Modelling tunnelling-induced settlement of masonry buildings

Current practice for assessment of settlement damage to buildings due to tu nnel construction usually starts with a procedure in which greenfield settl ements are imposed on a structual model of the building. This process ignor es the important interaction effects that the weight and stiffness of the b uilding have on the settlements, This paper describes a three-dimensional f inite element analysis in which the tunnel, the soil and a building are all treated in a single analysis, Example calculations are described, and thes e indicate that interaction between the building and the ground can have a significant effect on the extent of the predicted damage. The performance o f the building is seen to be highly dependent on whether the settlements in duce a sagging or hogging mode of deformation, The analyses are used to plo t contours of soil surface settlement and also expected crack patterns with in the building.