Analysis of settlement damage to masonry structures

The methods used in practice for the assessment of damage to buildings caused by settlements due to tunnelling are generally based on two separate and distinct procedures. A geotechnical analysis is first carried out to estimate likely ground movements, and then a separate method is used to assess the resulting damage to the existing structure. This paper describes progress made at Oxford University on the development of a unified approach to the problem of damage to buildings induced by tunnelling. Finite element analysis of the combined geotechnical and structural problem will be used.A preliminary study is described in which suitable soil models for the prediction of settlements above plane strain tunnels are investigated. Details are given of proposals to extend this analysis to three-dimensions. A study has also been carried out of suitable constitutive models for masonry and details are given of a simple elastic-no tension model.