Damage Functions for the Vulnerability Assessment of Masonry Buildings Subjected to Tunneling

This paper describes a new framework for the assessment of potential damage caused by tunneling-induced settlement to surface masonry buildings. Finite element models in two and three dimensions, validated through comparison with experimental results and field observations, are used to investigate the main factors governing the structural response to settlement. Parametric analyses are performed on the effect of geometrical and structural features, like the building dimensions, the nonlinear behavior of masonry, and soil-structure interactions. These results are used to create a framework of an overall damage model that correlates the analyzed parameters with the risk of the building being damaged by a given level of settlement. The proposed vulnerability framework has the potential to be developed as a decision and management tool for the evaluation of the risk associated with underground excavations in urban areas. (C) 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.