Probabilistic analysis of tunneling-induced building safety assessment using a hybrid FE-copula model

For investigating the uncertainty and reliability of building disturbance induced by tunnel excavating, the finite element (FE) method and copula technique are nicely combined in this paper. Six existing buildings located just beside the tunnel axis in Wuhan Yangtze River Metro Tunnel were taken as case study. In this research, the tunnel-building interaction was first precisely described by deterministic and stochastic FE method. The probability and uncertainty of surrounding circumstance were considered as input parameters and imported into FE model, while 180 simulated data were generated by the FE method. Then, in order to precisely appraise the potential risk of pre-existing building, the multi distributions of S-max and I-max were constructed by different copula functions, and the best-fit copula function was identified by AIC and BIC criterions. Finally, the safety risk levels of the six concerned buildings were evaluated by considering both the importance of the examined buildings and the limited value of building reliability index . The conclusions of this research can help appraising the potential risk of these buildings during tunnel excavating and improving the security of the metro construction.