Effect of Excavation Disturbance on Clayey Soil Mechanical Properties and Pile Capacity

Abstract Excavation causes disturbance to the surrounding soil, affecting the soil’s mechanical properties. This study presents a case study to investigate the effect of excavation disturbance on soil properties and pile capacity via in situ tests. A series of multifunctional piezocone tests, multichannel analysis of surface wave tests, and electrical resistivity tomography tests were conducted at three sites of the Taihu tunnel region before and after excavation with different depths. The changes in soil mechanical properties and the pile capacity loss were evaluated using the test results. The results indicated that excavation disturbance decreased the cone tip resistance, sleeve friction, soil resistivity, shear wave velocity, and undrained shear strength. In contrast, the friction ratio and the effective friction angle were not affected. The average cone tip resistance of soils in the excavation disturbance zone was approximately 51%, 46%, and 62% of its initial value at Sites A, B, and C, respectively. The variation in soil properties was only observed within a limited depth below the excavation surface, which is defined as the excavation disturbance zone. The piezocone test successfully identified the depth of the excavation disturbance zone, and the disturbance zone height was approximately 0.42 times the excavation depth. In the disturbance zone, the cone tip resistance and the undrained shear strength of the soil decreased linearly from approximately 90%–0% with increasing depth. Because of excavation disturbance, the axial and lateral capacities of a pile beneath the Taihu tunnel were reduced by about 9% and 50%, respectively.