Diaphragm Wall Design

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Nicholson Construction Company

12 McClane Street

Cuddy, PA 15031

Telephone: 412-221-4500

Facsimile: 412-221-3127

Diaphragm Walls

by

Thomas D. Richards, Jr. P.E.Nicholson Construction Company, Cuddy, Pennsylvania

Presented at:

Central PA Geotechnical Conference

Hershey, PennsylvaniaMarch 23-25, 2006

05-01-145


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Diaphragm Walls

Thomas D Richards, Jr P.E. Nicholson Construction Company

Central PA Geotechnical Conference - March 23-25, 2005


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Diaphragm Walls Page 2 of 1721st Central PA Geotechnical Conference - March 23-25, 2005

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this paper is to describe the application, construction process, and design methods

for diaphragm walls, since this topic has not been addressed much if at all at previous Hershey

conferences.

Diaphragm walls are a method of creating a cast in-situ reinforced concrete retaining wall using the

slurry supported trench method. As such, they are often known as slurry walls. However, the termdiaphragm walls

Concrete diaphragm slurry walls were first introduced in the United States in the 1960s, and have

found a niche in urban environments such as Boston, New York City, and Washington, DC.

APPLICATIONS

Diaphragm walls are most commonly used :

in areas with dense and historic urban infrastructure,

where a very rigid earth retention system is required, where noise and vibration must be limited, where the geology and groundwater preclude the use of conventional earth retention systems and/or where dewatering is not practical

Compared to other wall types, diaphragm walls are considered to be very stiff with respect to

ground movement control (Clough and ORourke, 1990).

Diaphragm walls are often attractive in granular soils with a high groundwater level, especially

when a low permeability layer underlies the granular soils. The diaphragm walls are typicallyterminated in the underlying low-permeability layer which can consist of soil or rock. Keying into

this low permeability layer reduces groundwater seepage below the wall. (Pearlman, 2004)

Projects that have used these walls include:

below grade parking/ deep basements cut and cover subway tunnels highways as cut and cover tunnel walls and for underpasses shafts for deep sewers dam appurtenances landslides

For highway projects, diaphragm walls were employed extensively on the Central Artery Tunnel

and also have been used in Denver, CO and Baltimore, MD.


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BENEFITS

Diaphragm walls can:

be formed to depths of several hundred feet, through virtually all soil types and throughrock, and with great control over geometry and continuity

facilitate excavations below groundwater while eliminating dewatering provide fairly watertight walls provide structural stiffness which reduces ground movements and adjacent settlements

during excavation

be load bearing transferring loads to the underlying layer be reinforced to allowincorporation of many structural configurations,

accommodate connections to structures be easily adapted to both anchors and internal structural bracing systems be constructed in relatively low headroom (say 15 feet) and in areas of restricted access be installed before excavation commences provide economic solutions in cases where temporary and permanent support can be

integrated or redesigned into one retaining structure

Diaphragm walls combine into a single foundation unit the functions of temporary shoring,

permanent basement walls, hydraulic (groundwater) cutoff, and vertical support elements. Becauseof this combination, they have proven to be an economical alternative in many circumstances

(Pearlman, 2004).


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CONSTRUCTION PROCESS

Overview

The trench excavation is performed using slurry for support. The slurry is typically bentonite andwater or polymer and water.

Diaphragm walls are constructed in the following steps:

pretrenching to remove obstructions guidewall construction panel (vertical segments) excavation endstop placement panel desanding reinforcing cage placement tremie concrete end stop removal (if temporary)

Excavation Cage Placement Tremie Concrete

Figure 1 Source: George Tamaro, Mueser Rutledge


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Site Logisitics and Slurry Plant Setup

It is important to note that diaphragm wall installation requires sufficient work area to set up theslurry plant and to assemble the reinforcing cages prior to placement in the wall. This work may be

difficult on congested sites. To reduce site area requirements, offsite cage fabrication is possible.

* The cage fabrication area is dependant on the number of rigs and production schedule.** The plant are is dependant on number of tanks.

The slurry plant includes a slurry mixer, storage tanks, and desanding units.

Sufficient storage tanks must be used for bentonite slurry hydration, several panels of bentonite,recycled bentonite.

Slurry Plant with

6 tanks **

~60 x 120

Cage Fab *

~120 x panel

depth

Cage Fabrication Area

Another Job


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Storage Tanks

Desanders and Desilter

Pretrenching

Pretrenching is often performed to remove shallow obstructions and provide stable support for the

guidewalls (next step). This pretrenching may be performed as open excavation backfilled withflowfill or excavated under self hardening slurry.

Guidewall construction

Guidewalls provide a template for wall excavation and panel layout, support the top of the trench,restrain the endstops, serve as a platform to hang the reinforcement, provide a reference elevation


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for inserts ( anchors, slabs, etc.), support the tremie pipes, hold down the cage during concreting,and provide reaction for jacking out some types of endstops.

Guidewalls are reinforced concrete typically four to five feet deep and constructed similar to the

figure and photo below.

The top of the guidewalls should be at least four feet above the groundwater table to allow for

construction in the dry and to allow for slurry level to be three feet above groundwater table.

Typical Guidewall Details


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Panel (vertical segments) Excavation

Special clamshells also known as grabs or buckets are rectangular shaped (see photos) and used to

excavate vertical slots known as panels. These clamshells may be cable hug or Kelly mounted, and

the digging mechanics may be cable or hydraulic operated.

Kelly Mount Hydraulic Grab Cable Mounted Hydraulic Grab

Cable Mounted & Operated Grab Panel Excavation along Building


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The excavation is performed in panels which are vertical slots. Trench stability is mostly providedby the fluid weight of the bentonite and the arching action of the soil around the trench.

Calculations on trench stability often do not show that successfully excavated trenches should stay

open which indicates conservatism and effects that have not been considered. The bentonite slurryis placed in the trench after a few buckets have been excavated and continuously added to maintain

at least 3 feet above groundwater level and within 2 feet of the top of the guidewall.

Panel lengths are typically 20 to 24 feet governed by the geometry of the project and the size of

contractors special clamshells. The panel width is governed by the contractors clamshells. Variouswidths can be accommodated by reinforcing design including shear and bending reinforcement.

Endstop Placement

Endstops are used to control the concrete placement so that adjacent secondary panels are not

excavating monolithic concrete. Endstops may be permanent or removed after concrete placement.Permanent endstops are typically wide flange shapes. Removable endstops can be pipe (Figure 1)

or special keyway end stops (Photo below).

Permanent Endstops Special V Groove Endstop


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Panel Desanding

The panel must be de-sanded to remove excess sand in the slurry and bottom of panel. The removalof sand from the slurry decreases the density of the slurry so that tremie concrete does not mix with

the slurry or trap pockets of sand.

Reinforcing Cage placement

Carefully fabricated three-dimensional reinforcing cage are then inserted into the panel excavation.

The reinforcing cage may also support future structural or utility connections using knockouts

that are pre-set in the wall. Concrete is then placed around the reinforcing cage using tremie

methods to form each concrete panel.

Cage Placement Note blockouts for floor slabs and trumpets for anchors .

Tremie Concrete

Tremie pipes are placed in the panel to within a foot of the bottom. Typically two tremie pipes areused for full size panels and one tremie pipe is used for single bite panels. Concrete with 8 to 10inch slump is then tremied into the panel.

The concrete mix is special to provide 4000 to 6000 psi strength with high slump and contains fairly

high cement content, often other pozzolans, plasictizers and often other chemicals.


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The concrete level is sounded after each load and records maintained on actual versus theoreticalconcrete take. Tremie pipe sections are removed as the concrete level rises but maintained 10 feet

into the concrete.

While the concrete is being placed, the bentonite slurry is pumped back to storage tanks for

treatment and reuse.


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End Stop Removal (if temporary)

As the concrete is setting typically four hours after placement at a given depth, temporary endstops

are removed by crane or jacks (see Photo of Special V Groove End Stop above). This often means

late nights and overtime.

DESIGN (modified from Pearlman, Boscardin, and Walker 2004)

The design analyses for excavation support systems can range from relatively simple empirical

analyses to more complex computer analyses, where typically all stages of the excavation sequence

are evaluated. The design considerations should include not only the stresses and loads on the

support system, but also the affect of construction movements on the response of adjacent

structures. The level of effort for the evaluation often depends on the stage of the project, proximity

of structures, contractors methods of construction, and known local practice. The discussion of

design methodologies will consider both structure loading and system movements.

Empirical Methods

Stress Analysis

Traditionally, apparent pressure envelope methods have been used successfully to design flexible

wall systems such as soldier pile and lagging and steel sheet-pile systems. The approach was

developed based on data from flexible wall systems, and typically assumes that the wall acts as a

simple beam spanning between the brace levels (Terzaghi et al., 1996). For the more rigid slurry

wall system, the pattern of wall displacement that develops during the actual excavation and bracing

sequence can have a major effect on the bending moments in the wall and the distribution of load to

the bracing/anchors. Hence, use of apparent pressure envelopes for design of stiffer systems can be

misleading. In general, apparent pressure envelope loadings are most appropriate as upper bounds

for cases that match the bases of the empirical data, which include cases with relatively flexible

walls and a stable subgrade.The pressure envelope design approach is for a temporary support system and does not necessarily

provide the long-term loading corresponding to the permanent condition after the end of excavation.

When the temporary support system, such as a slurry wall system, is incorporated into the

permanent building foundation, a staged analysis that includes loading at each stage is required to

evaluate the built-in stresses and strains that are locked into the final structure at the end of

construction.

Movement Analysis

The use of empirical data for the evaluations of movements is a useful tool in evaluating potential

effects of a proposed excavation on adjacent buildings. Empirical data also allow the designer to

validate the general magnitudes and patterns of the results of more sophisticated analyses. Theempirical data can be used to estimate the zone of influence of the excavation as well as typical

magnitudes of ground movements for various wall stiffness and subgrade stability conditions (e.g.,

Clough and ORourke, 1990).


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Staged Excavation Analysis

Staged excavation analyses use numerical approaches to model the actual sequence of excavation

and brace installation by considering each stage of the excavation as it is constructed, and the

excavation support is installed and then removed. The soil and water pressures applied to the wall

are representative of the actual pressures (not apparent pressure envelopes) expected in the system

at each stage, and calculated loads are representative of the actual loads (not upper bound loads).The models can incorporate interaction of the soil and the structure as the earth pressures vary with

displacement. The overall reliability of the structural requirements and displacement performance

estimates determined from a staged excavation analysis is directly related to and very sensitive to

the quality of the input parameters, particularly soil stiffness and strength parameters.

Three general methods have been used for staged construction analyses:

Equivalent Beam Method Beam on Elastic Foundation Method Finite Element Method

The equivalent beam method is outdated and rarely used in current practice. Discussion will focuson the beam on elastic foundation and finite element methods. Both approaches can be used to

predict stresses, loads, and system movements.

Beam on Elastic Foundation Method (BEF)

The earth pressures are modeled with a series of independent spring supports similar to Winkler

elastic foundation model. At the start of the model, the springs are compressed to create an initial

load equal to represent a state of at-rest pressure. At each stage of excavation or support system, the

spring loads change as soil, water, and support system loads are applied or removed and lateral wall

displacement occurs. The soil springs load-displacement relationship (modulus of subgrade

reaction) is determined by the input soil stiffness and governs the spring displacement until the

limiting value of active or passive pressure is reached.The Winkler elastic foundation model approximates the wall-soil interaction with a one-

dimensional model instead of a two-dimensional model that includes the soil mass, and hence does

not include the effects of arching within the soil mass.

Typically, the required soil parameters include: unit weight; at-rest, active, and passive earth

pressure coefficients; and values for the modulus of subgrade reaction for the various soils that may

affect the system. The modulus of subgrade reaction is not a true soil property, but rather depends

on both the soil conditions and the geometry of the excavation being modeled. To be

representative, the modulus of subgrade reaction needs to be adjusted based on the effective

influence zone, which varies with the size of the loaded area.

Typically, the predicted wall displacements are much more sensitive to the values of subgrademodulus used in the analysis than the predicted brace loads and wall bending moments. Hence,

conservative selection of the modulus of subgrade values should provide conservative estimates of

ground movements, without significantly increasing the structural demand of the wall and bracing

system.


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Figure 2: Displacement Vectors from FEM Analysis

Another difference between the FE and BEF methods is that variations in the soil stiffness

(modulus) can have a greater effect on predicted loadings and movements due to the inclusion of

soil arching in the FE model.

FE models can be used to perform parametric studies to understand the relative effects of changes

of parameters such as soil stiffness and excavation support stiffness and sequence on forces, stresses

and displacements. They can also be used to estimate the absolute magnitudes and patterns of

excavation support systems and ground movements which is much more difficult. A primary

reason for the difficulty is the selection of reasonable stiffness values for the various materials that

make up the soil mass. In general, values of stiffness based on laboratory and field tests tend to

underestimate to a large degree the ground stiffness. This in turn can result in an overestimate of

the magnitude of displacements, by two times or more, and the extent of the influence zone around

an excavation. This tendency can be tempered to a great degree by using representative, local, field

case history data during the selection of material parameters and to calibrate the numerical model to

previous case histories.In the past, performing FE analyses have been complex and time consuming to perform, but new,

user-friendly programs (e.g., PLAXIS) are making their use more common.


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Comparison of BEF and FE Results

For the United States Capital Visitor Center (Pearlman et.al. 2004 and Bonita (2005)), the analyses

for the structural design of the support system were performed using both BEF and FE models. The

BEF program (WALLAP, 1997) was easier and quicker to run than FE programs, so it was used for

the structural design of the wall system. By using the BEF model, the design team could evaluate

more design profiles. Two FE models were run to verify that the BEF model loadings and stresseswere conservative, and to provide ground deformation predictions to compare to contract

requirements.

Figure 3 presents the predicted deflected shapes of the slurry wall for the BEF and FE model

analyses, as well as inclinometer data for the most heavily loaded design sections. The FE model

included the tieback anchors modeled within the soil mass. The difference between the movements

predicted by the BEF model and the larger movements predicted by the FE model is essentially the

free field movement behind the anchor zones of the tiebacks. In other words, the BEF and FE

model had good agreement in predicting the local movement of the wall. The actual wall

movement is less than the values predicted by both models. This behavior is likely the result of the

combination of conservative modulus values for the soils, and conservative estimates of buildingsurcharges used in the models.

Pearlman et.al. (2004) note that overall the wall movements for the entire site are less than

predicted, even in sections where there are no building surcharges.

Figure 3: Modeled and Measured Wall Displacement Data


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Diaphragm Walls Page 17 of 1721st Central PA Geotechnical Conference - March 23-25 2005

SUMMARY

Permanent retaining walls with high groundwater tables can be economically constructed using

concrete diaphragm walls.

An introduction to construction methods was presented. Given the various options of permanent

versus temporary endstops, panel length and width, and the economics of these options; the final

design of the diaphragm wall is often done as design/build working in close cooperation with the

Owner, GC, and Engineers.

Design techniques that involve sophisticated soil structure interaction models combined with local

data and experience give a high level of confidence for predicting wall performance on projects

surrounded by other structures, where control of building movement and damage are paramount to a

successful project delivery. These models need to be calibrated to empirical predictions, and other

case histories of successful excavation support projects in similar ground conditions.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Most of the design section of this paper was prepared By Seth Pearlman, Mike Walker and MarcoBoscardin.

REFERENCES

Bonita, G. (2005) "United States Capital Visitor Center ", Proceedings of 21st

Central PA

Geotechnical Conference - March 23-25, 2005

Clough, W.G. and O'Rourke, T.D., 1990. "Construction induced movements of in-situ walls."Design and Performance of Earth Retaining Structures, ASCE GSP No.25, 439 - 470.

PLAXIS, 1998. Finite Element Code for Soil and Rock Analyses. Brokgreve and Vermeer, et al.,

(ed.), Balkema. Rotterdam, Brookfield, Version 7, A.A.

Pearlman, S.L., Boscardin, M.D., Walker, M.P. 2004. Deep Underground Basements for Major

Urban Building Construction, Presented at Geo-Support 2004, Jan. 28-31, 2004, Orlando,

FL.

Terzaghi, K., Peck, R. B., and Mesri, G., 1996. Soil Mechanics in Engineering Practice, Third

Edition, John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY, 349-360.

WALLAP, 1997. Anchored and cantilevered retaining wall analysis program, D.L. Borin, MA,

Ph.D., CEng., MICE. Geosolve, Users Manual, Version 4.

Diaphragm Wall Design

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