Settlement Analysis and Building Damages Associated with Tunneling

Abstract

High growth in population tends to increase in demand of the infrastructures. As the ground space becomes limited, it is essential to construct underground structures. Tunnel construction induces ground movements which includes urban areas, hilly areas etc. It causes damages to buildings and constructions above the ground. The tunnel designs which are used for construction are based on the site conditions and the experiences which get from geological investigations. Besides, the mechanisms which control the tunnel-soil-structure interaction problems are not well understood yet. These conditions varies according to the geological conditions. As such, new tunnel projects are being constructed beneath high density urban areas, the construction and operation of these systems can cause a restriction of services, and damage to surface or other subsurface structures. Therefore, the prediction of tunnel induced building deformation becomes issue in the planning process. As deep excavations initiate lateral and vertical ground deformations due to the stresses relaxation and bottom heave associated with the excavation process, the adjacent buildings and buried utilities become kinematically loaded by the induced ground deformations which depend in magnitude and direction on the building proximity to the excavations.