Comparative evaluations of building impact assessment due to adjacent tunneling

In dense urban areas, tunneling can potentially lead to structural damage or
compromise the integrity of nearby buildings, thus necessitating a thorough evaluation of its
impact during the design phase. Various engineering methods exist to estimate building
responses to adjacent tunneling, each varying in complexity. These methods yield different
outcomes, such as settlement magnitude and behavior. This study examines pile settlements,
differential pile settlement, and angular distortion of a building through three distinct analysis
methods. These involve two-step methods of soil-structure interaction of a building and
tunneling from (1) the corresponding greenfield ground, (2) piles embedded in the ground, and
(3) piles under loading. The results were then compared and discussed. Based on the obtained
results, the method for considering piles under loading can be regarded an effective method for
providing a conservative evaluation.