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AbstractDeep excavations inevitably initiate lateral and Such ambitious developments call for deep vertical
vertical ground deformations due to the stress relaxation and excavations and underground tunneling that are frequently
bottom heave associated with the excavation process. Thus, close to existing structurally-sensitive buildings and utilities.
adjacent buildings and utilities become kinematically loaded by The induced deformations depend in magnitude and direction
the induced ground deformations. To date, the ground
on the building proximity to the excavations as schematically
displacements induced by deep excavations and their associated
risks cannot be truthfully evaluated utilizing only systematic demonstrated in Fig. 2. It is well-acknowledged that the control
engineering calculations for many reasons including the need to of ground movements and protection of adjacent or overlying
account for the natural variability of geomaterials and the structures is a major element in the design and construction of
uncertainties in soil properties, the ground constitutive behavior, deep excavations and tunneling in urban areas.
modeling of construction stages, three-dimensional effects of deep
excavations, time-dependent natures of the ground deformations
as well as the crucial needs to incorporate human factors such as
workmanship in the predicting models. The aforementioned
aspects require comprehensive knowledge and vast experience
not only in deep excavations and their effects on structures and
utilities but also in all geotechnical engineering aspects. In this
article, a state-of-the-art review of the powerful approaches in
quantifying risks associated with deep excavations and their
contemporary mitigation methods are highlighted.
I. INTRODUCTION
There is an increasing National demand to utilize the
underground space in the developments of the urban congested
areas for different purposes such as transportation tunnels,
underground parking garages, basements and utilities. El-
Fig. 2. Ground and building deformations induced by a deep excavation
Nahhas [1] highlighted many plans to utilize the underground (after Hsiao [2])
space in Egypt. One of the most ambitious plans that were
detailed by El-Nahhas [1] is the utilization of the underground It is a common practice to support deep excavations by
space is the construction of transportation tunnels and continuous walls in urban areas to limit the induced
underground garages under main Cairo streets such as Gamat movements and consequently the associated risks. The
Aldoul Alarabia as demonstrated in Fig. 1. excavation support systems for deep excavations consist of
two main components: a wall, and its supporting measures.
Many types of walls and supports have been used in deep
excavations. Walls supporting deep excavation may be
classified into the following three major categories according
to the form of supporting measures provided for them:
1. Cantilevered wall (usually for shallow
excavation);
2. Strutted/braced wall; and
3. Tied-back or anchored wall
Under each of the above support category, the following wall
Fig. 1. Utilization of the underground space under Gamat Aldoul Alarabya in
Cairo Vision 2050 (after El-Nahhas [1]) types may be utilized:
a) Sheet pile wall;
b) Soldier pile and lagging wall (Berliner wall); Another very well-known recent failure is the failure of
c) Contiguous bored piles wall; Nicoll Highway in Singapore, Fig. 4, which occurred due to
d) Secant piles wall; insufficient site investigations, misinterpretation of the
e) Diaphragm wall; and observations, faults in design of the bracing system and
f) Soil-mixing walls utilization of unsuitable method for wall strutting by jet
Puller [3] described the aforementioned systems and other grouting (Whittle & Davies [5]; Lee [6]).
less widely used support systems in considerable details. The
excavation-induced deformations may be affected by a large
number of factors such as: wall stiffness, ground conditions,
groundwater condition and control measures, excavation
depth, construction sequences and workmanship. The
following sections address some of the important factors that
profoundly affect the induced deformations and hence the
associated buildings' damage.
II. RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH DEEP E XCAVATIONS
Ground deformations are the inevitable devils awaked by
deep excavations. The horizontal stress relaxation by the
excavation induces horizontal movement of the retaining wall
towards the excavation side accompanied by vertical
deformations for the soil around the excavation. The vertical Fig. 4. Failure of Nicoll Highway in Singapore initiated by a nearby deep
deformations are mostly downward deformations (settlement); excavation and other geotechnical factors
yet, sometimes upward deformations (heave) are noticed
Serviceability problems associated with the substantial
adjacent to the retaining wall or at far distances from the wall.
foundation settlement and lateral deformations induced by deep
Settlement may be associated with the instability of the
excavations are much more widespread than failures. Structure
excavation base in clayey soils. Deformations may also occur
may experience distresses such as cracking of structural or
due to the increases in the effective stresses during lowering
architectural elements, uneven floors, or inoperable windows
groundwater table.
and doors due to the induced deformations. Fig. 5 shows an
To date, failures of structures or roadways adjacent to
example of a cracked external wall due to a nearby excavation.
excavations occur despite the recent advances made in
The amount of the tolerable deformations and the severity of
assessing the stability of excavations and the effects of
the excavation-related damages depend on the building type,
excavations on nearby properties. Fig. 2 shows a very recent
configuration and stiffness as well as the characteristics of the
example of a failure case history of a collapsed 13-floor
excavation support, the ground geotechnical conditions and the
building by toppling in Minhang District of Shanghai, China.
construction sequence. Both geotechnical and structural
The failure, which happened in 2009, was due to a nearby
engineers are required to collaborate in quantifying the
deep excavation that overloaded the piles of the collapsed
amount of building settlement, assess the possible structural
building. Chai et al. [4] indicated that the failure was initiated
damages and set up the counter measures and risk mitigations
by lateral overloading on the pile foundation due to excavation
to avoid such damages.
near one side of the collapsed building and stockpiling the
excavation at another side of the building. The unbalanced
excavation and fill induced lateral loads on piles were also
accompanied by unforeseen soil softening due to a rain event.
The effect of soil type on the defamations induced by deep A. Ground and wall deformation patterns
excavations was further demonstrated by many subsequent Goldberg et al. [9] identified different settlement patterns
research efforts (e.g., Goldberg et al. [9]; Clough & associated with the wall lateral deformations modes as shown
ORourke [10]; Bentler [11]; and others). Bentler [11] in Fig. 8. They showed that the settlement model do not only
showed that the average maximum horizontal wall deflection depend on the soil type but also on the wall lateral
for excavations in sand or hard clays is 0.19% H and for soft deformations as well.
to stiff clays 0.45% H, where H is the depth of excavation.
The average of the maximum settlement is 0.22% H in
sands/hard clays and 0.55% H in soft-stiff clays. The ratio
between the maximum vertical settlement and the maximum
wall deformation is mostly ranged between 0.5 and 1.
Nationally, most of the developments that need deep
excavations in Egypt are located in the Greater Cairo area
which is characterized by recent Nile alluviums with shallow
groundwater table. Geologically, the Nile developed its course
in this area through the down faulting of the limestone
extending between the El-Muqattam cliff and the Pyramids
plateau and deposited recent alluviums of alternating layers of
cemented silty sand, clayey sand and medium to coarse sand
underlain by Pliocene very stiff plastic clay that rests on the
Upper Eocene limestone marine formations as illustrated in Fig. 8. Settlement patterns associated with different wall deformation modes
Fig. 7 (Said [12]; El-Sohby & Mazen [13]; El-Ramli, [14]; El- (after Goldberg et al. [9])
Nahhas [15]; others).
Clough and ORourke [10] explained the lateral walls Hsieh & Ou [23] presented a concave settlement profile for
deformations according to the method of construction in two the bulging mode of walls based on the analysis of 9 case
modes: cantilever mode, and bulging mode. The settlement histories. The maximum settlement is assumed to occur at 0.5
troughs associated with each mode are different as shown in He, where He is the excavation depth. The settlement at the
Fig. 9. Boone [20] and Boone & Westland [21] concluded the wall is approximated to 50% of the maximum settlement as
same effect of wall deformation on the surficial settlement shown in Fig. 12.
trough as shown in Fig. 10.
Fig. 9. Modes of deformation of the wall (after Clough and ORourke [10])
Fig. 13. Effect of wall stiffness and soil stability number on the wall
Fig. 11. Spandrel-type settlement trough (Ou et al. [22]) deformations in clays (Goldberg et al. [9])
Mana & Clough [24] utilized the finite element and the C. Excavation Geometry and Three-Dimensional Effects
field measurements to relate the maximum wall movements Ou et al. [25] performed parametric three-dimensional
with the factor of safety against basal heave in clays as shown finite element analyses to investigate the features of three-
in Fig. 14. The quasi-constant non-dimensional movement at dimensional deep excavation behaviors. They found that close
high safety factor is an indication of an elastic response. The relationships exist between the aspect ratio of the excavation
rapid increase in movements at lower factor of safety is a geometry (B/L) and the wall deformation. B and L are the
result of plastic soil deformations at low factors of safety. excavation dimensions in horizontal plane in the direction of
lateral wall measurements and the perpendicular direction,
respectively. Increasing the B/L decreases the wall
deformation. Additionally, the wall deformation of a deep
excavation is directly related to the smallest distance from the
corner (d). The smaller is the value of d, the less is the wall
deformation.
Ou et al. [25] defined a ratio called the Plane Strain Ratio
(PSR). PSR is defined as the ratio of the maximum wall
deformation of the cross section at a distance (d) from the
excavation corner to the maximum wall deformation in the
plane strain conditions of the same geometry. They established
the relationship between (PSR), (B/L) & (d) based on the
results of parametric studies, as shown in Fig. 16.
Fig. 14. Effect of the basal heave stability on the wall deformations induced
by deep excavations in clays (after Mana & Clough [24])
EI (1)
k=
w have
4 Fig. 16. Plane strain ratio (PSR) as a function of the aspect ratio B/L and
distance from the corner d (Ou et al., 1996)
where:
k = Dimensionless system stiffness
E = Youngs modulus of wall system Finno & Roboski [26] and Roboski & Finno [27] studied
I = Moment of inertia of wall system deep excavations in soft to medium clays based on the
have = average vertical distance between tiebacks/struts settlements that were observed using optical survey around a
w = unit weight of water = 9.81 kN/m3 12.8 m deep excavation in Chicago. The excavation was
The results of their analyses are shown in Fig. 15. supported by a flexible sheet pile wall and three levels of re-
groutable anchors. They suggested a parallel distribution for
the deformation to account for the corner effect. They found
that the complementary error function (erfc) can be used to
define the three-dimensional settlement distributions of
ground movement around excavation of finite length.
(2)
F. Time-Dependent Effects
For excavations in clay, longer durations before installing
the strut or constructing the floor slab may cause larger wall
deflection due to the occurrence of consolidation or creep of
clay. Studies that addressed that aspect by assessing the soil
consolidation, as one of the components of the wall and
ground deformations, were carried out based on finite element
analysis since it is not possible to separate the consolidation
deformation component out of the total deformations from the
field data.
Osaimi & Clough [37], Yong et al. [38], and Ou & Lai [39]
Fig. 22. Lateral deformation associated with trenching for secant piles
showed that significant consolidation can take place during the
installed in Chicago Clay (after Finno et al. [33]) construction of a deep excavation in clay and that the effects
of consolidation are significant. Consolidation and swelling
CIRIA report 580 (Gaba et al. [34]) summarizes the during excavation result in changes in the shear strength of
horizontal and vertical wall movements due to installation of soils and time-dependent deformations. The negative water
diaphragm walls and bored pile walls in stiff clays as shown in pressure, generated by the excavation at the base, dissipates
Fig. 23. While Clough & ORourke [10] predicted that the with time causing loss of some passive resistance that
maximum settlement could reach 0.15% of the trench depth, occurred immediate after excavation. This leads to time-
Gaba et al. [34] found out that the maximum settlement is dependent deformations in the wall and the soil behind the
0.04-0.05% of the trench depth and the maximum lateral wall.
G. Workmanship mode of deflection (hogging and sagging) as they
Workmanship can be considered as the human and/or induce different damages.
experience factor which plays an important role in the 5. Deflection Ratio (DF=/L) is defined as the quotient
success or failure of a certain project. It was initially of relative defection () and the corresponding length
introduced by Peck [8] as one of the main controlling (L).
factors of the ground and wall movements in deep 6. Tilt () describes the rigid body rotation of the whole
excavation projects. This factor has never been thoroughly superstructure or a well-defined part of it. In certain
defined in the literature despite its impact is important and cases also rigid body tilt can cause substantial
well-acknowledged in the final outcomes of the damage, although this is not commonly
geotechnical projects. In fact, deep excavations are very acknowledged, especially when several rigid bodies
special projects as they need the Designer and the are connected.
Contractor to be well-acquainted with the technical and 7. Average horizontal strain h develops as a change in
constructional aspects of the site as well as the structural horizontal length over the corresponding length; i.e.,
nature of the adjacent buildings. Methods to enhance the h = (L2 L1)/L.
workmanship include documentation of the performance
and encountered problems in deep excavation projects and
transfer the gained knowledge to other contractors and other
personnel
Fig. 27. Beam model (after Burland and Wroth [44] & [45])
Son [49] and Son & Cording [50] provided analysis for the
empirical criteria presented by Boscardin and Cordings [48]
by estimating the principle tensile strain due to angular
distortion and lateral strain as shown from Fig. 31.
Furthermore, they presented an envelope of constant critical
tensile strain (c). They also modified Boscardin & Fig. 33. Damage criterion according to Burland [51]
Cordings [48] envelopes, as shown in Fig. 31, based on the
D. Effect of grade beams Primary assessment
Boscardin and Cording [48] investigated the effect of grade In the primary assessment, the greenfield settlement trough
beams to reduce the greenfield horizontal tensile strain gh to is evaluated. Buildings which are located within the zone with
less strain h as shown in Fig. 34, where EgA is the stiffness 1/500 & Smax 10mm are assumed to experience negligible
and area of the grade beam foundation, Es is the soil stiffness, damages. The above values of maximum slope and settlement
H is the height of excavation or the length of the section of the may need to be reduced when assessing the risk for structures
foundation being strained, and S is the spacing between grade of higher sensitivity (i.e., building with stone or glass claddings
beams. and important aesthetical features that should be maintained);
however, for most structures the abovementioned damage
criterion can be utilized.
If the settlement and/or the slope for a building exceeded
the maximum slope and settlement stated above, a second stage
assessment has to be carried out.
Second stage assessment
In this stage of the risk assessment, the building is
represented as an elastic deep beam whose foundation is
assumed to follow the ground movement trough. The strain
within the beam is evaluated. Categories of damage, defined in
Fig. 34. Effect of grade beams on the horizontal tensile strain previous sections, can then be obtained from the magnitude of
(after Boscardin and Cording [48])
strain.
E. Assessment of the induced building damage Although this approach is more detailed than the
preliminary assessment it is still conservative as the building is
Mair et al. [52] and Son & Cording [50] provided a assumed to follow the greenfield settlement trough. The
systematic procedure for damage assessment of buildings. The category of damage obtained from this assessment shall only
design approach consists of three stages: be considered for aesthetical damage (i.e., a maximum
1. Preliminary assessment diagonal tensile strain of 0.15-0.167%).
2. Second stage assessment Detailed assessment
3. Detailed evaluation. In this stage, details of the building and of the deep
The three phases are shown schematically in Fig. 35 and excavation should be taken into account using advanced
elaborated in the following sections. modeling such as:
Geotechnical conditions, sub-surface profile and
groundwater conditions.
The three-dimensional aspects of the deep excavation
construction.
The building stiffness and weight.
The building orientation with respect to the deep
excavation.
Building features such as the foundation type and
structural continuity as well as any previous
movement a building may have experienced in the
past.
Sensitivity of the building.
If the risk of damage remains high after the detailed
assessment, necessary protective measures are to be
considered in the form of risk mitigation plans.
Fig. 37. Collapse of City Archive Building in Cologne (Germany) due soil
piping induced by dewatering (after Rowson [53])