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 International Conference and Exhibition of Tunnelling and Underground Space IEM Kuala Lumpur 3-5 March 2015

Protection of Buildings and Structures within the Influence of Tunnelling Works

C. W. Boon1, E.H. Teh1, L.H. Ooi1
1
MMC-GAMUDA KVMRT (T) Sdn Bhd, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
E-mail: EHTeh@kvmrt-ug.com.my

ABSTRACT: The Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit Sungai Buloh-Kajang (KVMRT-SBK) Line is the first MRT Project in Malaysia. The
9.3-km underground twin-tunnels between Semantan North Portal and Maluri South Portal are constructed using tunnel boring machines
(TBMs). The general framework that was adopted to identify and predict the performance of the buildings and structures within the
influence of tunnelling are first discussed. The paper then discusses the Sungai Kerayong Bridge case history, in which the tunnel drives
encroach into the foundation systems of a road bridge and the micropile training walls along a river. The shallow cover of the tunnels also
posed a risk of floatation, and this problem is compounded by the presence of a deep soil valley. The special considerations which were
involved, from the beginning of the design stage to the execution of the solutions, led to valuable lessons.

KEYWORDS: Underground tunnelling, building protection, bridge underpinning, pile removal, tunnel floatation

1. INTRODUCTION
As MRT lines are constructed in densely populated and built-up
urban areas to fulfil the need for better transportation, at least some
sections of the MRT lines will inevitably have to be constructed
underground through tunnelling. Nearby structures which could be
impacted by tunnelling have to be identified, and if the risks are
found to be substantial, protection measures have to be undertaken
to ensure the safety of the structures. In the Klang Valley Mass
Rapid Transit Sungai Buloh-Kajang (KVMRT-SBK) Line, the first
MRT project in Malaysia with an underground section of
approximately 9.3 km in length, the twin tunnels with internal
diameters of 5.8 m have to encroach into the vicinity of important
historical buildings and critical structures such as flyovers, bridge
piers, LRT viaduct piers and stations in Kuala Lumpur. The
assessment of tunnelling impact to these structures and the
protection measures, which had been undertaken in this project, led
to interesting engineering challenges and solutions, some of which
are discussed here. This paper first explains the general approach of
building protection, before explaining in more detail the Sungai
Kerayong Bridge case history in this project which involved
protecting several critical structures.
2. GENERAL GROUND CONDITIONS
There are two main geological formations through which the tunnels
are constructed in the KVMRT-SBK Line, namely the Kenny Hill
Formation (consisting largely of sedimentary silty sand and sandy
silt from Semantan North Portal to around Westin Hotel along Jalan
Bukit Bintang) and Kuala Lumpur Limestone (from the
aforementioned interface zone to Maluri South Portal). Although
the ground profile along the structures could be deduced from the
boreholes which had been carried out to establish the general
geological profile along the tunnel alignment, additional site
investigation works were carried out to acquire more accurate
information especially for critical structures.
3. PROTECTION OF BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES
To obtain preliminary estimates of the impact of tunnelling on the
nearby structures, the ground settlements induced by tunnelling had
to be approximated (see Figure 1). These estimates were obtained
by assuming (i) a prescribed volume loss, which is defined as the
ratio of the induced settlement integrated along the ground surface
to the total area of the tunnel excavation in a 2-D cross-section, and
(ii) a constant, i, defining the distance to the point of inflection of
the settlement trough which is well-known to assume the shape of a
Gaussian function (Peck, 1969). Reasonable estimates for the
aforementioned parameters were obtained from the experience of
other tunnelling case histories around the world.
The buildings or structures which lie inside the influence zone of
the tunnels, within which there is potential risk of damage, had to be
identified. This was followed by a dilapidation survey to safeguard
the interests of both the client and building owners, in case of
damage or legal claims. Monitoring instruments are installed so that
risk mitigations measures can be undertaken as soon as the actual
performance of the buildings/structures approaches the permissible
design values.
x
Vs i
 x2
S  SM e 2i 2
SM Inflection
z
V D
Vt
Figure 1 Settlement profile of ground surface induced by volume
loss (after Atkinson, 2007)
For the structures identified to be within the influence zone,
there are generally three stages of building damage assessments.
For structures on shallow foundations, the first stage assumes that
any structure, for which the predicted ground settlement is less than
10 mm and the distortion is less than 1/500, will experience
negligible damage only, and it is not necessary to carry out
subsequent stages of analysis. In the second stage, the maximum
tensile strain of the buildings are calculated from the predicted
settlement profiles, after which the corresponding damage categories
of the buildings are obtained based on the work of Burland & Wroth
(1974) and Boscardin & Cording (1989). If the predicted damage
category is “moderate” and greater, a more detailed Stage 3
assessment is carried out through numerical modelling, to decide
whether or not mitigation measures are required. For structures with
deep foundations, the adequacy of pile capacity and the
serviceability limits are checked, and depending on the results of the
aforementioned analysis, a more detailed numerical analysis is
undertaken. Where the foundation system of the structure, i.e.
shallow or deep foundation, is ambiguous or unknown, due to the
absence of as-built information, trial pits are carried out where
possible. For piled foundations, the pile type is identified by
excavating below the pile cap. To determine the pile length, if
required, further investigations by geophysical methods are carried
out closest as possible to the pile-column.
 International Conference and Exhibition of Tunnelling and Underground Space IEM Kuala Lumpur 3-5 March 2015

4. CASE HISTORY OF THE SUNGAI KERAYONG Sungai Kerayong

BRIDGE riverbed
Although a framework for damage assessment is in place as detailed
in Section 3, some of the challenges that were faced in this project
were non-trivial, for instance when the risks were high insomuch as 2.5 m
protection measures had to be undertaken. For these cases, the
characteristics of the geology, the foundation details, and the Maluri Station
potential failure mechanisms had to be identified more accurately,
so that effective engineering solutions could be developed. The
challenges that were faced in the case history of the Sungai
Kerayong Bridge in this project are discussed here. Note that, for Figure 4 Longitudinal cross-section view showing the shallow
convenience, the name of the bridge is used for referencing this case tunnel cover as the tunnel drive rises toward the river
history, although protective measures had also been undertaken for
other structures in its vicinity. 4.2 Subsoil conditions

4.1 Background
The Sungai Kerayong Bridge is a road bridge spanning across the
river, Sungai Kerayong. The bridge is believed to be fully
constructed in the 1970s, and it is located along Jalan Cheras at the
PGRM Junction and along Jalan Shamelin as indicated in the site
layout plan in Figure 2. Along the river, channel structures in the
form of micropile training walls had been constructed in 2008, as
part of the Kuala Lumpur River Improvement Works (see Figure 3).
This entire site is located within the KL Limestone Formation.
From the initial boreholes, the ground water levels vary between 2.2
to 6.2 m below the ground surface.
The top stratum could be generally represented by a 3 – 9.5 m
thick alluvium fill, predominantly consisting of loose to medium
dense gravelly sand and soft to very soft sandy clay, except at one of
the boreholes, CUD_033, showing a 25.5 m thick alluvium fill,
which consists mainly of medium to dense gravelly sand and stiff
sandy clay (see Figure 5). Beneath the alluvium fill is the whitish
light grey, weathered Limestone bedrock with RQD ranging from 0
to 84%. Cavity was encountered approximately 24 – 27 m below
ground in borehole BPU-BH18, which is within the zone of
influence to the Northbound TBM.

UG2_
BH22
UG2_BH21

Sungai
Kerayong
Bridge
Southbound CUD
tunnel U2_B _03
H 7 3
NorthboundTA31ASB 0
tunnel BPU
CUD_ -BH
Figure 2 Map of Sungai Kerayong Bridge in relation to the 032 18
CUD GA
KVMRT route _03 78
4 (U)
(a)

SUNGAI
KERAYONG
CUD-033BPU-BH18
LEGEND:
U2_BH70 BH-GA78
LIMESTONE
PREDOMINANTLY
GRANULAR
CULVERT MATERIAL (PG)
PREDOMINANTLY
COHESIVE
MATERIAL (PC)

Figure 3 Sungai Kerayong Bridge and the micropile training walls

along the river

In the Cochrane to South Portal tunnel drive, between the proposed

underground Maluri Station and South Portal, the twin bored tunnels
have to rise rapidly underneath the bridge/river to reach the surface (b)
at the South Portal. The tunnel cover below the river bed ranges
between 2.5 – 4.4 m (see Figure 4). Figure 5 Site investigation: (a) boreholes, (b) developed subsurface
profile
 International Conference and Exhibition of Tunnelling and Underground Space IEM Kuala Lumpur 3-5 March 2015

4.3 Information leading to risk identification expected. The left downstream Section A-A (see Figure 6(a)) was
concluded to be the only critical wall section posing as potential
Based on the information above, several risks were identified: obstructions and risks to the Southbound tunnel drive. The
findings/results of the coring works at Section A-A are summarised
4.3.1 Clashing of foundation systems with the tunnel horizon and presented in Figure 6 (b).
It was anticipated that the foundation systems of the Sungai
Kerayong Bridge and channel structures (micropile training walls) 4.4.2 The need for underpinning the Sungai Kerayong Bridge
might be in the way of the tunnels, and had to be removed prior to After numerous meetings with the relevant parties, the as-built
the arrival of the TBMs. However, there was no as-built information on the foundation system for the Sungai Kerayong
information for both the Sungai Kerayong Bridge and the micropile Bridge was still not available.
training wall in the tender reference documents. Preliminary Trial trenches were carried out along the abutments of the bridge
assessments and mitigation design had been based on assumptions to expose the foundation system because of the high risk that was
derived from experience and engineering judgement. involved. Eight bored piles were found in total. Due to this small
number of piles, and considering the fraction of piles that were
4.3.2 Inadequate embedment of micropile training wall affected (three out of eight), the overall pile capacities were
The geology with the presence of localised deep soil pockets, considered to be inadequate and the need for underpinning was
established from site investigation boreholes, was considered to be apparent.
capable of aggravating the consequence of pile shortening due to To reduce the risks, the Southbound alignment was adjusted
tunnelling, i.e. by reducing the effective embedment depth of the successfully not to hit/clash with the existing foundation piles of the
micropile walls. This could potentially lead to stability issues if the Bridge, i.e. barely missing the piles (see Figure 6 (a) & (b)).
alluvium is incapable of developing passive resistance to overcome
the overturning moment acting on the retaining side of the wall,
after the piles are shortened. Northbound Southbound
tunnel drive tunnel drive gai ver
Sun ng Ri
4.3.3 Floatation of tunnels o
ray
Ke
The rock cover for the tunnel in the riverbed is shallow (between 2.5
– 4.4 m), and is less than the tunnel diameter (see Figure 4). This B-B
on
could lead to the problem of floatation, which is compounded by the cti
Se Micropile
presence of soil pockets, which might extend into the tunnel horizon training wall
C

under the riverbed (see Figure 5). Legend:

C-

Existing
on

Bored Pile
cti

4.3.4 Risk of sinkholes

Se

A-A
New
underpinning
on

The limestone was considered karstic, since cavities were detected. pile
cti

Based on their dimensions from the boreholes, they could act as

Se

solution channels through which soil material may be washed away.

Although the detected cavities were deep (24 – 27 m below ground
level), the risk of soil washout is present due to the close proximity
of the cavities to the deep soil valley. Moreover, there is a risk that (a)
the change in rockhead (due to the deep soil valley) would create a
mixed face condition for the TBMs. The presence of solution
channels and mixed-face tunnelling entails risks of sinkholes.

4.4 Risk confirmation

Additional site investigations and desk studies were promptly
implemented to obtain more detailed information for further risk
assessment and engineering design.
Phase 1 of the investigation works involved 7 nos. of coring at
the affected micropile wall, whereas Phase 2 of the investigation
Existing pile of
works mainly focused on the type and dimensional details by Sungai Kerayong
exposing/coring the foundation piles of the Bridge, and additional Bridge
0.525 m
15 nos. of coring at the critical sections of the micropile wall to
supplement/verify the interpretations of the previous coring results
Tunnel inner diameter
obtained in Phase 1. Tunnel outer diameter Legend
TBM cutterhead clearance
(not to scale) Concrete
4.4.1 Micropile training wall
Grout
The full as-built details for the micropile wall were later made
Sand
available by the relevant parties, and the drawings indicated that the SECTION A-A
micropiles of the micropile wall penetrated into about 85% of the Limestone
tunnel horizons. It was envisaged that caissons and horizontal
mined adits would be the most feasible surface option to remove the (b)
affected piles. However, it was necessary to stabilise the adjacent Figure 6 Obstructions to tunnel drives: (a) layout plan, and (b)
channel wall using jet grouted blocks, which can also prevent Section A-A from figure (a), not to scale.
excessive ingress of water into horizontal adits during mining.
Subsequent site investigation works were undertaken to verify
the as-built information of the micropile wall through concrete
coring at the affected sections (see Figure 6 (a)). The results
indicated that the lengths of the piles had been shorter than
 International Conference and Exhibition of Tunnelling and Underground Space IEM Kuala Lumpur 3-5 March 2015

4.4.3 Floatation and high shear forces between rings along the 4.5.1 TBM mining through micropiles
longitudinal direction
As noted in Section 4.4.1, the coring works on the micropile training
The tunnel was found to be prone to floatation, due to the low cover walls indicated that the micropiles had been shorter than expected.
to resist the buoyant forces. The long-term stability of the tunnels The critical section, Section A-A, as shown in Figure 6 (b),
was also of concern due to the risk of future deepening of the indicated that the extent of the micropiles (7 nos of 32 mm diameter
riverbed. Hence, ground improvement was thought to be necessary bars) which encroach into the tunnel horizon is small. Taking into
in the alluvium layer, especially at places with deeper soil pockets. consideration the above factors, the risk was considered manageable
The presence of higher uplift forces acting on the tunnel rings for the TBM to bore through them from an operational standpoint.
underneath the river could lead to high shear forces between the With the aforementioned findings and since the TBMs were ahead
neighbouring rings in a longitudinal sense. of time, the aforementioned solution was adopted instead, and the
caissons and horizontal adits for pile removal were hence omitted.
4.4.4 Cavities and solution channels To cater for the contingency that compressed air intervention was
required in case the micropiles had to be removed manually from
As one of the boreholes showed the presence of cavities, their the TBM’s face (in the event that the TBM could not bore through
extensiveness in the site had to be deduced. The existence of such or is jammed at the obstructions), a 2-m thick concrete slab was cast
features was considered to be probable due to (i) the deep soil valley over the affected jet grouted area to mitigate risks of blowout which
implying the limestone is very karstic, (ii) the very low RQD values could be created by the escape of slurry or compressed air from the
in some parts of the limestone implying weathering is significant. It TBM.
was thought that ground improvement works in the riverbed was
required.
4.5.2 Ground improvement for micropile wall
4.4.5 Operation related risks - traffic diversion away from Considering that the effective embedment depth could be shortened
bridge and the difficulty of staging for the machineries for after being cut by the TBM, especially at the deep soil valley, jet
ground improvement works grouting was carried out to form a gravity wall on the retaining side
of the micropile wall (see Figure 7 (a) and (b)). The passive side of
Some of the risks were less direct, and were related to ensuring the the wall is also treated.
operational safety of the construction activities. The small number
of piles supporting the Sungai Kerayong Bridge posed a high risk
for the underpinning project, due to the lack of redundancy for load Existing ground level
redistribution. To ensure the safety of the road users of the bridge ~RL41.0m
during the underpinning works, the need for traffic diversion was Existing reinforced soil wall
considered to be important. Jet grouting
In another instance, the methodology for carrying out ground Existing micropile wall
improvement on the riverbed was not straightforward because the Estimated bedrock level Water level
staging for the machineries could be difficult during high flows due ~RL33.0m Concrete replacement
(max 2 m)
to storm water discharge. Temporary platforms had to be
constructed for the staging of machineries.
Jet grouting (if soil is
deeper than 2 m). Fissure
4.4.6 Summary of key issues identified grouting is carried out in
bedrock
The key issues and concerns at this critical bridge location within
the influence of tunnelling works were namely, (i) to protect the
bridge and micropile training wall without affecting the overall (a)
safety and operational service link provided by the Bridge, (ii) to
improve/stabilise the shallow cover of the river bed to facilitate
tunnelling works crossing the river, (iii) construction encumbrances
/site constraints, (iv) construction sequence, (v) SHE compliance
and (vi) interfacing issues with Besraya’s BEE Highway Project
Jet grout column
under construction.
The engineering and construction complexities of the protection
and ground improvement works had effectively impacted the work
program and the planning of TBM launches from Cochrane Station.
It is therefore imperative that all the works involved and interfacing
at this location to be diligently planned, designed, implemented and
managed properly and systematically in order to achieve the ng
o
targeted objectives. ray
ga i Ke
S un
4.5 Protection Measures
ad
The engineering solutions that were finally implemented, after khe
Roc eper e
considering all of the risks above, are discussed in this section. Pile e
is d his sid r
t
removal works became very critical due to (i) the very good o he rive
n
progress of TBM drives, anticipated to be ahead by 3 -4 months and of t
(ii) the additional jet grouting work across the affected shallow
cover of the river (the extent of the deep soil valley, which (b)
encroaches into the river, is larger than anticipated). Time became
an important factor. Figure 7 Ground improvement for micropile training wall: (a)
provisional proposal with jet grouting and concrete replacement, (b)
as-built jet grout columns
 International Conference and Exhibition of Tunnelling and Underground Space IEM Kuala Lumpur 3-5 March 2015
4.5.3 Treatment of riverbed
The solution that was adopted to improve the tunnel cover was to
replace the alluvium layers encountered in the river bed with mass
concrete and grouting in fractured rock to ensure the material has a
density exceeding 20 kN/m3. At locations where the rockhead is
deeper, jet grouting was carried out in conjuction with a 2-m thick
concrete slab on the surface. The treatment of this tunnel corridor
also helps to mitigate the risks related to a mixed face condition for
the TBMs.
To address the solution channels which could create a risk of
sinkholes due to loss of slurry during TBM mining, cement grouting
was carried out for the fissures in the rock mass, whereas
compaction grouting with mortar were carried out in cavities (see
Figure 8 (a)).
Rock fissure grouting was performed across the river to form a
giant intervention block in the limestone formation to facilitate
cutter head intervention (if found necessary) based on the grid
pattern set out in Figure 8 (b). Drilling with the aid of down-the-hole
hammer, the ascending grouting method was generally used,
working progressively back from the deepest point of the drilled
hole to the surface. With w/c ratio ranging from 2.0:1 to 0.8:1, the
grout mix was injected with minimum pressure depending on depth
until the termination criteria were achieved. For 88 nos. of the
grouting points, the total drilled length in rock was about 1263m
with grout takes of 135m3. The results of 2 nos. of permeability
tests carried out on site indicated good water tightness of the rock
mass, i.e. with 0.2 to 1.6 lugeon value.
Sungai Kerayong Existing riverbed
Fissure grouting in
rock (compaction
Northbound Southbound grouting if
track track encounter cavities)
(a)
ai
ng ng
Su rayo
Ke
Mass
concrete
slab
Intervention
block
Rock fissure
grouting
(b)
Figure 8 Fissure grouting: (a) designed cross-section, (b) as-built
fissure grouting and mass concrete slab on the river bed
Figure 7 (b) presents the site layout of jet grouting works. The
column size, spacing and grouting parameters were based on
previous experience gained from nearby site under similar ground
conditions. The double fluid jet grouting technique was employed
with w/c ratio of 1:1 to form the required diameters of 1.8 and 3.0 m
under high pressures of about 250 and 350 bars respectively.
Altogether, 111 nos. and 890 m of columns in alternative sequence
were executed.
4.5.4 Underpinning of Sungai Kerayong Bridge
New bored piles, installed outside the tunnel footprints, were found
to be the most cost effective solution to underpin the affected
foundation system of the Bridge (see Figure 9 (a)). As shown in
Figure 9 (b), permanent flat jacks were placed on transfer slab under
each abutment wall and were preloaded to transfer permanent loads.
Overlapping jet grouted columns were chosen as the temporary
earth retaining system to keep the excavated sites relatively dry for
the construction of the transfer beams/slabs (see Figure 7).
A hydraulic boring rig was mobilised to undertake the
installations of bored piles for rock drilling up to 12m length. The
affected piles were debonded. The locations for installing the new
piles were first probed for cavities. After installation, dynamic load
and integrity tests were carried out, both of which performed
satisfactorily.
The task of constructing the transfer beams/slabs was made
simple in the relatively dry and free standing excavated pits, around
which jet grout blocks had been constructed (Figure 10). The
permanent flat jacks were successfully installed and preloaded
before sealing off with epoxy for subsequent backfilling of the pits
with sands.
Jet grout
block
Jet
grout
block
New
underpinning
pile
(a)
Flat jack to
Transfer preload
slab
Bridge
Existing piles
New bored Jet grout block
piles extending to
bedrock
(b)
Figure 9 Underpinning through transfer slab and new bored piles.
Jet grouting to secure stability of caissons and adits: (a) plan layout,
and (b) cross-section view
 International Conference and Exhibition of Tunnelling and Underground Space IEM Kuala Lumpur 3-5 March 2015
Abutment B
Jet Grout
Column
Figure 10 Excavation for Transfer Slab
4.5.5 Instrumentation and monitoring
The primary objective of the instrumentation program was to
monitor and ensure the safe execution of the construction and
tunnelling works, and adjacent structures were not adversely
affected. Close monitoring of the affected structures against the
Alert-Action-Alarm triggered procedures were carried out before,
during and after construction /tunnel mining to verify predicted
movements/damage levels were not exceeded.
4.5.6 Shear connectors between tunnel rings
The need to provide resistance against floatation in the riverbed,
with the prospect of future deepening of the riverbed through
dredging, led to the installation of permanent shear dowels between
the tunnel rings (see Figure 11 (a)). The developed view of the
segment rings are shown in Figure 11 (b). For completeness, and to
supplement Figure 11 (b), the segments making up a tunnel ring in a
cross-section view are shown in Figure 12.
Shear dowel
Tunnel rings
(a)
Socket and
dowel system
One tunnel ring
Direction of drive
(b)
Figure 11 Shear dowels between tunnel: (a) illustration in
longitudinal view, (b) developed view on ring intrados
Segment S3
Se
gm
S2
en
t
en
t
S4
gm
Se
Segment S5
Segment
Key
Seg
me
S6
nt
t
en
S8
gm
Se
Segment S7
Figure 12 Tunnel segments for one ring
4.5.7 Steel bridge for traffic diversion
A 4-laned carriageway, 2-span temporary steel bridge was designed
to divert half the traffic flows of the Bridge to facilitate the proper
execution and completion of the necessary protection works as
shown in the traffic diversion plan in Figure 13.
A steel bridge design was adopted for speed of construction and
ease of dismantling at a later date. A micropile system was preferred
for its small light weight and versatility to suit difficult and sloping
ground conditions of the river banks. The main bridge deck was
covered with chequered plates and premix on top for vehicular
traffics and easy maintenance.
After long protracted negotiations, the issue of illegal squatters
were amicably settled for site set up and access. Diversion of
600mm water pipe and congested utilities services posed some
problems but the small versatile piling rig was ideally adaptable to
the difficult sloping ground terrains of the river banks. The steel
main beams were fabricated, tested off site and delivered to site after
mid night for immediate launching with high capacity lifting crane.
Safety and environmental issues were raised and addressed for
working at heights and over the river. The traffic was finally
diverted in April 2013.
Figure 13 Temporary traffic diversion plan
4.5.8 Construction challenges
The site working areas were very small and tight; it is full of
underground utilities services, and congested with heavy traffic in
the vicinity along Jalan Cheras. Briefly, the works comprised of the
construction of diversion steel bridge, underpinning piles, transfer
beams/slabs, temporary working platform and trusses, jet and fissure
grouting works. The necessary approvals for design/
documentation/shop drawing submissions to the Supervising
Consultants and Authorities including traffic management plans, etc.
were generally obtained within 1-3 months upon submissions. The
major construction challenges was for the Site Team to plan
diligently, implement and manage site issues properly and
effectively, as well as resolving construction problems/difficulties
 International Conference and Exhibition of Tunnelling and Underground Space IEM Kuala Lumpur 3-5 March 2015
expeditiously, often with innovative solutions to complete the
construction works safely and on time.
The design and construction of temporary works for a 5x8 m
working platform (above the sloping river bank and seated on top of
the channel wall (Figure 14 (a)), and 2 trusses on footings/ piled
foundation across the river presented a challenging task to the Site
Team (Figure 14 (b)). Built to cater for a 5t grouting machine sitting
on top, the platform was constructed in-situ whereas the trusses
were fabricated off site to suit the actual site conditions and to avoid
the existing utilities as well as Besraya Piers.
(a)
(b)
Figure 14 Temporary structures for staging machineries for
ground improvement: (a) working platform on sloping river bank,
(b) working platform across river
The construction works over/in the river, in compliance with
SHE requirements, were challenging. The launching of the 34 m
span truss (Figure 14 (b)) across the river was carefully planned and
coordinated with Besraya due to space/headroom restrictions
imposed by the newly constructed elevated bridge deck/pier and
downstream existing utility trusses.
Each TBM bored through the obstructions successfully at
Section A-A (Figure 6 (a)) across the river within 5 days without
cutter head interventions and blowouts as per the planned
accelerated schedule. The debris consisting of pieces of steel
recovered from the TBM muck is shown in Figure 15.
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Figure 15 Obstruction Debris
5. CONCLUSION
The general approach for building or structure protection due to
tunnelling works has been discussed. The preliminary settlements
are predicted mainly based on the method of volume loss using a
Gaussian function (Peck, 1969). Then, depending on the foundation
type, more advanced method of analyses are used for instance to
estimate the damage category of the buildings for shallow
foundations, or reduction in piles capacities and building distortion
for deep foundations. Numerical analysis is then undertaken if
required.
The Sungai Kerayong Bridge case history is discussed, detailing
the considerations from the beginning of the project, during which
the risks were identified, until the development of engineering
solutions. The Sungai Kerayong Bridge and micropile training
walls were identified to be at risk because they were in the way of
the tunnels. Through trial trenches to expose the foundation system
of the bridge, the Southbound tunnel drive was adjusted such that it
did not clash into the existing piles. Underpinning was carried out
through transfer beams/slabs. The risk concerning the reduction of
embedment depth of the micropile training walls were mitigated
through jet grouting. It was decided to bore through the micropiles
since the lengths of the micropiles were found to be shorter than
expected from additional site investigations. Ground improvement
was carried out in the riverbed, to reduce the risk of sinkholes
related to solution channels and mixed face conditions. The
alluvium soil was replaced with concrete, and at locations where the
soil extends below 2 m, jet grouting was carried out. Fissure
grouting was carried out in the rock, and where cavities were
encountered, compaction grouting was carried out instead. Shear
connectors were used for the tunnels to overcome floatation, where
high shear forces are expected to exist between tunnel rings which
span the river. The challenges were successfully overcome, and the
TBMs had successfully bored through the obstructions.
6. REFERENCES
Atkinson, J.H. (2007) The Mechanics of Soils and Foundations,
CRC Press, 2nd edition, p 480
Boscardin, M.D., and Cording, E.J., (1989) "Building response to
excavation-induced settlement", ASCE Journal of Geotech. Eng,
115, No. 1, 1-21.
Burland, J. B., and Wroth, C. P., (1975) "Settlement of buildings
and associated damage", Proceedings of Conference on
Settlement of Structures, Cambridge, UK, 611-654.
Peck, R.B. (1969). Deep excavations and tunnelling in soft ground.
Proc. 7th Int. Conf. Soil Mechanics and Foundation
Engineering, Mexico City, State of the Art Volume, 225-290.