Damage risk assessments
In the past few decades, a shift has taken place from building new infrastructure, to renovation and extension of existing infrastructure. This – among other developments – has led to more and more construction work within city centers and adjacent to existing buildings or infrastructure. These projects face an increasing risk of causing damage to nearby objects.
Arthe Civil & Structure specializes in damage risk assessments and design of mitigation measures in all stages of infrastructural projects.
Settlements and vibrations
Common causes of damage are horizontal or vertical soil displacements, produced by embankment construction, excavations, TBM passage, vibrations, etc. Changes in groundwatertable may also have a significant effect on nearby buildings. Vibrations induced by construction activities may cause both nuisance and a risk of damage.
Our services include making settlement and vibration predictions, and calculating damage risks based on those data. Both analytical methods and/or finite elements calculations can be used to obtain reliable predictions and to assess whether mitigation measures are sufficiently effective.
Monitoring and strategies to reduce risk
In the planning stage of a project, we focus on identifying and quantifying risks, and on stategies to control and reduce risks. To this end, we can specify additional soil investigation, or testing. Alternatively, we can make preliminary calculations to quantify a specific risk.
When making a design, damage risks are constantly re-evaluated, and the design is adjusted accordingly. Detailed damage risk assessments may be required when applying for permits. A monitoring proposal is added to the design, depending on the residual risks and the stakeholders involved.
During construction monitoring data is analysed at strategic intervals, the results are used to optimize construction methods.
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