Efficiency of excavations with buttress walls in reducing the deflection of the diaphragm wall

Installation of buttress walls against diaphragm walls has been used as an alternative measure for the protection of adjacent buildings during excavation, but their mechanism in reducing movements has not yet been fully understood. This study performs three-dimensional finite element analyses of two excavation case histories, one in clay with T-shape buttress walls and another in dominant sand with rectangular buttress walls, to establish analysis model. Then, a series of parametric study were performed by varying soil types, types and length of buttress walls based on the above-mentioned excavations. Results show that the mechanism of buttress walls in reducing wall deflections mainly came from the frictional resistance between the side surface of buttress wall and adjacent soil rather than from the combined bending stiffness from diaphragm and buttress walls. The buttress wall with a length <2.0 m had a poor effect in reducing the wall deflection because the soil adjacent to the buttress wall had almost the same amount of movement as the buttress wall, causing the frictional resistance little mobilized. Since the frictional resistance of buttress walls in a deep excavation has fully been mobilized prior to the final excavation depth, the efficiency of buttress walls in reducing the wall deflection in a deep excavation was much less than that in a shallow excavation. Rectangular shape of buttress walls was of a better effect than T-shape in the shallow excavation because frictional resistance between buttress walls and adjacent soil played a major role in reducing the wall deflection rather than bearing resistance of the flange. When the excavation went deeper, the difference in reducing the wall deflection between the R-shape and T-shape became small.     

Three-dimensional numerical analysis of deep excavations with cross walls

Previous plane strain analysis of a case history has shown that cross walls in an excavation can effectively reduce movements induced by deep excavation. This study performed three-dimensional numerical analyses for 4 deep excavation cases with different installations of cross walls, including different excavation depths, cross wall intervals and cross wall depths. Both the observed and computed wall deflections for the 4 cases were compared with those of the same excavations that were assumed with no cross walls installed to demonstrate the effectiveness of cross walls in reducing lateral wall deflections. The results show that the cross wall also had a corner effect similar to that of the diaphragm wall. The deflection of the diaphragm wall was smallest at the location of the cross wall installed and then increased with the increasing distance from the cross wall, up to the midpoint between two cross walls. Many factors such as in situ soil properties, diaphragm wall properties, construction procedure, cross wall depth and so on may affect the amount of reduction in lateral wall deflections due to the installation of cross walls. Under the same condition, the amount of reduction was highly dependent on the depth of cross walls, distance to the cross walls and the cross wall interval.     

Investigation of the integrated retaining system to limit deformations induced by deep excavation

A series of three-dimensional finite element analyses of deep excavations with the integrated system between buttress walls and diaphragm walls was conducted to investigate the effect of the buttress wall intervals, treatments, locations, height, and thickness on limiting deformations induced by deep excavation. The integrated retaining system was formed by maintaining buttress walls when soil was excavated. The wall deflection control mechanism of the integrated retaining system mainly came from the combined stiffness between the buttress wall and the diaphragm wall. In addition, the ground settlement control mechanism came from the combined stiffness between the buttress wall and the diaphragm wall, and the frictional resistance between the buttress wall and the surrounding soil. For achieving 50% reduction in the wall deflection and the ground surface settlement, the length and intervals of buttress walls that were applied to the integrated retaining system were at least 4 and 8 m, respectively. When the deflection at the diaphragm wall head was well restrained, for example, by the floor slab, the position of the buttress wall head could be located at a depth the diaphragm wall starts to bulge out. In such a case, the performance between the full height and limited height of buttress walls was quite close. Furthermore, a new well-documented excavation project was analyzed to verify the performance of the integrated retaining system. Results showed that the integrated retaining system worked excellently if the joints between buttress walls and diaphragm walls were constructed properly.     

Simplified approach to estimate the maximum wall deflection for deep excavations with cross walls in clay under the undrained condition

Previous studies have shown that use of cross walls in deep excavations can reduce the wall deflection to a very small amount. However, design of cross walls is costly because the deflection behavior of the diaphragm wall with cross walls is in nature three dimensional. The objective of this study was to establish a simplified approach used as a first approximation to design cross walls such that the lateral wall deflection can satisfy a design criterion. A series of parametric studies using a three-dimensional numerical method was performed to obtain the influence factors on wall deflections, including excavation geometry, wall system stiffness, axial stiffness of strut, axial stiffness of the cross wall, normalized undrained shear strength of clay and the cross wall depth. Then, a simplified formula for predicting the wall deflection for excavations without and with cross walls was established using multivariate regression analysis, respectively. The formulas were validated through 36 excavation cases without cross walls and 12 cases with cross walls. The simplified formulas can be used to develop a spreadsheet that estimates the cross wall sizes and intervals based on the entered excavation geometry, material properties of retaining-strut system, in situ undrained shear strength and tolerable wall deflection. The estimated cross wall sizes and intervals should be verified by an appropriate full numerical analysis.     

宁波轨道交通地下连续墙深基坑工程变形特性及控制研究

由于成因及地域性的差异,宁波软土具有鲜明的特点,深基坑变形特性也有别于其它软土地区。在国内外研究基础上,本文结合宁波轨道交通1号线基坑工程,对13个车站地下连续墙深基坑监测数据进行统计分析。从基坑围护结构水平位移和墙后地表沉降两个方面对基坑变形特性进行了研究,结果表明:宁波地区地下连续墙的最大侧移介于0.18%H和0.80%H之间,平均值为0.39%H,较其它地区大,最大侧移位于开挖面附近,且随软土层厚度的增大而增大;宁波地区Fs取值1.7为宜;地表沉降主要分布于0≤d/H≤2.0范围内,最大值δvm=1.2%H,最小值δvm=0.15%H,平均值δvm=0.69%H,地表沉降较大;围护结构侧移与地表沉降关系为δvm=1.0δhm～1.8δhm。最后,结合分析结果,提出了宁波地区深基坑工程变形控制标准,可以为宁波地区及软土地区深基坑工程提供指导和借鉴作用。     

广西大学地铁车站深基坑变形监测数据分析

本文以南宁市地铁1号线试验车站广西大学站基坑工程为背景,通过对基坑工程施工动态监测数据进行分析,总结了广西大学站地铁车站深基坑的连续墙变形及周围地表沉降变形特征。监测数据的分析结果表明:广西大学站基坑开挖引起的地表沉降量值比较小,影响范围主要集中于0～2H(H为基坑开挖深度),产生最大沉降值的位置约为墙后0.5～0.7H,沉降变形影响最远延伸至距基坑边缘约为4H处; 并可依此变形特征规律给出圆砾层地区基坑地表沉降预估曲线与环境保护等级的划分。     

基坑施工对临近运营地铁影响控制标准及关键技术

随着城市的快速发展,地铁车站周边开发的建筑越来越多,周边建筑施工对地铁车站将产生不可避免的不利影响。本文结合某大型建筑深基坑工程的设计、施工及监测数据,通过有限元计算,分析基坑开挖施工力学特征,研究基坑施工对临近地铁车站的变形影响。研究发现,基坑采用合理的地下连续墙、钻孔灌注桩等围护体系、适当的被动区加固方式、科学的分基坑开挖施工组织等措施,可以保证基坑开挖施工对临近车站的影响在可控制、可接受的范围内,为软土地区类似基坑的设计、施工提供参考经验。     

Reliability analysis of soil nail walls

In India, soil nail walls are being extensively used for supporting vertical excavations below ground level to accommodate construction of one-or two-storied basements. Generally, the depth of excavations for basement construction ranges from 10 m to 15 m. For such large depth of excavation, variability of in-situ soil properties has significant influence on the stability of the soil nail walls. In the present study, using reliability analysis, an attempt is made to study the influence of variability of in-situ soil properties on the stability of soil nail walls. For better understanding, a case of 10 m high soil nail wall constructed to support a vertical cut is considered for the study and its stability is evaluated for various failure modes. Additionally, the influence of correlation among soil parameters on soil nail wall stability is assessed. In-situ soil friction angle and correlation between in-situ soil cohesion and angle of friction are found to influence soil nail wall stability significantly. In general, reliability analysis provided a better insight into the assessment of stability of soil nail wall.     

A simple prediction model for wall deflection caused by braced excavation in clays

Deep excavations particularly in deep deposits of soft clay can cause excessive ground movements and result in damage to adjacent buildings. Extensive plane strain finite element analyses considering the small strain effect have been carried out to examine the wall deflections for excavations in soft clay deposits supported by retaining walls and bracing. The excavation geometry, soil strength and stiffness properties, and the wall stiffness were varied to study the wall deflection behavior. Based on these results, a simple Polynomial Regression (PR) model was developed for estimating the maximum wall deflection. Wall deflections computed by this method compare favorably with a number of field and published records.     

A parametric study of wall deflections in deep excavations with the installation of cross walls

Several case studies have revealed that the installation of cross walls in excavations can effectively reduce the amount of wall deflection and ground settlement. However, the behaviour of the diaphragm wall due to the installation of the cross walls is still unclear. This study performed a series of 3D numerical studies of wall deflections for deep excavations with cross walls and studied the effects on the wall deflection of several parameters, including the number of cross walls, the distance to the cross wall, the cross wall interval, the cross wall height and the cross wall embedment. The results presented in this study can be used as a first approximation for cases in which cross walls are designed to reduce the wall deflection induced by deep excavation.     

Displacements induced by the installation of diaphragm panels

The walls of a deep excavation in cohesionless soils below the water table have been supported by a reinforced concrete diaphragm with T-shaped panels. To improve the safety against the risk of local collapse during the panel excavation, the soil surrounding the panels has been treated by deep mixing to a depth of 6?C10?m. The horizontal displacements, induced in the surrounding soil by the installation (deep mixing, slurry supported excavation, placing of the reinforcement cage, concrete casting and curing) of the diaphragm, have been measured by means of inclinometers. It is claimed that they can be a significant fraction of the total displacements induced by the excavation. A back analysis of the observed displacements shows that the deformation process is essentially elastic and can be satisfactorily modelled provided the values of the soil stiffness are properly selected.     

Assessment of strut forces for braced excavation in clays from numerical analysis and field measurements

One important consideration in the design of a braced excavation system is to ensure that the structural bracing system is designed both safely and economically. The forces acting on the struts are often determined using empirical methods such as the Apparent Pressure Diagram (APD) method developed by Peck (1969). Most of these empirical methods that were developed from either numerical analysis or field studies have been for excavations with flexible wall types such as sheetpile walls. There have been only limited studies on the excavation performance for stiffer wall systems such as diaphragm walls and bored piles. In this paper, both 2D and 3D finite element analyses were carried out to study the forces acting on the struts for braced excavations in clays, with focus on the performance for the stiffer wall systems. Subsequently, based on this numerical study as well as field measurements from a number of reported case histories, empirical charts have been proposed for determining strut loads for excavations in stiff wall systems.     

两侧铰接地下连续墙的试验研究及数值分析

地下连续墙用于平面不规则形状基坑支护时,对任意直线段墙体,其受力与变形实际上是三维的,而不是一般经验简化方法假设的二维变形与受力,并应考虑相邻墙体之间的相互作用。采用考虑墙土相互影响的地下连续墙与土共同作用的三维有限元方法,研究了墙端铰接和墙端自由两种边界条件对等刚度及变刚度墙体内力与变形的影响,计算结果表明,建议的理论计算方法与模型试验结果吻合较好。通过与模型试验实测值的对比,指出了以往采用平面有限元进行分析的方法的不足,并重点分析了墙端铰接对墙体横向弯矩的影响,研究结果表明,三维变形产生的横向弯矩是可观的,必须加以考虑。     

A Numerical Comparison of the Behavior of a Braced Excavation Using Two and Three-Dimensional Creep Plastic Analyses

Current study deals with investigating the effects of both time factor and the selection of a constitutive model type on predicting deformations of an excavation braced by nailing using two and three-dimensional finite element analyses. In addition, the effects of stress path and the type of defined initial conditions of the analytical model on deformations of the floor and walls of the excavation are also studied. Time factor, in the form of earth materials’ creep, can largely be entered into calculation of deformations of excavations by conducting viscoelastic and viscoplastic analyses. On the other hand, there hasn’t been done a comprehensive study regarding the creep behavior of excavations through comparing the results of two-dimensional and three-dimensional numerical analyses so far. The results showed that it’s largely possible to approach the actual deformation behavior of an excavation by considering the constitutive model of soft soil creep, SSC model, in the numerical plastic analyses. The effects of stress path on the deformation behavior of the excavation walls and excavation floor are investigated by using OCR stress ratio and POP stress difference; These two factors, both of which are also analogous, represent a boundary value for swelling behavior of the excavation floor and an increasing rate for the deformation behavior of the excavation walls since the increase in OCR or POP is equal to the increase in the soil lateral pressure coefficient at rest.     

Damage Estimation in Masonry Buildings Based on Excavation-Induced Ground Movements

Excavation-induced ground movements and the resulting damages to adjacent structures and facilities is a source of concern for excavation projects in urban areas. The concern will be even higher if the adjacent structure is old or has low strength parameters like masonry building. Frame distortion and crack generation are predictors of building damage resulted from excavation-induced ground movements, which pose challenges to projects involving excavations. This study is aimed to investigate the relation between excavation-induced ground movements and damage probability of buildings in excavation affected distance. The main focus of this paper is on masonry buildings and excavations stabilized using soil nail wall method. To achieve this purpose, 21 masonry buildings adjacent to 12 excavation projects were studied. Parametric studies were performed by developing 3D FE models of brick walls and excavations stabilized using soil nail wall. Finally, probability evaluations were conducted to analyze the outputs obtained from case studies. Based on the obtained results, simple charts were established to estimate the damage of masonry structures in excavation affected distance with two key parameters including “Displacement Ratio” and “Normalized Distance”. The results also highlight the effects of building distance from excavation wall on its damage probability.

     

Effectiveness of deep cement mixing walls with top-down construction for deep excavations in soft clay: case study and 3D simulation

This paper presents the observed and simulated effectiveness of deep cement mixing walls created using top-down (DCM-TD) construction techniques for a deep excavation in soft Bangkok clay. The wall system consisted of four rows of 0.7-m-diameter DCM columns, and the bracing system consisted of two 0.25-m-thick basement slabs and seven temporary struts. The effectiveness of the wall system compared to that of other wall systems was evaluated using the measured results of previous case studies. A 3D numerical analysis was performed to calculate forces in the basement slabs and bending moments in the DCM wall. Finally, series of parametric analyses of both DCM-TD and deep cement mixing walls created using bottom-up (DCM-BU) construction techniques were carried out, and their results were compared to highlight the effectiveness of DCM-TD and its applicability to excavations at greater depths. The field and numerical results show that DCM-TD is more effective than DCM-BU in terms of the limitations of lateral wall movement, the bending moment in a DCM wall and the thickness of a DCM wall for various depths because of a larger system stiffness. Therefore, DCM-TD is very effective and suitable for use in potential future deep excavations in urban areas.

     

闭合型地下连续墙基础竖向承载性能数值模拟

基于室内模型试验,就闭合型与单片地下连续墙基础在竖向承载性能上的差异进行了对比分析,并采用FLAC-3D软件进行数值分析来丰富室内模型试验,探讨了土体变形模量、密度、内聚力以及内摩擦角对闭合型地下连续墙竖向承载力的影响。结果表明：闭合型地下连续墙基础外侧摩阻力的发挥过程与单片地下连续墙基础大致相同,但由于土芯的存在,其内侧摩擦阻力发挥机理更复杂;闭合型与单片地下连续墙基础均可视为端承摩擦型基础;随着墙周土变形模量的增加,闭合型地下连续墙基础竖向位移显著减少,墙体轴力也减少;密度对闭合型地下连续墙基础沉降的影响不显著;内聚力对侧摩擦阻力的影响程度受地下连续墙和土体之间相对位移量的控制;只有闭合型地下连续墙基础的沉降量超过20 mm时,土体内摩擦角才对基础的竖向承载力有较大影响。     

Assessment of basal stability for braced excavation systems using the finite element method

Conventional methods of predicting the basal stability of braced excavations are unable to take into consideration the stiffness of the retaining wall and the depth of penetration of the wall below the bottom of the excavation. A simple and improved procedure for predicting the stability of strutted excavations using the finite element method is presented. Detailed studies were carried out to assess the effects of the wall properties and soil geometry on the stability of the excavation.     

A novel strut-free retaining wall system for deep excavation in soft clay: numerical study

This paper presents a novel strut-free earth retaining wall system for excavation in soft clay, referred to as the rigid and fixed diaphragm (RFD) wall retaining system. The RFD system is comprised of four main structures—diaphragm walls, rib-walls, cross walls, and buttress walls—and a complementary structure—the cap-slab. The characteristics of the RFD system are: (1) the formation of a continuous earth retaining wall by constructing diaphragm walls along the circumference of the excavated zone; (2) the formation of a rigid and fixed retaining wall system by a series of rib-walls and cross walls; and (3) the formation of a rigid retaining wall by buttress walls and the cap-slab. Furthermore, the performance and mechanisms of the RFD system were investigated carefully through three-dimensional finite element analyses. The results demonstrated that the system stiffness of the RFD system was a major factor controlling deformations induced by excavation. Moreover, the excavation geometry determined the dimension of each component of the RFD system.

     

井筒式地下连续墙水平承载能力模型试验研究

井筒式地下连续墙利用构造接头把地下连续墙段连接成一个平面为封闭形状挡土结构,其刚度大,承载力高。由于基础内部含有大面积的土芯,存在墙内土芯、墙体以及外部土体的相互作用。采用水平单向单循环维持荷载法,通过3个不同截面尺寸的单孔闭合墙水平静载试验,研究闭合地下连续墙基础的水平承载特性。基于墙身内力及位移测试结果,研究了井筒式地下连续墙基础在水平荷载作用下的承载机理,分析了水平荷载-位移特性、墙身位移、墙身弯矩、剪力、转角随深度的分布规律。试验结果表明,闭合墙基础呈整体倾斜破坏特性,墙身弯矩随墙深呈非线性变化,墙身剪力在加载处最大,在墙身弯矩极大值处墙身剪力为0,0点以下,墙身剪力随深度呈“大肚形”变化,并且闭合墙的承载力随着闭合墙边长的增大,深度的提高而提高。