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max
= maximum settlement (at x =0)
x = horizontal distance from the centerline of twin tunnels
i = the distance from the centerline of twin tunnels to the point of inflection
a = shifted distance from twin tunnels centerline
For the Bangkok MRT, the offset parameter (a) observed on 24 arrays ranged from 0.03-0.58 of
the distance between the two tunnel centerlines (d). The mean a/d is 0.16, The width of the settlement
trough observed after the excavation of the twin tunnels in the project was about 6 to 12 m for the
vertically-stacked tunnels and 10 to 17 m for the side-by-side twin tunnels.
The settlement trough width data were analyzed according to Peck (1969)s method of prediction.
The plot of i/R versus Z/2R for the single tunnel case is shown in Figure 5. The trough width parameter
(i) was obtained by fitting the observed surface settlement data with the Gaussian function. As can be
seen, most of the data points fall within the zone of sand below ground water level rather than soft to
stiff clay zone. This implies that for tunneling in Bangkok subsoil with EPB shields, the settlement
trough width tends to be wider than the suggested value by Peck (1969)s empirical method.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
0 5 10 15 20
Trough width parameter, i (m)
D
e
p
t
h
,
Z
(
m
)
Single tunnel
Twin tunnel i = 0.3Z i = 0.4Z i = 0.5Z
i = 0.6Z
Figure 6. Observed settlement trough width parameters after single tunnel compared with
the parameter recommended by O'Reilly and New (1982)
323
A plot is made between relationship between the settlement trough width parameter (i) and tunnel
depth (z), Figure 6. Most of the data points fall within the range of i = 0.5Z to 0.6Z for tunnels located
in both the stiff clay and soft clay layers and i <0.4Z for tunnels in sand layer. This is in agreement
with the observation of OReilly and New (1982).
2.2 Subsurface ground movement
Monitoring of subsurface ground movements was made by means of borehole extensometers and
inclinometers installed at a number of sections along the tunnel alignment. The layouts of the
instruments in the two contracts are shown in Figure 7.
Extensometer
Tunnel
Soft Clay
Stiff Clay
Extensometer
Tunnel
Soft Clay
Stiff Clay
3 - 6 m.
Extensometer installation in
South contract
Extensometer installation in
North contract
Inclinometer
casing
Inclinometer
casing
Figure 7. Subsurface Instrumentation for bored tunneling
0
-5
-10
-15
-20
-25
-30
-35
0 20 -20 -40
0 20 -20 -40
S oft clay
S tiff clay
Very stiff clay
Dense sand
-25 m.
-15 m.
Stiff clay
-20 m.
Soft clay
V ery stiff
clay
S ubsurface settlement
Instrument R E -5T-7 (Bon Kai - S irikit)
D
e
p
t
h
(
m
)
S ubsurface settlement (mm)
Figure 8. Subsurface settlement above tunnel centerline
324
1) Subsurface settlement
For area above the tunnel centerline, the magnitude of subsurface settlement after the tunnel was
excavated generally increased with depth toward the tunnel roof, as shown in Figure 8. For the
subsurface ground settlement to the side of the tunnel wall, it was generally observed that the largest
magnitude of the settlement usually occurred in the soft clay layer at location near the interface with the
underlying stiff clay (Figure 9). The settlement in the stiff clay along that vertical plane decreased with
depth as the point falls further from the movement cone. At some sections, a small heave was measured
below the tunnel level.
0
-5
-10
-15
-20
-25
-30
-35
Soft clay
Stiff clay
Dense sand
Subsurface settlement
Instrument 23-IEX-001 (Thiam Ruam Mit - Pracharat)
0 20 -20 -40 -60
0 20 -20 -40 -60
-23m.
-15m.
Stiff clay
-17m.
Soft clay
Densesand
3.42m.
Subsurface settlement (mm)
D
e
p
t
h
(
m
)
Measurement
Loganathan &
Poulos (1998)
Figure 9. Subsurface settlement to the side of tunnel wall
Extensometer Monitoring Result
No. 25-IE-003 Sutthisan - Ratchada
-50
-40
-30
-20
-10
0
10
20
30
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Elapsed time (days)
S
e
t
t
l
e
m
e
n
t
(
m
m
)
Shield passing
-18.5m.
25-ME-3/08 -2.02m.
-15 m.
Soft clay
Stiff clay
25-ME-3/07 -5.15m.
25-ME-3/06 -8.32m.
25-ME-3/05 -11.45 m.
25-ME-3/04 -14.58 m.
25-ME-3/03 -17.71 m.
6.24 m.
Figure 10. Changing of subsurface settlement with time
325
Long term ground settlement behavior for the EPB shield tunnel excavation was examined. The
subsurface settlement data showed that after the shield passage, significant increase in the settlement in
long term could only be observed in the soft clay layer. This was probably attributed to the effect of
consolidation of the soft clay brought about by the effect of the shield tunneling. In some case the
amount of the increase in 3-4 months was almost 100 percent of the short term settlement (Figure 10).
However, the long term increase in the settlement in the stiff clay layer near the tunnel roof was
generally not significant.
2) Lateral displacement
The lateral displacements of ground beside the tunnel were observed at 12 locations along the
alignment. The instruments were placed at distance of 0.20-2.6 m from the tunnel wall. Most of the
measurements showed a similar pattern of the lateral ground movement which can be divided into two
different depth zones, i.e. above and below the level of the tunnel arch point (Figure 11).
Above the tunnel roof, the ground deformed laterally towards the tunnel with the maximum
displacement occurring in the lower area of the soft clay layer. The inward movement within this depth
zone continued to increase after the passage of the shield tail.
0
-5
-10
-15
-20
-25
0 -2 -4 2 4 6
Lateral Deformation (mm)
D
e
p
t
h
(
m
)
Made ground
Soft clay
Stiff clay
Clayey sand
Very stiff clay
Zone1
Zone2
Zone3
C.L. =18.8 m
2.35 mfromtheinclinometer
Avg. facepressure=100 kPa
Avg. grouting pressure =2.5 bar
A. 2D beforetheshield face
B. 1D beforetheshield face
C. at theshield face
D. 0.5D behidetheshield face
E. at theshield tail
F. 2D behidetheshield face
G. 3D behidetheshield face
H. 4D behidetheshield face
Inclinometer No. IN-T7-04
(Phetchaburi - Sukhumvit stations
Figure 11. Lateral displacements (After Suwansawat, 2002)
In the zone below the tunnel roof level, two types of lateral ground displacement were observed.
Generally, inward movement toward the tunnel was observed as can be seen in Figure 12. The
magnitude was smaller than those occurring above the tunnel roof. However, at few sections where
high face pressure was used in the shield operation, the ground in this depth zone experienced outward
movements during the passage of the shield as shown in Fig 11. The movement ceased after the passage
of the shield tail. This clearly indicates the effect of the applied face pressure in the EPB shield
326
tunneling in Bangkok soils as reported by Suwansawat (2002) who presented a correlation between the
outward lateral ground movement and the EPB face pressure observed for the project.
Figure 12. Comparison between lateral displacements with predictions
Studies were made to investigate applicable methods for prediction of ground movements induced
from shield tunneling in Bangkok soils. Both the empirical approach (e.g. Verruijt and Booker, 1996;
Loganathan and Poulos, 1998; etc.) and the numerical approach (e.g. FEM PLAXIS, FDA FLAC, etc.)
were investigated (Tavaranum, 2003). On the empirical approach, it was found that the method of
Loganathan and Poulos (1998) method generally can give reasonable fits to subsurface settlement
pattern with field data for both single and twin tunnels cases (8 out of 12 sections). The gap parameter,
g, from back calculation was in the range of 20-60 mm (Timpong, 2002). Reasonable prediction was
also offered by the Verruijt and Booker (1996)s method.
However, both of the empirical methods could not offer reasonable prediction of lateral ground
movement from the EPB shield tunneling in case of excavation with a high face pressure where
outward movement of ground from shield face occurred (6 out of 12 sections).
3. BUILDING RESPONSE
Along the alignment, there were 339 buildings and structures located in the zone of influence. These
structures were subjected to a detailed building condition survey. Instruments were installed to monitor
any movements and cracks induced during and after the passages of the shields.
With the existence of the soft clay layer in the entire Bangkok area, buildings and other structures
constructed in Bangkok need to be founded on piles. Different length and size of piles have been used
depending on the size of the building and the period of their construction. Generally, the depths of pile
tips of the buildings can be conceived as shown in Figure 13. Five categories of buildings based on the
depth of foundation piles were made in the project for consideration of potential damage from shield
tunneling in the project.
327
- Type 1: Old buildings with expected pile length not exceeding 6 m.
- Type 2: Buildings and shophouses, 2 to 3 storeys with expected pile lengths of
between 6 m and 14 m.
- Type 3: Buildings , 4 to 10 storeys with expected pile lengths of between 15 m and
22 m
- Type 4: Modern buildings exceeding 10 storeys or other structures with pile lengths
in excess of 22 m.
Made ground
Soft clay
1
st
Stiff clay
1
st
Sand deposit
0.00 m.
-1.5 m.
-15 m.
-22 m.
-40 m.
14 to 30 m.
2 to 3 storey
building &
shophouse
Old building
and house
4 to 10 storey
building
>10 storey
building
Pile length >22 m
15 to 22 m
6 to 14 m
<6 m
Figure 13. Expected pile length of buildings in Bangkok
The monitoring data of all the instrumented buildings (mostly reinforced concrete frame types)
were evaluated and the broad picture of the building response to the tunnel excavation could be
depicted by the summary plots of building settlements versus number of storey of the building and
distance from the tunnel excavation (Figure 14 and 15).
It clearly shows that buildings on deep piles were less influenced by the tunnel excavation (Types
4 Buildings: settlements <10 mm). For smaller buildings (Types 2&3), the settlement could be larger
(up to 30 mm). For buildings on short piles (Type 1), settlement could be excessive. Fig 14 shows that
significant building settlement (>20 mm) only recorded for buildings located within distance of 30 m
from the tunnel centerline.
The measured differential settlements of the buildings were calculated and expressed in term of
settlement ratio or tilt (differential settlement/distance between the two reference points)., The observed
tilts of these buildings were mostly smaller than 1:1000 (0.001) which was the alert level set forth for
the control of work in the Bangkok MRT project. According to Burland (1995) a (masonry) building
experiencing a maximum tilt of 1:500 (0.002) and a settlement of less than 10 mm has negligible risk of
any damage. In fact, very few cases of damages of the existing buildings due to shield tunneling
occurred in the project. These were limited to old 1-3 storey buildings founded on short piles (probably
with tips within soft clay layers). All of the tall buildings were not damaged by the tunnel excavation
even though the tunnel was excavated right next to the piles. A study is currently made to evaluate the
influence of the shield tunneling on the load carrying capacity and integrity of the piles.
328
Figure 14. Relation between building settlement and distance of building from tunnel
Building settlements vs distance from tunnel
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
distance from tunnel (m.)
b
u
i
l
d
i
n
g
s
e
t
t
l
e
m
e
n
t
(
m
m
)
Buildings on foundation
Type 1
Type 2
Type 3
Type 4
Figure 15. Relation between building settlement and number of storey of building
Building settlement vs No. of storey
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
No. of storey
b
u
i
l
d
i
n
g
s
e
t
t
l
e
m
e
n
t
(
m
m
)
4. CONCLUSIONS
- Maximum ground surface settlement above the tunnels ranged from 5 mm to 120 mm, mostly 20-
60 mm. The corresponding volume loss in the tunnel excavation was 0.4-2.50%. Tunneling in
water bearing sand layer tended to give the largest ground movement.
- Most of the surface settlement trough could be fitted by Gaussian function. The trough width
parameter (i) is approximately between 0.4Z and 0.6Z for tunnels in clays and less than 0.4Z for
tunnels in sands.
- The long-term settlements in soft clay layer above the tunnel could be significant in some sections
but not for the stiff clay layer.
329
- Outward lateral ground movement from the tunnel excavation occurred for depths below the tunnel
roof in sections where high face pressure was used in EPB excavation. Above the tunnel roof,
inward lateral displacement occurred in all cases.
- In general, the observed subsurface settlements and lateral displacements could be reasonably fitted
with the prediction by the analytical methods of Verruijt and Booker (1996) and Loganathan and
Poulos (1998). However, the prediction was poor for lateral ground movements in case where
lateral outward ground movement occurred.
- Settlement of buildings showed correlation with the height of building (depth of foundation piles).
REFERENCES
Burland, J .B., 1995. Assessment of risk of damage to buildings due to tunnelling and excavation, Proc
Int. Conf. Earthquake Geot. Eng., IS-Tokyo 95.
Loganathan N. and Poulos H.G., 1998. Analytical prediction for tunneling-induced ground movement
in clays, J . Geotech. Engrg ASCE, 124, no. 9, pp.846-856.
Mair R.J ., Gunn M.J . and OReilly M.P., 1981, Ground movement around Shallow Tunnels in Soft
Clay, Proceedings of The 10
th
Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering,
Stockholm, Vol.1, pp. 323-328
New, B.M. and Bowers, K.H., 1993. Ground Movement model validation at the Heathrow Express
Trial Tunnel. Tunnelling 94, IMM, London, pp. 301-329.
OReilly, M.P. and New B.M., 1982. Settlements above Tunnels in United Kingdom-Their Magnitude
and Prediction, Tunnelling82, pp 173-181.
Peck, R.B., 1969. Deep Excavation in Soft Ground, Proc. 7th International Conference on Soil
Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, State of the Art Volume, pp 225-290.
Phienwej, N. 1998. Ground movements associated with soft ground tunnelling in Bangkok. Proc.
World Tunnel Congress 98: Tunnels and Metropolises, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Suwansawat, S., 2002. Earth Pressure Balance Shield Tunneling in Bangkok: Ground Response and
Prediction of Surface Settlements using Artificial Neural Networks. Doctoral Dissertation, MIT,
USA.
Timpong, S., 2002. Analysis of Ground Movement in Bangkok MRT Blue Line Project. M.S. Thesis,
AIT, Bangkok.
Tavaranum, S., 2003. Analysis of Subsurface Ground Movement Induced by EPB Shield Tunnelling in
Bangkok MRT Blue Line Project. M.S. Thesis, AIT, Bangkok.
Verruijt, A. and Booker, J .R., 1996, Surface settlements due to deformation tunnel in an Elastic Half
Plane, Geotechnique, Vol. 46, No. 4, pp. 753-756.
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