Ground movement at depth in London clay

Building damage caused by ground settlement above tunnels can have an important influence on tunneling projects. The consequences of a particular tunnelling technique on building damage can be predicted by a sequential process: estimation of surface settlement, settlement at effective foundation level, building response and cost of mitigation or repair. The accuracy of any estimate for building damage is directly related to the accuracy of each step of this process. In recent years the amount of high quality field measurement of settlement as a function of depth has increased. Subsurface measurements of centre-line settlement have been taken in several locations. By application of these measurements and development of established theory a simple and accurate model of settlement as a function of depth in London Clay can be developed.