Analysis of tunneling-induced ground movements in spatially variable soil under the influence of existing building

Abstract

Tunnel construction invariably results in ground movement, which is significantly impacted by the spatial variability of soil properties and proximity of existing buildings. However, few studies have examined the coupled effect of these two factors on tunneling-induced ground movement. This study establishes a stochastic finite element model that incorporates both the spatial variability of soil properties and influence of existing buildings. The model is used to perform a series of random analyses, studying the effects of story number, eccentricity, and building length on ground settlements induced by tunneling in soil with spatial variability of Young’s modulus. A probabilistic analysis is conducted to investigate the uncertainties associated with ground settlements. The results of the analysis indicate that the presence of the building enhances the influence of the spatial variability of soil, leading to an increase in the dispersion of ground settlement. For high-rise buildings, the reduction of building eccentricity and length will increase the uncertainty of surface settlement. Neglecting the influence of the existing building in the probability analysis of surface settlement can result in an overestimation of the failure probability.