Due to the recent increase in cases of ground settlement such as sinkholes caused by excavation work in urban areas, the Special Act on Underground Safety Management stipulates that for projects with an excavation depths exceeding 20 meters, a Undergr...
Due to the recent increase in cases of ground settlement such as sinkholes caused by excavation work in urban areas, the Special Act on Underground Safety Management stipulates that for projects with an excavation depths exceeding 20 meters, a Underground Safety Assessment must be conducted before construction begins. Furthermore, a Post-construction Underground Safety survey must be carried out after construction begins until the completion of the underground structure.
It is necessary to verify whether the groundwater level changes, ground stability assessment results, and monitoring management plans reflected in the boring and in-situ tests specified in these Underground safety Assessments are suitable for confirming ground stability during actual excavation.
In this study, the results for groundwater level drawdown, horizontal displacement of the earth retaining wall, and ground surface settlement due to excavation, as reviewed in the Underground Safety Assessment for an excavation site in an old downtown area, were compared and analyzed with the actual field measurement results obtained after construction commenced. The goal was to confirm the suitability of the Underground Safety Assessment and identify necessary improvements to propose a method for the rational assessment of ground stability following excavation.
As a result of the study, the measured values for groundwater level drawdown and earth retaining wall displacement were found to be similar to the predictions made during the assessment, confirming the reliability of the ground investigation regulations, seepage analysis, numerical analysis, and elasto-plastic analysis methods used for predicting safety during the assessment. However, in the case of ground surface settlement behind the retaining structure, the measured values were found to be significantly lower than the predicted values. Therefore, the cause was investigated, and improvements to the installation method for monitoring instruments were suggested.