COMPUTATIONAL MODELLING OF MASONRY, BRICKWORK AND BLOCKWORK STRUCTURES
Edited by: J.W. Bull

Chapter 5

Settlement Induced Damage to Masonry Buildings

Existing masonry structures are often affected by adjacent construction activities. An example is the construction of a new tunnel beneath an existing building to provide a new infrastructure link. In soft ground, the main effects of tunnelling likely to cause damage are the vertical and horizontal movements produced at the surface. While the magnitude of these movements is usually quite small, their differential nature along a structure can lead to damage from cracking. There is a need to improve the methods by which this damage is predicted. Current methods used in practice usually ignore interaction between the building and the ground on which it is founded. This interaction will change as the building is damaged and its stiffness changes. Models are necessary, therefore, that include simulation of tunnelling in the presence of a building. This chapter describes the development and use of a complex three-dimensional finite element model to study this problem undertaken by the author, and others at the Department of Engineering Science, Oxford University. Some results are presented for simple arrangements of masonry façades as well as more complex buildings for which field data are available. While the complexity of the models presented currently confine this work to the research field, increases in computing power will make their use in practice feasible in the future.

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