The comparison of effective variables and methods in water inflow into hard rock tunnels (Case study: Karaj dam-Tehran water conveyance tunnel)

Tehran- Karaj water conveyance tunnel (part 1), 16 kilometers in length, in the Karaj formation was excavated in order to convey the water from the Amir-Kabir dam to the Tehran refinery plant. The hydrogeology studies of the Karaj tunnel were done to discover the affecting parameters on the groundwater inflow into the tunnel. Groundwater inflow was estimated by means of empirical and analytical methods. Daily measurements of inflow rate show that there are some differences between the calculated and the observed inflow value. In this research, based on the comparison between the observed and calculated groundwater inflow, some relations have been derived for similar hydrogeological conditions. In many hydrogeological conditions, the analytical equations are supervised on empirical formula. According to this research, addition to permeability and water head; geological structure, Precipitation and bedding dip have a significant effect in water inflow into tunnels. Also, most of groundwater inflow along the Karaj tunnel is largely related to the main geological features, such as folds, faults, dykes and open fractures and inflow is correlated with precipitation.