Segment lining design of the long tunnel at Sardasht dam for water-transfer considering the effects of segment joints

Segment joints of the lining should be capable of withstanding a certain amount of bending moment, axial and shear forces, and considering that the force-displacement correlation may behave linearly within a certain range of the applied load, the bending moment applied on the lining might be reduced. Hence, the lining thickness could be reduced once smaller internal forces are involved. In the structural analysis of the lining segment, joints could be modeled as elastic tubes and their stiffness could be expressed in terms of rigidity.