Study on ground settlement and structural deformation for large span subway station using a new pre-supporting system.

This study presents a novel construction pre-supporting system for large underground space excavation with shallow depth, Steel Tube Slab system (STS), in which adjacent steel pipes are connected by a couple of flanges, bolts and concrete for flexural capacity and lateral stiffness of the whole structure. The STS method is employed for the first time for the construction of the ultra-shallow buried and large span subway station in China, during which ground settlement and structural deformation are monitored. A numerical model for the subway station is established with reliability verified by monitored data comparison from numerical results and investigation on the effect of large span underground excavation on surrounding soil surrounding soil and existing buildings in soft soils. Unlike traditional methods, the STS method can effectively control and reduce the ground settlement during construction, thereby rendering it ideally suited for application in soft soils.