Case Study of Differential Settlement on

Leaning Tower of Pisa

Fig. Leaning Tower of Pisa

(Source: https://www.headout.com/blog/leaning-tower-of-pisa/)

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is the freestanding bell tower, of the church of the Italian city of Pisa.
The tower is situated behind the Pisa cathedral and is the third-oldest structure in the city’s
Cathedral Square. The construction of this tower was started from August 1173 and it took 344
years to construct the whole tower. The Leaning Tower of Pisa was designed by the Architect
Bonanno Pisano.

The construction of the tower occurred in three phases, spanning nearly two centuries, as war and
social unrest mired the construction. The evident tilt of the tower was first noticed during the
initial phase of construction which began in 1173 AD. Engineers tried to compensate for the tilt
by making the columns and arches of the third story slightly taller on the sinking side; however,
political unrest halted construction before they could continue to the fourth story. Additional
adjustments were attempted on the fifth and sixth stories, but construction was once again halted
before they could continue to the seventh. Nearing the completion of the tower in 1372, the
builders made a final attempt to compensate for the lean by angling the eighth (top) story bell
chamber. Regardless of these attempts to correct for the lean, the tilt continued to worsen
throughout the centuries.

The Tower is famous in the world by its nearly Four Degree lean. From its time of construction, it
had started leaning and over the period it continued leaning. By 1990 it leaned up to 5.5 degrees,
but the angle so that the center of gravity of tower would not slip from its base and prevent to
collapse was 5.44 degrees. After 1990, the engineers and geologist worked to stabilize the structure
and reduced the tilt up to 3.97 degrees.

Causes of Leaning:
The main cause of leaning is due to Differential Settlement of Soil. Differential settlement occurs
when the soil beneath the structure expands, contracts or shifts away. This can be caused by
drought conditions, the root systems of maturing trees, flooding, poor drainage, frost, broken water
lines, vibrations from nearby construction or poorly compacted fill soil. There are various reasons
for the differential settlement to occur:

1. Trees, shrubs and other plants can sometimes reduce the levels of moisture in the area
surrounding the structure. This can cause soil to dry out and to provide less support for
some areas of your building.
2. The wrong kind of soil can also cause serious issues with settling of the foundation or slab
of your building. Over time, soils can become compressed and incapable of providing
adequate support for larger structures. Clay soils are especially prone to excessive
compression.
3. Seismic activity can create vibrations that can settle soil and underlying layers of rock to
cause serious issues for your building.
4. If construction is done on the soil which was used to be drainage or swampy land, then
differential settlement may occur.

Similarly, the foundation of Leaning Tower of Pisa was made of limestone and lime mortar.
However, it was dug only 3 meters deep and built on dense clay, which was not a very stable place
to build a 14,500-ton tower. The weight started to compact the soil until it found the weakest point
and started sinking in on one side.
 Fig. Geological Profile of the Soil at Location
(Source - https://www.geotech.hr/en/differential-settlements/)

Effects of Differential Settling

1. Distortions or warping of the frame of the building.
2. Improper fit and function for doors and windows
3. Cracks and deterioration of foundations and slabs
4. Damage to walls and to flooring
5. Structural instability that could result in your building being deemed unfit for occupation
or habitation.

 Methods of prevention and remediation of the consequences of differential

settlements
The consequences of differential settlements may be significant and jeopardize the stability of the
entire structure. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out geotechnical exploration and investigation
works in order to determine the possibilities for prevention and choose the optimal method of
structure foundation remediation. Geotechnical exploration and investigation works are key in the
foundation remediation in order to find the cause of differential settlements. There are various
ways for the foundation remediation:

1. Foundation remediation by concrete underpinning.

2. Foundation remediation with jet grouting.
3. Foundation remediation with micro piles.
4. Foundation remediation by using expanding geopolymers.

The stabilization of the tower was the great challenge for the Geo technical Engineering. It was
constructed on the weak soil and the tower was leaning every year and had exceed its factor of
safety i.e. 5.44 degrees and any works on the soil like concrete underpinning would increase the
risk of collapsing the building. After a careful consideration of several possible approaches, the
engineers adopted a controlled removal of small volumes of soil from beneath the north side of the
Tower foundation like shown in figure below. This technique caused the other side of the tower to
immerse into the soil and maintain the stability. 4 degrees of angle of tilt was obtained after the
process.

Fig. Excavation of Soil under the Tower

Conclusion
Hence, it is very important to conduct a geotechnical study before the construction of any projects
so that the future problems like differential settling and other problems don’t occur.