A simplified analysis method for the influence of tunneling on grouped piles

One of key issues of tunneling in urban areas is to assess the likely impact on adjacent piled buildings of tunnel construction. Simple and reliable predictions of tunneling-induced bending and axial stresses in pile foundations are important to the safety of tunneling. In this paper, a simple two-stage analysis method for determining the response of pile groups caused by tunneling was presented. At the first stage, an analytical solution proposed by Loganathan and Poulos Loganathan, N., Poulos, H.G., 1998. Analytical prediction for tunneling-induced ground movement in clays. J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., ASCE 124 (9), 846–856] is used to estimate the free-field vertical and lateral soil movements induced by tunneling. At the second stage, assuming no slippage at the soil-pile interface, the Winkler model is first adopted for simulating the pile-soil interaction, combined with finite difference method in the case of multi-layered soils. Then, shielding effect is considered for the interaction between two passive piles using a logarithmic attenuation function suggested by Randolph and Wroth Randolph, M.F., Wroth, C.P., 1979. Analysis of the vertical deformation of pile groups. Géotechnique 29 (4), 423–439] for vertical response and Mindlin’s solution for lateral response. Finally, the response of a passive pile group due to tunneling is obtained by the superposition principle. Solutions obtained by the proposed approach for the analysis of single piles and piled groups subjected to ground movements induced by tunneling are compared with those using the boundary element program GEPAN. Comparisons are also made between the observed behavior of centrifuge model tests as well as field measurements and those computed by the proposed method. It is demonstrated that the present method can in general give a satisfactory prediction of the response of passive piles subjected to tunneling.