FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF DEEP BASEMENT CONSTRUCTION OF BANK OF THAILAND ALONG CHAO PHRAYA RIVER CLOSED TO HISTORICAL PALACES

Abstract

The Bank of Thailand headquarter (BOT) is a large building located in the innerRattanakosin Island where high-rise building more than 4 storey is not permitted. Thisbuilding consists of 3 story and 5 basements with excavation depth of 15.8 m. The head officewas constructed along Chao Phraya river, the main river of Bangkok. The basement of thebuilding was constructed only 5m and 10m away from two historical palaces, Tewavej andBangkhunphrom. Hence, protection policy has been set for the construction and damageassessment by means of Finite Element Method (FEM) with simulation of basementconstruction method was carried out to predict any potential damage to both palaces. Atlast, the top down construction method was employed for basement construction using1m thick and 20m long of diaphragm wall combined with 50m long of bored pile. Theinstrumentation was installed at the palaces, diaphragm and ground settlement to observefield performance both during and after construction. Furthermore, the field measurement datais compared and discussed with prediction data from FEM analysis and the time dependent oflateral wall movement will be presented. Currently, the construction of Bank of Thailand headoffice is finished without damage to both palaces.