Vibration impact of rock excavation on nearby sensitive buildings: An assessment framework

Abstract

As a common construction activity, rock excavation using hydraulic breakers often generates high-level ground- and structure-borne vibrations, which may adversely affect nearby buildings in terms of structural safety, occupant comfort, and ultraprecision equipment functionality. However, building vibrations induced by rock excavation have not been well investigated and understood in the literature. For example, the coupling attenuation at column bases and the floor-to-floor vibration attenuation inside a building have rarely been quantitatively studied. Moreover, traditional dynamic analysis methods in earthquake engineering may not apply to simulations of rock excavation-induced building vibrations. This paper proposed a novel assessment framework based on the mechanical impedance concept, which can quantify the coupling attenuation at column bases and the floor-to-floor vibration attenuation inside a building in a computationally efficient manner. Systematic finite element simulations of rock excavation were performed to characterize vibration propagation in the ground and buildings. The finite element simulations and field measurements successfully verified the accuracy of the proposed prediction formulas, which offers a convenient vibration impact assessment framework to construction practitioners.