Comparative evaluations of building impact assessment due to adjacent tunneling

Abstract

In dense urban areas, tunneling can potentially lead to structural damage or compromise the integrity of nearby buildings, thus necessitating a thorough evaluation of its impact during the design phase. Various engineering methods exist to estimate building responses to adjacent tunneling, each varying in complexity. These methods yield different outcomes, such as settlement magnitude and behavior. This study examines pile settlements, differential pile settlement, and angular distortion of a building through three distinct analysis methods. These involve two-step methods of soil-structure interaction of a building and tunneling from (1) the corresponding greenfield ground, (2) piles embedded in the ground, and (3) piles under loading. The results were then compared and discussed. Based on the obtained results, the method for considering piles under loading can be regarded an effective method for providing a conservative evaluation.