Overview on the structural features of Submerged Floating Tunnels

With both the development in construction technology of offshore engineering and the ever growing demand for transportation to cross the waterways, submerged floating tunnel (SFT) attracts more and more attention. As an innovative structure, SFT represents much more advantages in comparison with the traditional structures in a long distance waterway crossing. The focus of this paper is to provide an overview of fundamental design aspects of SFT in the light of existing research and design reports. In particular, case studies adopting different cross-sections, various structural materials, support systems, structural connections, under diverse imposed loads, are presented. In addition to this, issues about the fabrication and erection processes, ventilation and evacuation plans are also summarized. The main aim behind the work presented herein is to provide a concise source of information to researchers working in this domain of engineering.