Underground Singapore 2016
Underpinning for TBM to Under-cross a Building in
Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) Contract T220
C. C. Ng
ONE SMART Engineering Pte Ltd, Singapore
Z. Y. Liu
Land Transport Authority, Singapore
R. Agus
AECOM Pte Ltd, Singapore
ABSTRACT: Contract T220 Great World Station is a part of Thomson- East Coast Line (TEL). The
works under TEL Contract T220 comprises construction of station and its entrances, subways and two
launch shafts, and a 2.1km bored twin tunnels from TS15 (Great World Station) towards Station TS16
the Cripple Siding. An existing high rise building, Mirage Tower, located at 80 Kim Seng Road, will
be undercrossed by the TEL tunnels. Mirage Tower is supported by bored piles, and 2 of these existing
piles are within the face of the proposed South Bound bored tunnel alignment while another 3 piles are
within 3m (radial direction) of the South Bound tunnel. Underpinning works to the building structure
with micro-piles are proposed in view of the calculated reduction in capacity of the existing bored
piles. The paper will illustrate the design and arrangement of the micro-piles based on the allowed
maximum volume loss and the existing 2100mm diameter sewer pipe in the vicinity as a site constraint.
Sectional and plan view of the proposed micro-piles. The existing piles will be de-bonded, and the
load will be transferred to the proposed micro-piles via newly constructed transfer beam and left-in
hydraulic jacks, after which the existing piles will be bored through during the tunnelling stage. In
addition to the design consideration, this paper will also cover the constructability and other practical
concerns including working with very limited head room and related site adjustments. The paper will
be furnished with the actual performance of ground with comprehensive instrumentation monitoring
during the underpinning process and undercrossing by the TBM.
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Site Location
An existing multi-storey building, Mirage Tower, located at 80 Kim Seng Road, will be un-
dercrossed by the proposed TEL South Bound tunnel. The building is supported on bored piles. Fig-
ure 1 shows the site location of Mirage Tower and TEL T220 Great World Station and Associated
Tunnels.
Figure 1 Site Location of Mirage Tower and TEL Contract T220 Station and Associated Tunnels
1.2 Ground Conditions
The ground condition at the site consists of Kallang Formation overlying Bukit Timah Formation.
Figure 2 shows the geological condition of the site.
Figure 2 Geological Condition of the Site
2 REASONS FOR UNDERPINNING
2.1 Interfacing with TEL T220 Bored Tunnels
Mirage Tower is supported on bored piles. Layout for the tunnels and the building and developed sec-
tions are presented in Figure 3. Refer to the figure, two of these existing bored piles (C10 and C11) are
within the face of the proposed South Bound bored tunnel alignment, and three more piles (C11a, C12
and C22) are within 3m (radial direction) of the South Bound tunnel. Similar nature of underpinning
works had been carried out in Circle Line (CCL) Paya Lebar Station where the pile foundation of an
existing MRT viaduct pier of East West Line (EWL) were underpinned for the construction of the pro-
posed CCL underground station. The history of this case was reported in papers by Lim et al (2007)
and Cai et al (2003). The paper by Lim et al (2007) describes the design of the underpinning works,
its construction and the monitoring of the nearby existing MRT viaduct structure including the
measures that were implemented to minimize movements. Another case history of underpinning work
was at Down Town Line Stage 3 Expo Station where the existing MRT pier of EWL was underpinned
for the construction of Expo Station. The case history was reported in paper by Neo (2011).
Figure 3 below depicted that piles at locations where they are within 300mm from the tunnel face (ra-
dial direction) are to be trimmed from the TBM during tunnelling to make space for the bored tunnel
drives. Pile C10, however, will be cut from the head before the bored tunnelling works are carried out.
As per the initial building impact assessment, the analysis results indicate that Mirage Tower (SM
707) would experience severe to very severe damage (Category ‘4 to 5’) after Pile C10 have been cut
before tunnelling and others piles (C11, C11a, C12 and C22) will be trimmed during tunnelling.
Therefore, an advanced engineering strengthening work, namely underpinning, was therefore proposed
for Mirage Tower before the trimming of the pile base so as to maintain stability of the structure. The
piles which are required to be strengthened were summarized in Table 1.
Figure 3 Layout of Mirage Tower and TEL T220 bored tunnels
Figure 4 Interfacing Section of Mirage Tower Foundation with TEL T220 Bored Tunnels
Table 1 Summary of piles of Mirage Tower affected by T220 bored tunnels
Existing Affected Piles
Capacity Capacity Capacity
Pile Ref- Pile Di- Before After Tun- Column Need to be
erence Nos ameter Tunneling neling Load Strengthened Remarks
mm kN kN kN kN
C22 1 1200 5488 1441 5254 4047
Existing pile
to be cut be-
fore tunnel-
C10 1 900 3038 0 2749 2749 ing
C12 1 1000 3822 1142 3449 2680
C11 1 700 1862 756 1862 1106
Strengthening
is not re-
C11a 1 600 1400 680 654 0 quired
3 PROPOSED UNDERPINNING FOR FOUNDATION AND STRUCTURE OF MIRAGE TOWER
3.1 Changes to Structure
Due to the existing sewer lines near the Mirage Tower development, the proposed pilecaps of Mirage
Tower have to be modified to avoid these sewer lines. The new proposed pilecaps are simplified into
one integrated pilecap and is all under the building footprint. There is no change with respect to the
applied loading and the material. Figure 5 shows the layout of pilecap of Mirage Tower and the sewer
line.
Figure 5 Layout of pilecap for Mirage Tower and sewer line
3.2 Design Consideration of Underpinning – Pilecap/Transfer Beam Design
A 1.5m thick pilecap is proposed in the design to obtain the load transfer and less differential settle-
ment between the pile groups. In order to transfer the load from the existing piles to the proposed un-
derpinning piles, the jack will be installed between the existing pilecap and the proposed pilecap. The
gap between the existing pilecap and new pilecap is 500mm. The layout plan and cross-section of pro-
posed future T220 Tunnel and Mirage Tower Underpinning scheme are shown in Figure 6, Figure 7
and Figure 8 respectively.
Figure 6 Developed section of underpinning scheme for Mirage Tower
Figure 7 Sectional View of Figure 6
The pilecap is designed using SAFE Version 12.3.2. The spring constant used in the SAFE modelling
is including consideration after T220 tunnelling with maximum volume loss of 1%. Figure 8 and Fig-
ure 9 are the transfer beam 3D plan view of pilecap in SAFE.
Figure 8 3D model of pilecap and transfer beam analyses
Figure 9 Analyses results for the 3D model
3.3 Design Consideration of Underpinning – Pile Design
The proposed piling layout plan was shown in Figure 7. Under low head room, 300mm diameter
bored piles were proposed. The future T220 tunnel will be under-crossed the proposed underpinning
piles at some location; hence, the pile toe above tunnel termination is maintained outside the zone
of ½ diameters from the tunnel circumference. Summary of the new proposed pile capacity, toe
level and cut-off level was shown Table 2.
Table 2 New Proposed pile capacity, toe level and cut off level
Pile
Pile Di- Capacity Total ca- Toe
Group Cut-off Level
ameter per Pile pacity Level
ID. Nos.
mm kN kN mRL mRL
1A 2 300 1232 2464 67.5 96.27
1B 70 300 228 79 79 96.27
4 DESIGN CHECK FOR TEMPORARY WORKS AND TEMPORARY REMOVAL OF
CANTILEVER RETAINING WALL
4.1 Design Check for Partial Removal of Retaining Wall
This section will describe the design check for the partial removal of a cantilever retaining wall RW3
at Mirage Tower Basement 1. The removal of wall area 3.3m wide x 2.88m height provides access to a
micro-pile rig to install micropiles for underpinning of the building. Figure 10 shows the layout of the
temporary works and the location of the retaining wall to be removed. The soil acting on the wall will
first be excavated and sheet pile walls will be installed to withstand the lateral earth pressure. No load-
ings will be transferred by the sheet pile walls or walers to any part of the adjacent walls. Figure 11
shows the assumptions and design considerations of the lateral earth pressure acting on the structure
and considered in the analyses and design check. The underpinning will enable the building loads to
be transferred to the installed micro-piles and thereafter existing 1200mm diameter bored piles ob-
structing tunneling works for contract T220 can be cut and removed. Refer to attached drawings for
method statement of demolition and reinstatement of RW3. 3D modeling was carried out to check the
design for the partial removal of the retaining wall. Figure 10 shows the 3D model and the location of
the retaining wall to be removed.
Figure 10 Layout showing the temporary works and the location of the retaining wall to be removed
Figure 11 Assumptions and design consideration for the lateral pressure acting on the structure
Figure 12 3D model for analyses to check the design due to the partial removal of the retaining wall
The removal of wall on the end span will result in increased mid-span sagging moment of the adjacent
wall. The adequacy of the existing rebars were checked against the increased sagging moment in this
report. From the calculations, the existing rebars are capable of withstanding the increased sagging
moment.
4.2 Design Consideration of Temporary Works for Underpinning Works
Two type of ERSS are introduced to temporarily retain the excavated soil face to facilitate underpin-
ning works. Refer to Figure 13 below, FSP IV sheet pile wall of length 18m are design as exterior
ERSS, whereas soldier piles at 410mm spacing are designed as interior ERSS in view of the con-
strained headroom of construction space. Particularly, the 18m soldier piles will be transferred inside
the building in 3m long sections, and will be joined together subsequently.
Figure 13 ERSS Scheme for Mirage Tower Underpinning Works
A slope of gradient 1(V):2(H) will be cut first to reach basement level, after which the slope will be
leaned with 50mm thick concrete. Installation of sheet pile wall and solder piles will be proceeded up-
on partial removal of basement slab and installation of micro-piles. Reinforcement with 1m lapping
with existing slab reinforcement will be welded to the soldier piles. A temporary slab prop is to be
formed by casting a 300mm thick slab with reinforcement connecting solder piles. The temporary slab
prop can be removed when preloading of struts is completed after next level excavation. Upon excava-
tion to final excavation level, underpinning works, which will be illustrated in Section 5, will be im-
plemented.
5 CONSTRUCTION SEQUENCE FOR THE UNDERPINNING
This section describes the construction sequence for the underpinning work. This construction se-
quence is important to ensure that the load transfer from the existing structure and foundation to the
new structure and foundation is effective and will not cause additional distress to the structure.
To facilitate the underpinning works, the existing basement slab will be demolished and be reinstated
back upon completion of the underpinning works. The new replacement piles are to be constructed fol-
lowed by installation of internal soldier piles. Strutted excavation will be subsequently carried out to
the level below existing pilecap. Refer to Figure 14 below, the existing pile will be debonded at the
new beam location and Kallang Formation layer by adopting single casing debonding method, and the
new transfer beam will be cast 500mm below the existing pipe cap with starter bars for the second
stage casting.
Figure 14 Connection Details at the Pilecap
To closely monitor the performance of preloading, hydraulic jacks and instrumentation are to be in-
stalled. The preloading will be carried out in 2 stages. The hydraulic jack will be locked after applica-
tion of stage 1 preloading, and the instrumentation read will be recorded, same for the second stage
preloading. If all movement and pressure gauge readings remain stable after 2 days, jack will be pre-
pared for encasement by releasing hydraulic oil from jack and to be filled with C50 grout. Otherwise,
load from stage 2 preloading will be maintained and instrumentation reading is to be monitored until
stability is achieved. This is to ensure that the load transfer from the existing structure and foundation
to the new structure and foundation is effective and will not cause additional distress to the structure.
After the successful encasement of jack, cutting of existing piles can be proceeded. Reinforcement will
be installed around the existing pilecap and second stage casting together with the jack encasement
will be carried out.
6 IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF MIRAGE TOWER DUE TO TUNNELING WORKS
A normal analysis using a volume loss of 1% per tunnel and a sensitivity check using a volume loss of
2% per tunnel are carried out. The results indicate that, after the underpinning works have been carried
out, a volume loss of 1% per tunnel would result in a maximum settlement of 13.49mm. The existing
bored piles and the new micropiles will experience loads within their capacity as well. However, a
volume loss of 2% for each tunnel would result in large settlement which would cause the transfer
beam to be overstressed, resulting in unbalanced load transfer to the piles and excessive movement of
the superstructure. In order to prevent Transfer Beam-1 and the adjoining micropiles from being over-
stressed, and thereby reduce the impact of TEL bored tunnelling works on the semi-basement carpark,
the maximum volume loss within the vicinity of the Mirage Tower semi-basement carpark shall be
limited to 1% for each tunnel. Instrumentation and monitoring will be planned and carried out for this
building so as to monitor its performance against ground and structures’ behaviour due to the Works.
The monitoring and timely review of the instrumentation readings will be crucial to the success of this
work as well as to mitigate the risk of the adverse impact on the building overstressing of the under-
pinning system. The review level of the instruments will be set based on the values with 1% volume
loss. If the volume loss exceeds 1% and reach 2% accidentally, the instruments readings will increase
beyond the review level. The work on site will stop immediately once the work suspension level of
the instruments are breached. This will ensure that the building is safe at all time.
7 CONCLUSIONS
Underpinning works will be carried out for the Mirage Tower basement carpark as an advanced
strengthening works prior to bored tunneling works from Station TS15 Launch Shaft towards
Station TS16. Therefore, the underpinning pile and transferred beam are designed to withstand for
additional settlement due to T220 bored tunneling works. In this paper, it covers the re-design of the
new pile cap and the new micropiles.
The impact assessment due to the trimming of existing bored piles base as well as the damage assess-
ment onto the existing Mirage Tower structure during and after tunneling work have been carried out
and was found to be within tolerable limit after the underpinning work being carried out..
The design of the braced excavation (ERSS) to facilitate the construction of this underpinning struc-
ture was presented in this paper and the design and analyses for the ERSS work for carrying out the
underpinning work has shown to be robust such that the induced movement to Mirage Tower is within
tolerable limit.
8 REFERENCES
C.W. Neo 2011, Challenges in Designing the Underpinning & Strengthening for Existing MRT Viaduct Struc-
ture to Facilitate Construction of DTL3 Expo Station, Hulme Prize Paper 2011
T.F. Lim, B.S. Tan, W.A. Chang, K. Kusano and R. Chakravarthy. 2007. Underpinning Two Viaduct Piers of an
Operating Mass Rapit Transit Line for The Construction of Singapore’s Circle Line Paya Lebar Interchange Sta-
tion. Proceedings World Transit Conference 2007
Min, Cai & Boey S. 2003. Design Consideration for Paya Lebar Interchange Station, Circle Line. RTS 2003 Con-
ference, Singapore.
