Safety of underground tunnels. Research published in the journal Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology

(July 2014) evaluated the safety of underground tunnels built in rigid soils. A Factor of Safety (FS), measured as the ratio of capacity over demand, was determined for three different areas of tunnels made from shotcrete: tunnel face, tunnel walls, and tunnel crown. FS was determined to be normally distributed in each area, with means and standard deviations shown in the table. Tunnel failure is considered to occur when FS is lower than or equal to 1. Which tunnel area is more likely to result in failure? Why?

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Mean () Standard Deviation () Tunnel Face 1.2 .16 Tunnel Walls 1.4 .20 Tunnel Crown 2.1 .70