FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF DEEP BASEMENT CONSTRUCTION OF BANK OF THAILAND ALONG CHAO PHRAYA RIVER CLOSED TO HISTORICAL PALACES

Abstract

The Bank of Thailand headquarter (BOT) is a large building located in the inner
Rattanakosin Island where high-rise building more than 4 storey is not permitted. This
building consists of 3 story and 5 basements with excavation depth of 15.8 m. The head office
was constructed along Chao Phraya river, the main river of Bangkok. The basement of the
building was constructed only 5m and 10m away from two historical palaces, Tewavej and
Bangkhunphrom. Hence, protection policy has been set for the construction and damage
assessment by means of Finite Element Method (FEM) with simulation of basement
construction method was carried out to predict any potential damage to both palaces. At
last, the top down construction method was employed for basement construction using
1m thick and 20m long of diaphragm wall combined with 50m long of bored pile. The
instrumentation was installed at the palaces, diaphragm and ground settlement to observe
field performance both during and after construction. Furthermore, the field measurement data
is compared and discussed with prediction data from FEM analysis and the time dependent of
lateral wall movement will be presented. Currently, the construction of Bank of Thailand head
office is finished without damage to both palaces.