Laboratory Measurement of Excavation Disturbance Effect Due to Trenchless Construction Using Distributed Fiber Optics Strain Sensing

Abstract

Abstract Excavation disturbance induced by trenchless construction may lead to underground movement and deformation, which can be a potential hazard to the safety of overlying pavement structure. However, the development of a fiber optic–distributed sensing approach in recent years has provide an effective way for continuous measurement of soil strain. In this study, the mechanism of the excavation disturbance effect that is due to trenchless construction was investigated based on laboratory experiments. The sensing fibers were embedded within the overburden layer above the excavation surface to measure the distributed soil strain using Brillouin optical time-domain analysis. The relationships between ground settlements and soil strains were analyzed. The partition theory of excavation disturbance zone was verified based on test results. The influence of excavation on mechanical responses of overlying model pavement, including bending deformation and soil pressure, was measured and discussed. Laboratory test results indicated that soil strains were nearly symmetrically distributed around the excavation area, which was compressive close to the centerline and then became tensile on both sides of the excavation area. The width of the excavation disturbance zone derived from the soil strain measurements was found close to the calculation results based on the partition theory. Because of the uneven distribution of the support force that was caused by foundation settlement, the model pavement showed notable bending deformation after excavation. Therefore, the combined effects of traffic loading and excavation disturbance should be considered in the safety evaluation of trenchless construction.