Case Study and Numerical Simulation of Excavation beneath Existing Buildings

Abstract

Excavation beneath existing buildings may cause the superstructure to tilt and crack, which seriously affects the normal use of the superstructure. Due to the new working conditions of excavation beneath existing buildings, related case reports are rare and limited. In the case of No. 3 section basement construction project of Ganshuixiang, we monitored the excavation construction by burying test instruments at the designated location. Afterwards, Plaxis 3D finite element software was used to establish an underpinning pile-cap-excavation model, which can analyze the influence of different pile cutting sequences on the bearing behavior of new basement structural pillars. By comparing the in situ measurement data with the finite element model, it can be concluded that when the excavation depth rises, the axial force of the underpinning pile gradually increases, and the pile skin friction is slowly exerted from top to bottom. Different cutting sequences will influence the bearing behavior of the structural pillar. Moreover, the pile cutting process also significantly impacts its bearing behavior and the settlement behavior of the superstructure. Compared with the clockwise pile cutting sequence, the symmetrical pile cutting is more advantageous. In the whole process of the storey adding and reconstruction, the superstructure settlement is related to the working condition of digging and adding layers. In the stage from soil excavation to the concrete curing period of the structural pillar, it increases slowly with time and tends to be stable in the concrete curing period. However, in the pile cutting stage, the superstructure settlement increases sharply, and after pile cutting, it becomes stable.