A series of full-scale loading tests are performed for a prospective subway tunnel with a rectangular shape including two reliability tests:one stagger-jointed three-ring reliability test,and one ultimate failure test on a single ring.Comprehensive measuring programs are designed to record the deformation of both lining structure and joints and the stresses of concrete,bolts and reinforcements.Experimental results show that in both the single-ring and three-ring loading cases,the long sides of tunnel cross section bend inwards while the short sides of tunnel cross section bend outwards.The inner part of joints opens while the outer part of joints closes at places experiencing positive moment and vice versa.Joint’s rotational stiffness varies at different locations.Concrete cracking and crushing are the chief damage modes,and they are closely related to the distribution of bending moment.Stagger-jointed fabrication significantly increases the overall rigidity of lining system,which thereby greatly reduces the deformation of both concrete lining and joints in comparison with the single-ring case.It is shown that the routinely-used uniform rigidity model is conservative and the preliminary design can be optimized by applying an effective rigidity ratio (ERR) of 0.5.