also compared with the numerical analysis by using the equivalent bending moment principle. The results indicate that the bending moment and deformation information obtained from both methods are close but there are large differences in the axial and shear loads. However, the key factors for the potential cracks in the tunnel structure under the shallow cover and negative cover depth are excessive bending moment and deformation, which could be satisfactorily obtained throughout the 16 points loading method.

Key words: Segment Structure, Shallow Buried Tunnel, Finite Element Analysis, Model Test