Ground settlements and drawdown of the water table around an excavation

Abstract

In the vicinity of an excavation in a saturated soil, ground settlements are often caused by the combined effects of stress release and drawdown of the water table. These settlements may be crucial if the excavation is carried out in a congested area. A case history of excavation adjacent to closely constructed blocks of buildings is discussed in this study. Ground settlements and water-surface levels were monitored during the excavation period, as the settlement of the surrounding area was of concern. The authors have previously developed a fully coupled numerical method that allows the computation of the displacements and pore pressures in a soil taking account of the drawdown of the water table which may accompany excavation. This method is used here for back-analysis of a full-scale excavation that has been comprehensively documented. Comparisons between the field measurements and the calculated results are given in this paper. Key words : consolidation, excavation, finite element, seepage, transient unconfined flow.