American Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture, 2014, Vol. 2, No.

4, 136-142
Available online at http://pubs.sciepub.com/ajcea/2/4/3
© Science and Education Publishing
DOI:10.12691/ajcea-2-4-3

The Impact of Deep Foundations of Building Structures

on the Neighbouring Buildings – a Static Analysis
Czesław Miedziałowski, Damian Siwik*

Institute of Civil Engineering, Bialystok Technical University, Białystok, Poland

*Corresponding author: [email protected]
Received July 18, 2014; Revised August 05, 2014; Accepted August 12, 2014
Abstract Deep foundations of buildings and their impact on neighbouring buildings is one of the most important
issues when planning a new facility. Whereas, the analyses of the threats often come down only to a simplified
evaluation of the building subsidence and to comparing them with the limit values. The paper presents the
methodologies for using the subsidence surface of the land behind the housing wall of the excavation to assess the
impact of additional displacements on the technical condition of facilities, through the determination of the
distribution and the values of stresses in the estimated structure.
Keywords: deep foundation, adjacent buildings, Finite Element Method, FEM
Cite This Article: Czesław Miedziałowski, and Damian Siwik, “The Impact of Deep Foundations of Building
Structures on the Neighbouring Buildings – a Static Analysis.” American Journal of Civil Engineering and
Architecture, vol. 2, no. 4 (2014): 136-142. doi: 10.12691/ajcea-2-4-3.

- the phase of the excavation (Figure 1a) - due to the

relaxation of the excavation floor the displacement of soil
1. Introduction occurs, and thus of the objects in the vicinity,
- the phase of the operation of the building (Figure 1b)
The analysis of the impact of deep foundation of the – the preloading of the soil with the building results in
building (e.g. foundation in a deep excavation) on subsidence of the newly formed structure and of the
neighbouring facilities requires the engineer/designer to facility in its vicinity.
examine two basic static patterns:

Figure 1. The implementation phases of the calculations in the analysis of the impact of a deep foundation of the building on the adjacent buildings: a)
phase of the excavation; b) phase of the operation of the building

Whereas, the deformation of the land, in the operation two-dimensional systems does not cause many problems.
phase of the building can occur both in the form of Then, in the case of three-dimensional issues, especially in
subsidence and uplifts due to an earlier relaxation of the the case of interactive systems: a building-soil-
excavation. The shape of the subsidence of displacements neighbouring buildings (Figure 2), there may appear
behind the housing wall depends, among others, on the difficulties with equipment, which does not allow for the
depth of the excavation, the type of the casing used and its analysis of such large computational tasks.
static diagram [12]. Due to the threat posed by a new implementation of the
The basic tool for the analysis of this type of issues is facility with deep foundation on the existing buildings, the
currently the Finite Element Method (FEM) [24]. Whereas, issues of this type should be thoroughly analysed as early
if the use of the numerical method, in the case of simple as at the design stage of construction ([6,9,17]).
137 American Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture

In practice, this is only a simplified assessment of the the construction effort, and hence to the occurrences of
building settlements and comparing them with the limits states of emergency in the form of scratches or cracks of
of the standards or other guidelines ([10,16]). However, specific building components [13] (Figure 3).
this approach often contributes to an underestimation of

Figure 2. Spatial FEM model: new/deep foundation building -subsoil-neighbouring buildings

arrangement, at any location in relation to the excavation

housing as has been exemplified by calculation.
The analyses have been carried out in two phases,
assuming that the analysed building, adjacent to the new
facility in a deep foundation, is located at an angle of 15°
to the wall of the excavation housing:
- phase 1 – the determination of the stress and strain
fields of construction prior to the excavation,
- phase 2 – the determination of internal forces arising
from the new facility (the use of the generated plane of
subsidence, developed on the basis of the curves,
Michalak [12]).

2. A Simplified Assessment of the Impact

of the Deep Foundation on the Technical
Figure 3. The outline of the building structure in the vicinity of a deep Condition of the Neighbouring Buildings
foundation of a new facility [13]
A simplified method of assessment of the impact of
Thus, in principle, to reliably assess the condition of deep foundation on the technical condition of the building
buildings in the zone of influence of the new facility, it in the neighbourhood consists in checking the condition in
would be necessary to determine, on the basis of the relation to the maximum displacement values of the
numerical analyses of the internal forces, the effort of structure (max sk) [10]:
max sk ≤ sku
individual construction components ([1,2,5,11,18]).
In order to simplify the numerical analyses (Figure 2)
(1)
max sk ≤ skn*
there has been developed the way to use the land
subsidence curves behind the housing wall of the
(2)
excavation, given in [12] and their implementation in the
form of a plane of deformation to the FEM numerical where sk /skn*
u
– are the limit values of the structure
model. displacement of the building in the ultimate and
That methodology allows, among others, the analysis of serviceability limit states [mm].
the stress-strain state of the construction in a spatial
 American Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture 138

Figure 5. The FEM 2D model taking into account the substitute stiffness
of the adjacent buildings [3]

Figure 4. The maximum displacements of the structure (max sk): 1 –

state before the beginning of construction, 2 – state during construction,
S – impact zone of the excavation (SI – coverage area of direct impact of
the excavation, SII – coverage area of the secondary impact) [10]

The value of the maximum structure displacements

(max sk) (Figure 4) is determined according to the
following procedure:
- when the building is built at the depth of hf<2,5m
below the ground:
max sk = v0 (3)
- when the building is built at the depth of hf>2,5m Figure 6. The 3D FEM model with the specified material zones [21]
below the ground:
Hw − hf
max sk = v0
2.2. Determination of Displacements on the
(4)
Hw Basis of the Analytical Method
where v0 – is the displacement of the area within the Equations by Michalak [12] for describing the land
distance dmin of the housing [mm], Hw – is the depth of the deformation curve behind the housing wall of the
excavation [m]. excavation were developed by the author, as a function of
Displacement values v0, needed in equations (3) and (4) its depth based on geodetic measurements and computer
can be determined on the basis of: analyses.
- numerical analyses - mainly the Finite Element The overall impact of the new construction of the
Method, building (the operation phase of construction - Figure 1b)
- analytical methods - analytical methods include the may be assessed on the basis of the functions expressed by
methods developed by Jen [8], Ilicheva [7], and Michalak equations:
[12]. - when there are sandy soils under the foundation of the
building:
 
V ( x) =
 −0, 00883 2 + 0, 0482 − 0, 0655  V0
2.1. Determination of Displacements Based on x2 x
 
the Finite Element Method (5)
h h
As mentioned earlier, due to the equipment difficulties
associated with the analysis of extensive numerical issues, - when there are coniferous soils under the foundation
the assessment of the risk to the buildings in the vicinity of the building:
 
V ( x) =
 −0, 00614 2 + 0, 0454 − 0, 0652  V0
of the deep foundation of the new facility, with the use of
x2 x
 
FEM concerns: (6)

( )
- the determination of the vertical components of h h

q*∆ωi B 1 − vi2
ground displacements at the site of the foundations of the

V0 = ∑
existing building: n
(7)
i =1
Whereas, such analyses are usually carried out in 2D
flat system (Figure 5) ([3,4]), rarely in the 3D system E0i
(Figure 6) ([20,21]), undoubtedly giving a broader where V0 – is the displacement of the ground surface
perspective of what possibly could happen with the directly behind the edge of the excavation housing [m], x
buildings adjacent to a deep excavation. – is the distance from the wall of the excavation [m], h – is
During numerical calculations the neighbouring the depth of the excavation [m], q* – is the weight of the
buildings are entirely omitted or to a limited extent building [kN/m2], reduced by the value of the load from
replaced by rigid blocks, designed to model the existing the underground part, ω – is a factor dependant on the
facilities (Figure 5). shape and rigidity of the foundation, B – is the width of
- a comparison of the results obtained with the the foundation of the newly erected building [m], E0 – is
guidelines of standards (e.g. [10] - equations (1-2)).
139 American Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture

the initial loading modulus of soil [MPa], v – is the The housing wall of the
Poisson's ratio of soil. excavation
According to Michalak [12], the developed method can
be used to estimate the impact of deep foundations on the
New
neighbouring buildings in the case of excavations carried building
out by floor method or using diaphragm walls.
The surface of
land subsidence
3. Modelling of the Existing Buildings in
the Vicinity of Deep Foundation - the
Figure 8. The surface of land subsidence behind the housing wall of the
Proposed Method excavation

In order to analyse the impact of deep foundation on the 3.2. Modelling of Specific Various
buildings in the vicinity, the methodology has been
Computational Stages
adopted that combines the analytical method with the
Finite Element Method, by loading the existing building Aby To generate the kinematic load, which is then
with kinematic excitation, on the basis of surface implemented into the FEM numerical model, one must
subsidence. have the appropriate equation describing the deformation
of the ground under the foundation of a model building in
3.1. Determination of Surface Subsidence of the vicinity of deep foundation, depending on its location
Land behind the Housing Wall of the in relation to the housing of the excavation.
The above methodology is illustrated by the following
Excavation example of calculation:
The method by Michalak [12] has been chosen for the - the building at an angle of 15° (Figure 10b) to the
construction of the surface of the ground subsidence in the housing wall of the excavation, was loaded with the
zone of impact of deep foundation because of the very kinematic load generated on the basis of a rotated
wide range of applications. subsidence surface, according to equation (10):
The surface of the ground subsidence behind the With this approach, the building located at an angle can
housing wall of the excavation has been developed for the be analysed as a non-rotated system, which greatly
option - a building in the neighbourhood of "2" (Figure 9) simplifies the modelling, and thus significantly reduces
using the equation (5), assuming that the newly built the time for the task.
facility was erected by the floor method, and under its The equation presenting land deformation has been
foundations there are sandy soils. obtained by rotating the subsidence surface (Figure 8) in
The data for the construction of the land displacement relation to the "0" point by an angle α=15° – in accordance
curve (Figure 7) are given in Table 1 and Figure 9. with the location of the building in relation to the housing
wall of the excavation (Figure 10b).
Table 1. The summary of calculation data for the equation (5) The coordinates of any "A" point in the system 0xy,
describing the land deformation curie [18] after rotation of the land subsidence surface in relation to
The components of the equation (5), i - for layered subsoil
the "0" point can be represented by the equation:
 x 'A   cos α − sin α   x A 
i=1 i=2 Units

=   ⋅ 
h 9,00 [m]

 y '   sin α cos α   y 

q* 138,80 [kN/m2]
(9)
 A  A
Δω 0,40 0,82 [-]
B 32,00 [m]
v 0,30 0,25 [-]
E0 70000 80000 [kN/m2]
Thus, the modified equation (8) to the description of the
V0i 0,0231 0,0426 [m] land deformation at any point located at a distance from
V0 0,0657 [m] the housing wall of the excavation, after using a

( ) ( )+
On the basis of the equation (5), land subsidence curve coordinate system as shown in Figure 10b, can be
has been developed (8) in a flat system (Figure 7), which presented in the form of:

V X i' =
−7,18 ⋅10−6 X i'
was then approximated (stretched) to a three-dimensional

+ 35, 24 ⋅10 ( X ) − 43,10 ⋅10

2
system (Figure 8):

V ( x) =
−7,18 ⋅10 x + 35, 24 ⋅10 x − 43,10 ⋅10
−6 2 −5 −4 (10)
(8) −5 ' −4
i

X i' = L + s − xi' = L + s − ( xi ⋅ cos α − yi ⋅ sin α ) (11)

where α – is the rotation angle of the subsidence area of

the "O" [°], i – refers to any point located at a distance
from the housing wall of the excavation, L – is the length
of the modelled building [m], s – is the distance of the
edge of the building from the housing wall of the
excavation [m].
Figure 7. Land deformation curve behind the housing wall of the
excavation obtained from the method by Michalak
 American Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture 140

Then, in a next calculation step on the basis of the - wall thickness: 25 cm, made of concrete B20
equation (10), the generated kinematic excitations at the (E0=29GPa [15]),
contact of the foundation with the subsoil, have been - thickness of the slabs: 25 cm, made of concrete B20
implemented to a computer program ORCAN [14] as a (E0=29GPa [15]),
load of a FEM model building (Figure 11b). - other geometric data are given in Figure 9.
For the discretisation of the computational area in
ORCAN, square and triangular elements of the coating
4. An Example of Calculation type were used. Calculations were performed in a spatial
arrangement. The subsoil has been described using a
To illustrate the above procedure a calculation example contact model of the Winkler-type. Assuming the system
was performed, assuming a building in the neighbourhood of supporting layers of the ground as shown in Figure 9,
as constructed from reinforced concrete (Figure 10) - for the coefficient of the elastic subsoil was calculated which
the analysis the following variant has been selected - a describes the ground under the foundation as kz=50782.50
building in the neighbourhood "2" (Figure 9), located kN/m.
close to the excavation made by the floor method (Figure
10b):

Figure 9. Diagram calculation of the analyzed system: dimensions of the structure, system load-bearing layers of the ground [23]

Figure 10. a) A static diagram of the analysed building with a sample discretisation, b) the location of the facility in relation to the housing wall of the
excavation

In order to assess the impact of the excavation and the performing the excavation taking into account the usable
newly built facility on the adjacent buildings, numerical load and the dead load of the wall and supporting ceilings,
analyses were carried out in two phases of calculation: - phase 2 (Figure 11b): the determination of the internal
- phase 1 (Figure 11a): the determination of the stress- forces in the existing building resulting from the new
strain state of the building in the neighbourhood before facility (the load by kinetic excitation generated on the
basis of a rotated subsidence surface – Figure 8).
141 American Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture

Figure 11. Computational phases / deformation of the building adjacent to the new facility: a) phase 1 - before constructing the facility, b) phase 2 –the
building situated at an angle of 15° to the housing wall of the excavation

In various computational phases, in order to enable the

building a non-free glide over the ground [19], it was
modelled on special supports (interfaces, enabling the
foundation glide over the ground) with a coefficient of
friction ratio between the foundation and the subsoil
amounting to 0.55 [18].

5. Results
Sample results (phase 2 – the building loaded with the
kinematic excitation, resulting from the new facility
(Figure 11b)) are presented in the form of maps of:
Figure 13. Substitute moments [kNm/ m] according to the method of
- increases in the bending moments for dimensioning
Wood & Armer to calculate the reinforcement in the walls of the
the "lower"/"upper" reinforcement along the "x" axis basement/cellar
(Figure 12),
- increases in the bending moments for dimensioning Whereas, due to the fairly significant values of
the reinforcement in the walls of the basement / cellar increases of the torque moments (both in ceilings and
(Figure 13). walls of the analysed building), on Figure 12 and Figure
13 bending moments are presented in the substitute form
(the correction of bending moments due to the torque)
designated on the basis of the method by Wood & Armer
[22].
Substitute moments were calculated in cross sections of
0.5 m along the axis of the "x-x" and "y-y" of the adopted
coordinate system (Figure 12, Figure 13).
Additionally, in Figure 14 there are diagrams of stresses
for the longitudinal wall stiffening the analysed building.

Figure 14. Principal stresses σ11 [MPa] in a longitudinal stiffening wall

6. Conclusions
The conducted calculations show that under the
Figure 12. Substitute moments Mx*, [kNm/ m] according to the method
additional load, resulting from the construction of a new
of Wood & Armer to calculate the reinforcement in the cellar ceiling:
a)"bottom", b) "top"
facility near the existing buildings, there appear additional
 American Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture 142

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