Effect of constructing twin tunnels under a building supported by pile foundations in the Sydney central business district

In congested cities such as Sydney,competition for underground space escalates within the built environment because various assets require finite geotechnical strength and support.Specific problems such as damage to buildings may develop when high-rise buildings on piled foundations are subject to ground movements as tunnels are constructed.This paper focuses on the risks of tunneling beneath Sydney’s Martin Place and how buildings are subject to additional loads caused by tunneling.The key objective of this study is to improve the understanding of tunnel-rock-pile interactions and to encourage sustainable development.A finite element model is developed to predict the interaction between tunnel construction and piled foundations.The tunnel,rock,and pile components are studied separately and are then combined into a single model.The ground model is based on the characteristics of Hawkesbury Sandstone and is developed through a desktop study.The piles are designed using Australian Standards and observations of high-rise buildings.The tunnel construction is modeled based on the construction sequence of a tunnel boring machine.After combining the components,a parametric study on the relationship between tunnel location,basements,and piles is conducted.Our findings,thus far,show that tunneling can increase the axial and flexural loads of piles,where the additional loading exceeds the structural capacity of some piles,especially those that are close to basement walls.The parametric study reveals a strong relationship between tunnel depth and lining stresses,while the relationship between tunnel depth and induced pile loads is less convincing.Furthermore,the horizontal tunnel position relative to piles shows a stronger relationship with pile loads.Further research into tunnel-rock-pile interactions is recommended,especially beneath basements,to substantiate the results of this study.

Numerical investigation of the wind environment around tall buildings in a central business district

The wind environment around tall buildings in a central business district(CBD)was numerically investigated.The district covers an area of-^4.0 km2 and features a high density of tall buildings.In this study,only buildings taller than 20 m were considered,resulting in 173 tall buildings in the analysis.The numerical investigation was realized using the commercial computational fluid dynamics code FLUENT with the realizable A-6:turbulence model.Special efforts were made to maintain inflow boundary conditions throughout the computational domain.The reliability of the numerical method was validated using results from an experimental investigation conducted in the core area of the CBD(〜1.5 km2).Experimental and numerical investigations of wind speed ratios at the center of the three tallest buildings in the CBD agree within an uncertainty factor of 2.0.Both the experimental and numerical results show that wind speed ratios in the wind field with exposure category D are higher than those from the wind field with exposure category B.Based on the above validation work,the wind environment around tall buildings in the whole CBD was then investigated by numerical simulation.Common flow phenomena and patterns,such as stagnation points,shielding effects,separation flow,and channeling flow,were identified around the tall buildings.The pedestrianlevel wind environment around tall buildings in the CBD was further evaluated using nearby meteorological wind data.The evaluation results show that some pedestrian activities,such as sitting at the center of the three tallest buildings,are unadvisable when the wind blows from the south-east.

Noise Exposure Levels in Basic School Environments in a City in Ghana

Basic schools that are located in heavily populated residential and commercial areas in Ghana are exposed to environmental noise that can have detrimental effects on the academic attainments of children. Limited studies have been conducted on noise level in basic schools to date in Ghana. The objective of the study was to assess noise levels in and around learning spaces in basic schools in Ghana with a focus on Kumasi. A survey employing the use of interviews and an empirical monitoring of noise levels in and around learning spaces in four selected basic schools were adopted. The study revealed that mean outdoor and indoor noise levels exceed the World Health Organisation permissible limits by 30 - 40 percent and 90 - 107 percent respectively for schools in the commercial zones and schools that are located near highways. The school that is sited in an educational environment with a setback from the highway attained mean noise levels ranging from 1.2 percent below to 3.7 percent above the permissible limits for outdoor and between 64 - 105 percent for indoor. The outcome of the study is expected to engender the design of environmental noise resilient buildings to facilitate teaching and learning in basic schools in Ghana.