Robust Design of Braced Excavations Using Multiobjective Optimization-Focusing on Prevention of Damage to Adjacent Buildings

Abstract

This paper presents a new geotechnical design methodology, referred to herein as robust geotechnical design (RGD), and its application in the braced excavation design in clays. The RGD approach is aimed at optimally selecting the design parameters so that the system response (e.g., the damage probability of the adjacent building caused by excavation) is insensitive to, or robust against, uncertainty in statistics of noise factors. In this paper, the uncertainty in the estimated statistics of noise factors is evaluated using the bootstrapping method and the variation in the probability of damage is evaluated using the point estimated method integrated with first order reliability method. The RGD is realized through a multi-objective optimization, in which all the requirements such as safety, robustness, and cost are explicitly considered. A design example of braced excavation is used to demonstrate the effectiveness and significance of the RGD approach.

Analytical Solution for the Deformation of Pipe Galleries Adjacent to Deep Excavation

“…In recent years, emphasis has been placed on the study of responses of existing properties to deep excavations. Several commonly used techniques to investigate deformation behaviors and the corresponding environmental effects of braced excavations are FEM analyses based on numerical tools [11][12][13][14][15][16], empirical/semiempirical methods based on field measurements [17][18][19][20][21][22]; or a published database [23][24][25][26], analytical solutions [27][28][29][30][31][32], and model tests [33,34]. In addition, machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), and artificial neural network (ANN) algorithms are becoming increasingly accurate and reliable in predicting elastic fields of soil around retaining walls under various scenarios of wall movements [35][36][37][38][39][40][41].…”