Effects of cover depth on ground movements induced by shallow tunnelling

[Display omitted] •The impact zones of tunnelling on buildings and nearby (pile) foundations are determined.•The minimum distance is established where settlements are always less than umax.•The tunnel diameter is established below which settlements are always less than umax. Assessing the impact of underground construction on existing structures in urban areas is an important topic during design. In this paper, the extent of the affected area due to tunnelling is estimated, where existing foundations are influenced based on the investigation of surface and subsurface settlements. The extent of the areas where building deformation exceed allowable settlements is presented, which will provide a preliminary assessment during design on the risk on existing structures, based on allowable settlement umax and slope ωmax. A more accurate impact area of shield tunnelling on nearby pile foundations is proposed.