Study on the mechanisms of the soil consolidation and land subsidence caused by the high-rise building group in the soft soil area

With the increase of high-rise buildings, land subsidence induced by human activities becomes a major problem. This paper studies the mechanism of the soil consolidation and land subsidence from the macroscopic and the microscopic aspects, especially caused by the high-rise building group. The studying methods for the macroscopic and microscopic mechanisms are analyzed. The former includes the theoretical analysis, the model tests and the field tests. The latter includes the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) tests and the mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) test. The way to obtain the available conclusions is studying the same model by different methods. The microstructures of soils are examined by the macroscopic settlement. The land subsidence is quantitatively described by the microstructures of soils. The degree of consolidation, the rate of consolidation and the optimal layout of buildings are inversely calculated by the parameters of microstructures of soils.