Finite-element modeling of a complex deep excavation in Shanghai

The excavation of the north square underground shopping center of Shanghai South Railway Station is a complex deep excavation using the top-down construction method. The excavation has a considerable size and is close to the operating Metro Lines. In order to predict the performance of the excavation more accurately, 3D finite-element analyses are conducted to simulate the construction of this complex excavation. The effects of the anisotropic soil stiffness, the adjacent excavation, and zone excavation on the wall deformation are investigated. It is shown that the numerical simulation with anisotropic soil stiffness yields a more reasonable prediction of the wall deflection than the case with isotropic soil stiffness. The deformation of the shared diaphragm wall between two excavations is influenced by the construction sequence of the two excavations. The zoned excavation can greatly reduce the diaphragm wall deformation. However, only the zoned excavation at the first excavation stage affects the deformation of the walls significantly. When the depth of the excavation increases, the zoned excavation has minor effect on the deformation of diaphragm walls.