Ground-Movement-Related Building Damage

A concept for evaluation of building damage resulting from differential ground movement is presented in this paper. The concept is intended as a first-order method for damage assessment and relies on ground movement profile geometry, structure geometry and design, strain superposition, and critical strains of building materials. Means for estimating the degree of damage are presented in this paper so that the ground movement effects on third-party properties resulting from adjacent construction can be quickly and rationally prioritized. Prioritizing structure evaluations according to this first-order damage assessment method allows detailed evaluations to be focused on those structures that appear to be most susceptible to moderate or severe damage. Using the methods described in this paper, 20 case histories are examined, producing 43 separate evaluations, and the results compare favorably with actual damage observations.