Damage to a masonry building induced by tunneling greatly depends on the settlement of its foundation. Compared with pile foundations, group cemented soil column (GCSC) foundations have lower bearing capacity and stiffness. Tunneling through a GCSC foundation may have a significant influence on the settlement of the above masonry building. Field tests and numerical simulations were performed to investigate the settlement behavior of a single cemented soil column (CSC) and GCSC foundation during tunneling. Moreover, the stiffness of the GCSC foundation was investigated by using the concept of area replacement ratio. The reinforcement effect of the GCSC foundation was much greater than that of a single cemented soil column (CSC). From the test result, the settlement of a single CSC was four times that of GCSC. The GCSC foundation could be considered a large reinforcement area that could reduce settlement. The volume loss decreased from 0.2 to 0.02% as the tunnel passed through the reinforcement area, and the relationship describing the transition between the reinforcement area and the green field was linear. Compared with the in situ test results, the building stiffness yielded reasonable results, particularly for the interaction between the building and GCSC foundation at the final stage of tunneling. The results of this study could be used to evaluate the settlement of a building with a GCSC foundation during tunnel construction.

This technical note examines the shear distortion of plane strain framed structures resulting from tunnelling- induced surface differential settlements. An equation for calculating the shear stiffness is derived, considering various structural parameters. The effectiveness of the proposed method is validated through both experimental and finite element modeling results, with its accuracy emphasized by comparison with existing methods. Additionally, a method for estimating the redistribution of pressure beneath the foundation of plane strain framed buildings due to tunnelling is proposed and validated through numerical simulations which adopt an advanced soil constitutive model. The parametric study further demonstrates the applicability of the proposed methods for estimating shear stiffness in three-dimensional structures characterized by similar vertical wall and horizontal slab stiffness. The research findings provide tunnelling engineers with a tool for the rapid estimation of shear stiffness in framed structures and a reliable evaluation of pressure redistribution beneath foundations caused by tunnelling.