During tunnel excavation in a soft soil stratum, a transparent model test can present the whole failure process, and a similar transparent material with stable physical and mechanical properties is essential for obtaining valid experimental results. Therefore, a new type of similar transparent material was developed in which fused quartz sand served as the coarse aggregate, nanoscale hydrophobic fumed silica powder acted as the binder, and a mixture of n-dodecane and 15# white oil was used as the pore fluid. The key parameters of the developed similar transparent material, including unit weight, internal friction angle, cohesion, and compression modulus, were evaluated. Furthermore, the consistency between the similar transparent material and natural soft soil was verified in three aspects, namely, physical properties, compressive strength characteristics, and shear properties. Finally, appropriate adjustment measures were proposed based on the results of the analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the analysis of range (ANOR) to meet the similarity requirements of parameters under different engineering conditions.

In response to the problem of deformation caused by surrounding construction disturbances in existing shield tunnels in soft soil areas, lateral horizontal grouting is often used. Based on an independently designed and developed lateral grouting experimental device, the mechanism of horizontal lateral grouting on the convergence deformation of the tunnel was determined. A three-dimensional finite-element analysis model was established to study the force and deformation characteristics of the tunnel tube sheet, and to verify the correctness of the model test results. The grouting remediation efficiency, eta, was introduced to establish the relationship between the grouting volume and the convergent deformation. The results show that the tunnel tube sheet was subjected to asymmetric additional soil pressure along the ring direction, and asymmetric displacement occurred, which was most obvious on the grouting side. The additional moment distribution was symmetrical and spindle-shaped, and the peak bending moments mostly appeared in the arch roof, the arch bottom, and the arch whist. With a continuous increase in grouting volume, the efficiency of the grouting remediation decreased, and the two were negatively correlated.