Prof. Harry Poulos (left) receiving a golden apple from Geotechnical Group Chair Walter Papp at the end of the 8th Parsons Lecture.

In his presentation, Professor Poulos presented analytical methods for predicting tunneling-induced ground movements. He then discussed effects of these ground movements on the load capacity and settlement in various types of foundations. The results of his analyses have shown that tunneling can induce significant deflection and forces in piles, especially those located near the tunnel. These can result in a reduction geotechnical capacity of the piles—the loss can be as high as 90 percent when the pile tip is very close to the tunnel crown.

Professor Poulos complemented results of his analytical work with those from centrifuge tests, in which changes in pile capacity were measured relative to underground tunneling in the proximity of the piles. Finally, he presented several cases where the pile capacities and settlements were measured during actual tunneling operations in the field.

At the end of the presentation, Professor Poulos received several requests from interested audience members for a copy of his presentation, as well as copies of several papers he had cited. He has very generously made these available through our website and we are sure our members appreciate his generosity. Please use the links below:

Presentation Slides

Papers:
Analytical Prediction for Tunneling Movements in Clay (1998)
Pile Responses Caused by Tunneling (1999)
Estimation of Ground Loss During Tunnel Excavation (2000)
Ground and Pile-Group Responses Due to Tunnelling (2001)
Estimation of Tunneling-Induced Ground Movements – Part 1 (2007)
Estimation of Tunneling-Induced Ground Movements – Part 2 (2007)

Summary and photo by Anirban De.