ABSTRACT
In urban construction projects, it is vital to assess the effects of excavation-induced subsidence to safeguard adjacent buildings. This topic is complex due to several influencing factors including the ground conditions, the depth of the excavation, the construction methods used and the building vulnerability. Specifically, in areas with soft soil deposits and varying depths to bedrock, excavation-induced settlements can be considerably high. Short-term displacements are only a part of the problem since drainage to the excavation and pore pressure reduction can result in severe consolidation settlements and building damage. This paper describes a framework to map the impact of groundworks on the urban fabric at large spatial scale. Excavation-induced subsidence in the short-term is derived using field observations. Long-term effects are estimated by coupling empirically derived relationships of excavation-pore pressure reduction with a soil stratification model and consolidation theory. Finally, the impact assessment methodology is validated with a case study.
