Three-dimensional numerical modelling of the effects of deep excavation on nearby buildings

Abstract

In densely built urban cities, deep excavations are often carried out near buildings. Excavation works inevitably induce soil stress changes and soil movements in the ground. Hence, settlement and horizontal displacement may be induced in buildings. In this paper, a three-dimensional numerical analysis was carried out to investigate the effects of excavation on two nearby buildings. An excavation for a metro station in Nanning, Guangxi province of China is adopted as the background of this case study. The minimum distance between excavation and buildings is only 5.5m, which is within one time of the excavation depth. The hardening soil model with small-strain stiffness was adopted to model the behaviour of soil. The excavation procedure in the site was modelled in the numerical analysis. Based on the numerical analysis, settlement and horizontal displacement of the two buildings are presented and analysed.