Abstract
Three uncertain parameters (peak ground acceleration, soil density, and soil modulus of elasticity) have been studied with regard to their effects on the stability and damage of a circular tunnel during an earthquake. A time history of an actual earthquake in the literature with modification has been adopted in the numerical simulation and analysis of the tunnel responses. Meta-models have been constructed based on an experimental method with quadratic and interaction terms using matlab codes in order to predict the compressive damage, tensile damage, and the overall displacement of the tunnel. The results of the meta-models predicted a highly reasonable response of the tunnel with regard to the maximum principal stresses in the tunnel lining and predicted a remarkable response of the tunnel with respect to the overall displacement of the tunnel. Moreover, the peak ground acceleration was observed to exert the highest effect on the overall displacement of the tunnel, compared to the soil density and soil modulus of elasticity. Furthermore, the meta-models revealed the inverse relationship between the soil modulus of elasticity and the compressive and tensile damages of the tunnel lining. The meta-models exhibited high efficiency of representation of the behavior of the structural system during earthquakes.