Disaster characteristics and influence range of earth fissure on nearby structures

The differential movement on the hanging wall and the footwall of an earth fissure creates inevitable damage to the structures near the fissure, especially infrastructure built over the fissure. However, previous research has mostly regarded the influence range of long fissures as being a constant value and did not consider the disaster characteristics of the affected engineering structures, especially roads and buildings. The relationship between the disaster-causing mechanism and the influence range of an earth fissure on different structures is still unclear. The Huangzhuang-Gaoliying earth fissure in Beijing has a total length of 7 km and has been active since the 1970s, which is one of the most representative earth fissures in China. Since there are various common civil constructions and roads along the line, this fissure was taken as an example to carry out the research. Through detailed investigation and comparative analysis of the damages on the structures along the earth fissure, the disaster characteristics, failure modes and influence ranges of an earth fissure on the nearby structures were analyzed successively. The disaster characteristics of structures near the earth fissure depend on the distance, material characteristics, and structural strength. The subsurface expansion mode of earth fissures shows that the activity of the earth fissure will form a rupture deformation zone and a subsidence zone. The failure modes of the affected structures, including deflection, dislocation, tension, tension-shear, and compound damages, are summarized. Afterward, the influence ranges of the Huangzhuang-Gaoliying earth fissure on different structures are estimated. The dominant failure modes and common disasters within the different ranges of the earth fissure are discussed in order to provide a reference for the demarcation of the influence ranges of earth fissures in other areas. Suggestions for disaster prevention and mitigation for structures with different failure modes are also given.