Prediction and Assessment of Ground Movement and Building Damage Induced by Adjacent Excavation
The precise interaction between buildings and soils is by its nature a complicated one, as it is a function of a myriad of variables related both to the soil and the structure. The problem is exacerbated when externally induced ground movements are imposed, as in the case of adjacent excavations. The following laboratory experiments were designed to better understand the intricate relationship between the installation of retaining systems and the potential occurrence of building damage. To accomplish this, six large-scale soil-structure model tests were conducted in which model buildings of reinforced concrete and unreinforced masonry, as well as a free field condition, were compared to each other for both stiff and flexible cantilever excavation walls. This is predicated on the dependent relationship between excavation activities and building response. What specifically needs to be understood is how and to what degree the installation and performance of an excavation system generates soil movement, through what means and to what extent movement and volumetric change are induced within the soil mass behind the excavation system, the characteristics of the resulting settlement trough, the amount and type of building displacement, specifically in relation to the allowable strain of a structure, and how this manifests as different levels of damage.
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign