This research is aimed at developing guidelines for assessing, controlling, and monitoring ground movements and building damage that are acceptable to contractors, designers, and preservationists and that will provide adequate and economic protection of structures. Tasks in this project include the following: 1) Large model-scale tests: Four large model-scale tieback walls (1/10th scale) will be constructed to investigate the effects of excavation wall stiffness and building stiffness on potential building damage. These tests allow control of the environment and material properties, and permit extensive instrumentation and monitoring of wall, soil, and building. 2) Collection and analyses of field date: Field data from excavations and tunneling will provide additional information on behavior of full-scale structures. Collaboration with major structural engineering firms, contractors and consultants will provide data from a wide variety of excavation and tunneling projects both in the U.S. and internationally. Analysis and presentation of these data will furnish critical information for documenting behavior and improving guidelines for monitoring ground movement and controlling damage. 3) Numerical analyses: Finite element modeling will be conducted to investigate the interaction between ground, retaining walls, and surrounding structures during and after excavation. Results of analyses will be compared with field cases and with results from large model scale tests. 4) Development and assessment of guidelines for controlling damage: Guidelines for evaluating and controlling ground movements and limiting building damage will be developed from the results with participation of practitioners in workshops. The recommendations will establish guidelines for estimating typical ground movements for various conditions, and help identify economical and accurate ways to monitor ground movements and building response. Assessment of these guidelines will center around two workshops that will allow broad-based participation by leaders in the engineering, architecture, preservation, and construction communities to ensure that the guidelines and recommendations generated will be safe, fair, usable, and cost-effective as well as properly disseminated in spheres of both design and construction.
