Cracking in Walls of a Building Adjacent to a Deep Excavation

Abstract

A major concern for projects involving deep excavations in urban areas is the response of adjacent buildings and utilities to excavation-related ground movements. Unfortunately, a purely theoretical approach to estimating building response to excavation-related deformations is not possible due to the variability of the many factors that contribute to the response. Consequently, building response must be estimated and evaluated primarily based on empirical observations and various structural approximations. The goal of estimating and evaluating building response is to provide limiting criteria that will safeguard the structure against unacceptable damage. Thus, estimating the extent of the building response and consequently the severity of excavation-related building damage is critical to establishing rational limiting criteria for excavation support system designs. The most common measure of damage severity is the onset and growth of cracks in interior walls of adjacent structures. Although several proced...