Assessment of Tunnel Excavation on Surface Settlement

Subject Areas : Structural Engineering

Meysam  Kalhor ¹ (Civil Engineering Department Zanjan Branch,, Islamic Azad University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran)

Received: 2013-06-08 Accepted : 2013-08-25 Published : 2013-09-30

Keywords: TBM, Surface buildings, asymmetric settlement,

Abstract :

The expansion of underground structures is important in urban areas with high population density. In most large cities in the world, urban development is spreading along the structures. These structures are generally located at shallow depth; therefore study of shallow tunnels in urban areas is critical for development. During the excavation of tunnels in urban areas, creating the asymmetric settlement of surface structures caused by changing stresses in the area due to the construction of underground structures is an issue to be regarded. In this research, the surface structure is considered as an overburden incurred on the tunnel, to assess the effects of tunnel excavation on the asymmetric settlement in the buildings to be built. For this purpose, a baseline model considered and the effect of the tunnel location are assessed into the existing buildings. Studies show the significant impact of the Location of tunnel on surface structure’s settlement than construction. The article is designed to provide the criteria can be generalized to all tunnels. The paper has tried to compare different modes of tunnel placement to get the best condition for the tunnel to the surface buildings, regarding the rate of asymmetry settlement foundation of Buildings Achieved.