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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Earth Sci.

Sec. Geohazards and Georisks

This article is part of the Research TopicNatural Hazards Accompanying Underground Exploitation of Mineral Raw MaterialsView all 14 articles

Assessment of Cavity Formation in the Crown During Tunnel Excavation in the Himalayan Region

Provisionally accepted
Krzysztof SkrzypkowskiKrzysztof Skrzypkowski1*Ashok KumarAshok Kumar2*Rajit KumarRajit Kumar3,4Abhishek KumarAbhishek Kumar2,5Sahendra RamSahendra Ram6,7Krzysztof ZagórskiKrzysztof Zagórski8Anna ZagórskaAnna Zagórska9Jerzy StasicaJerzy Stasica10Zbigniew RakZbigniew Rak10
  • 1AGH University of Krakow, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Resource Management, Department of Mining Engineering and Occupational Safety, Krakow, Poland
  • 2Department of Mining Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad, 826004, Jharkhand, India, Jharkhand, India
  • 3Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi, Varanasi, India
  • 4Department of Mining Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University) Varanasi, 221005, Uttar Pradesh, India, Uttar Pradesh, India
  • 5Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines) Dhanbad, Dhanbad, India
  • 6National Institute of Technology Rourkela, Rourkela, India
  • 7Department of Mining Engineering, National Institute of Technology Rourkela, 769008, Odisha, India, Odisha, India
  • 8Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics, AGH University of Krakow, Mickiewicza 30 Av., 30-059 Kraków, Poland, Kraków, Poland
  • 9Research Centre in Kraków, Institute of Geological Sciences, Polish Academy of Science, Senacka 1, 31-002 Kraków, Poland, Kraków, Poland
  • 10Faculty of Civil Engineering and Resource Management, AGH University of Krakow, Mickiewicza 30 Av., 30-059 Kraków, Poland, Kraków, Poland

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Chimney failure (crown displacement) in tunnel construction presents a critical concern of tunnelling projects in weaker rock formations at shallow depth of cover. Understanding the mechanisms and implications of chimney failure is of paramount importance for ensuring safe and efficient tunnel excavation, preventing potential hazards, and implementing effective remedial measures to maintain tunnel stability and structural integrity. An attempt has been made in this paper to simulate chimney failure in a tunnel and measured the vertical displacements and stresses in both unsupported and supported tunnels with cavities and compared with the field observations. This paper also discusses the importance of appropriate support strategies and remediation techniques to ensure the stability and structural integrity of tunnels while addressing challenges associated with crown displacement and cavity formation.

Keywords: Chimney failure, numerical simulation, Roof bolt, Shotcrete, support, tunnel

Received: 13 Nov 2025; Accepted: 12 Feb 2026.

Copyright: © 2026 Skrzypkowski, Kumar, Kumar, Kumar, Ram, Zagórski, Zagórska, Stasica and Rak. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Krzysztof Skrzypkowski
Ashok Kumar

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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