Building Safety Risks Induced by Settlement and Its Prevention Methods

Building is a complex and opening system, and settlement plays an important role in its safety. Settlement components of building are analyzed and their calculating methods are introduced. Based on growth of building settlement, three aspects of building safety risks induced by excessive settlement are analyzed, namely excessive differential settlement, total incline and disharmony with living environment. Four methods are proposed to reduce and prevent the risks caused by settlement, which include improving calculating method, determining soil mechanical parameter reasonably, predicting time-dependent settlement and optimizing design of the building foundation.