Characteristics of wall deflections and ground surface settlements in Shanghai

Abstract

The characteristics of wall deflections and surface ground settlements at six deep multi-strutted excavations in Shanghai soft soils were studied and compared with those of similar case histories reported worldwide, particularly in Taipei and Singapore. The measured wall deflections at the six metro stations of the Pearl II Circle Line show a typical bulging profile (or deep-seated shape) at the end of the excavation. The ratio between the measured maximum wall deflection and the depth of the excavation (δhm/H) in Shanghai was <0.007, which was similar to the ratio measured in Taipei, but it was substantially smaller than the Peck bounding limit of 0.01. At each station, the measured maximum displacement was <0.45% of the final excavation depth. Because of the large aspect ratios of the underground excavations, no significant three-dimensional effects or corner effects were observed. The measured maximum settlements of the six metro excavations fell within zone I of the Peck classical normalized settlement-distance chart. These small measured settlements were consistent with the small measured wall deflections. The observed relatively small maximum wall deflections can likely be attributed to the use of prestressed struts, the constant adjustment of the stresses to about 0.7 times the total vertical stress during the excavation, and the short horizontal span of the excavation.Key words: multi-strutted excavations, soft clay, Shanghai, metro stations, horizontal deflection, settlement.