Study of the Effect of Tunneling on the Ground Movement and the Behavior of Resting Structures

Abstract

Tunnelling activities in urban areas are always associated with surface and subsurface ground subsidence, which may affect the stability of nearby structures and utilities. During and after tunnel construction, the surrounding building is subjected to different.deformations and strains due to immediate settlement. The constructed buildings should be able to bear the effect of change in the total, differential settlement and bending moment of raft according to the tunneling activity. The soil settlement around the tunnel and the ground movement above the tunnel should be taken in consideration too. This study focuses on the settlement of raft foundation according to tunneling activity using single and double tunnels. 2D numerical model was conducted to simulate the excessive settlement of raft according to tunneling. The effect of tunnel depth, soil consistency and spacing between double tunnels is studied. By increasing the soil cover above the tunnel crown, the settlement and bending moment of raft increases regardless the relative density of surrounding soil.

Keywords

• tunneling
• tunnel crown
• ground surface settlement