Technical guidelines for the design of works with underground exploitation contemplating the characteristics of the local hydrogeological system. The case of the city of Santa Fe, Santa Fe Province, Argentina

Abstract

The building and infrastructure framework housed in the urban subsoil is subject to service conditions which must be considered in the project of all underground work for its correct execution, safety and functionality. The lack of tightness can severely reduce the long-term durability of the works and seriously affect their planned use resulting in dangerous, expensive, difficult to solve or irreversible processes.

From a field survey, numerous underground constructions with building pathologies related to seasonal groundwater entry were detected in the city of Santa Fe, works probably carried out in periods of lower groundwater levels than those that later had to withstand, ignoring the behavior of the underground water system and the action that the underground water could exert on the structure; also presenting inadequate waterproof protections or even without them.

The purpose of this work is to define technical guidelines in order to contribute to the protection and safety of underground works. To this end, an exhaustive investigation of waterproofing techniques and systems for underground works was carried out, which made it possible to develop a technical guide so that every underground work project is the result of an environmental assessment; the hydrogeological environment; of an appropriate structural design and including adequate waterproofing systems for the work under analysis. These results will contribute to managing the conditions or risks inherent to underground works, assuming the complex relationship between the use of urban land and the local hydrogeological environment.