Muir-Wood Lecture

Muir Wood Lecture
Monday 23rd May at 9.30

Professor Robert Mair, Cambridge University

Tunnelling in urban areas and effects on infrastructure – advances in research and practice

Tunnelling in urban areas often causes ground movements affecting buildings and other infrastructure, particularly when the tunnels are constructed in soft ground. It is increasingly important for there to be realistic methods of assessing the potential damage to buildings by tunnelling. Recent advances in research at Cambridge University on the response of buildings to ground movements caused by tunnelling will be described. The combination of centrifuge model testing, numerical analysis and field measurements has provided new insights into the interaction of tunnelling-induced ground movements and buildings. New design methods will be presented, illustrated by case histories, for assessing potential damage.

Field monitoring is vital for all tunnelling projects, especially in urban areas where potential effects on buildings, adjacent tunnels and other infrastructure are of particular significance. Novel techniques for monitoring tunnels using fibre optic technology and wireless sensor networks will be described, illustrated by some recent case histories.