Forensic diagnosis of a shield tunnel failure

The occurrence of many buildings’ collapse in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, is caused by groundwater leakages in the reception area of a shield tunnel machine during the construction of an underground metro subway tunnel. This paper presents the results of planned forensic diagnosis including reviews of designs, reviews of construction records, and finally investigation of extended damages to the adjacent ground and structures. Finally, this study concluded with an analysis of an inferred failure mechanism resulting in such severe damage.