A three dimensional finite element analysis scheme was accomplished to simulate sequential ground excavation and lining placing of shafts and tunnels for the Superconducting Super Collider Project in Texas, United States. It implements the construction sequences, the ground-lining interaction behavior, the ground material nonlinearity, and the large displacement theory in the presented analysis. Stresses in the lining and the ground are induced and accumulated from subsequent ground excavation and lining placing cycles. Multiple Point Constraint (M.P.C.) equations were employed, between ground elements and lining elements or between different lining lift elements, to ensure lining is in a stress free state when it is initiated in the model. Numerical examples, representing different construction sequence assumptions of an elliptical shape shaft, were presented and discussed. By applying this Sequential Excavation Method (S.E.M.), the highest stress level is only 50% of the traditional analysis method; therefore, a thinner lining and a smaller excavation boundary will result.

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