Settlement (structural)

About: Settlement (structural) is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 11630 publications have been published within this topic receiving 88227 citations. The topic is also known as: settling.

Subsurface settlement profiles above tunnels in clays

Abstract: Designers assessing the possible effect of tunnelling on structures relatively close to the tunnel crown need to know how subsurface settlement profiles develop, and how these relate to surface settlement profiles. The effect on piled foundations or existing tunnels depends on the width of the subsurface settlement profile and on the magnitude of the settlement. This note uses available field measurements and centrifuge model test data to determine how the widths of the settlement profiles and the magnitudes of settlement vary with depth above tunnels constructed in clays. The results reveal a fairly consistent pattern of behaviour: the width of the subsurface settlement troughs at depth is significantly greater than would be predicted by assuming a constant trough width parameter K of 0.5. Smaller more realistic subsurface settlements and strains will be predicted if account is taken of the proportionally wider trough widths at depth.

Studies of the influence of non-linear stress-strain characteristics in soil-structure interaction

Abstract: Recent field and laboratory studies have shown that, even at very small strains, many soils exhibit non-linear stress–strain behaviour. Nevertheless, because of its convenience, linear elasticity will continue to play an important role in the analysis of such problems as settlement, deformation and soil–structure interaction. In this Paper the measured non-liqear stress–strain properties of a low plasticity clay are used in the finite element analysis of footings, piles, excavations and pressuremeter tests to assess the influence of small strain non-linearity in comparison with linear elastic behaviour. In all cases non-linear behaviour results in the concentration of strain and deformation towards the loading boundaries. This is shown to have important consequences for soil–structure interaction problems such as settlement profiles, pile group interaction and contact stress distributions. Small strain non-linearity also has a significant influence on the interpretation in terms of equivalent elastic modu...