An estimation of ground settlement due to shield tunnelling by the Peck–Fujita method

Abstract

In this paper, an empirical method based on Peck and Fujita's study is proposed to estimate the magnitude and extent of surface settlement associated with shield tunnelling. It is found that the ground-settlement curves calculated with the proposed method for various types of shields, ground conditions, tunnel diameters, and depths are in reasonably good agreement with field measurements. For open shields tunnelled through clayey soils, the stability ratio has a significant influence on the surface settlement induced. Field measurement data suggest that the Peck–Fujita method may be used to estimate the ground subsidence associated with the construction of parallel tunnels. Key words : empirical method, field measurement, settlement, soft ground, tunnelling.