Ground performance and building response due to tunnelling

The construction of tunnels inevitably causes ground movements that, in the urban environment, present a risk of damage to buildings and structures. The assessment of the degree of risk of such damage is important both from the point of view of engineering design and for planning and consultation purposes. This paper focuses on two important aspects of urban tunnelling: (1) the influence of the tunnelling process on volume loss and (2) the progressive response of buildings to tunnelling-induced subsidence. Extensive use is made of the results of a major cooperative research project into the ground movements and building responses resulting from the construction of the Jubilee Line Extension. Of particular interest from the case study data is the very small values of horizontal strain that were measured above foundation level. For the covering abstract see ITRD E128041.