Effect of Expanding a Rectangular Tunnel on Adjacent Structures

The expansion of urban underpass has become the mainstream of development to cope with urban congestion, and the effect on adjacent existing structures during enlarging construction is also an important issue in the construction process. In order to better understand the influence of tunneling on adjacent structures, the pedestrian underpass expanding project above-crossing Xi'an Metro Line 1 was investigated. The aim was to analyze the deformation curves characteristics of adjacent structures by field observation of ground settlement, heave of existing tunnels, and settlement of piles. The results show that the ground settlement curve in the vertical direction of the underpass is similar to the shape of V, and the maximum settlement appearing in the center line of underpass is 18.7 mm. Due to the effect of existing tunnels on the ground deformation, the settlement curve in the parallel direction of the underpass is similar to the shape of M. Above-crossing tunneling would cause the existing tunnels to heave, and the heave mainly occurs in the range of −6 m to 12 m between the pedestrian tunnel face and the center line of each tunnel. The heave curve is similar to the shape of inverted U. The settlement of piles is linear with its axial stress and significantly affected by its location. The settlement curve of piles is similar to the shape of S in two dimensions. On the basis of deformation curves, this paper presents some equations to describe the shape of V, M, inverted U, and S, respectively, by the inverted Gaussian distribution curve, superimposed Gaussian distribution curve, Gaussian distribution curve, and arctangent function.

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