Influence of dredging on the foundation deformation of antique stone bridge built on soft ground and its mechanistic analysis

Abstract

Objective The great demand for urban landscape improvement and reconstruction has required increasing dredging practices for waterfront buildings, particularly antique buildings. To effectively protect such antique buildings, the influence of dredging on the ground deformation of antique buildings needs to be carefully considered in the dredging operations. Methods To obtain a better understanding of the effect of dredging activities on antique buildings, the influence of dredging depth, dredging slope shoulder width and dredging slope ratio on the displacement and stress distribution of an antique stone bridge on soft ground via a three-dimensional model of the bridge body and its ground strata was studied in this paper. Based on the calculated results, mechanistic explanations of dredging on the ground deformation of antique stone bridges were proposed. Results The simulated results show the following: ① Dredging effects on the antique stone bridge mainly appeared as giving rise to the displacement of the bridge and the near strata, changing the stress distribution, and forming a plastic zone in the adjacent area of strata. As a result, dredging activities render a more complex stress and displacement distribution to the bridge and the strata around the bridge. ② Different dredging parameters have different effects on the displacement fields and stress fields of the bridge and its surrounding area. The dredging depth primarily affects the displacement magnitude of the soil, and the dredging slope shoulder width is the crucial factor affecting the scope of the dredging effect, whereas the dredging slope ratio and the dredging slope shoulder width jointly manipulate the change in the soil displacement curve and the development of the plastic zone. ③ In dredging projects, the setting of dredging parameters should not only meet the requirements of engineering practicability and economy but also reasonably determine the dredging parameters and control the impact of dredging on adjacent ancient buildings and take into account the width of the dredging slope shoulder width and the dredging slope ratio when determining the designed dredging depth. Conclusion The results in this work are of practical significance for dredging activity in antique building protection.

Keywords

• antique stone bridge
• dredging
• soft ground
• ground deformation
• numerical simulation