Tunnel Support Failure: Arching Stress Simulator (2D)

When a tunnel is driven through rock, the material that once carried the overburden's weight is gone — that load has to go somewhere. This 2D companion to the 3D "Tunnel Collapse Simulator" visualises exactly where it goes: a cellular stress-redistribution model diffuses each column's weight sideways as it approaches the opening, concentrating it onto the roof supports and the rock pillars flanking the tunnel — the real geotechnical arching effect. Tune overburden depth, rock mass quality (RMR) and support spacing/capacity, then run a loading test to watch supports overload one by one and, past the collapse threshold, cascade into a full roof failure.