Water-bearing geological structures in front of the tunnel and underground engineering are prone to water inrush hazards, which seriously threaten construction safety. This study investigated the potential of hydraulic tomography (HT) in detecting water-bearing structures to prevent groundwater hazards in tunnels. We established two synthetic heterogeneous aquifers with two different water-bearing structures, fractures and cavern zones. A comprehensive HT inversion analysis was performed using hydraulic head records generated by forward hydraulic tests. The results show that 1) sufficient pumping and observation wells can assist in capturing water-bearing structures and hydraulic properties; 2) transient hydraulic tomography (THT) inversion has a better effect than steady-state hydraulic tomography (SSHT) inversion since the temporal variation of head records carries non-redundant characteristics and distribution information of water-bearing structures; 3) inverted hydraulic conductivity and specific storage fields are positively correlated with observed heads at the end and early stages of the pumping test, respectively; 4) taking geological information as a prior can greatly assist in mapping potential water-bearing structures. This study can provide valuable guidance for detecting water-bearing structures in tunnel and underground engineering and formulating effective control schemes for water inrush hazards.

洞前含水地质构造及地下工程易发生突水灾害，严重威胁施工安全。本研究调查了水力层析成像 (HT) 在检测含水结构以防止隧道地下水危害方面的潜力。我们建立了两个具有两种不同含水结构、裂缝和洞穴带的合成非均质含水层。使用正向水压试验产生的水头记录进行了全面的 HT 反演分析。结果表明：1）充足的抽水和观测井有助于捕获含水构造和水力特性；2）瞬态水力层析成像（THT）反演比稳态水力层析成像（SSHT）反演效果更好，因为水头记录的时间变化携带非冗余特征和含水构造的分布信息；3)反导水力系数和比蓄水场分别与抽水试验末期和前期观测水头呈正相关；4）以地质信息为先验可以极大地帮助绘制潜在的含水构造。该研究可为隧道及地下工程中含水结构的检测和制定有效的突水灾害控制方案提供有价值的指导。3)反导水力系数和比蓄水场分别与抽水试验末期和前期观测水头呈正相关；4）以地质信息为先验可以极大地帮助绘制潜在的含水构造。该研究可为隧道及地下工程中含水结构的检测和制定有效的突水灾害控制方案提供有价值的指导。3)反导水力系数和比蓄水场分别与抽水试验末期和前期观测水头呈正相关；4）以地质信息为先验可以极大地帮助绘制潜在的含水构造。该研究可为隧道及地下工程中含水结构的检测和制定有效的突水灾害控制方案提供有价值的指导。