RETAINING WALL AND DEEP FOUNDATION

SOLUTION FOR HIGH RISE BUILDING

R. Tomsio1, JETsj
A. Pinto2, JETsj
R. Coelho3, JETsj
R. Kaidussis4, DURA

Maputo - Mozambique
INTRODUCTION
SITE LOCATION

GROUND CONDITIONS
The aim of this article is to present
the main adopted design and
execution criteria on the excavation,
retaining wall and deep foundation
works for a building, with 3
underground and 26 aboveground
floors.
The building, currently under
constructions, is located in a central
area in Maputo City surrounded by
medium size constructions
and
important roads likes Av. Julius
Nyerere.

Site location and neighboring

constructions
Architectural rendering
of the planed construction

ADOPTED SOLUTIONS

The soil in the Maputo area is characterized by fine

silty sand with shades of red, yellow and,
moderately compact to compact. This information
was validated with geotechnical report where it
was defined three geotechnical zones.
0m
GZ3 Loose Sand (5<NSPT<9)

Excavation
profile
10m

GZ2 Medium Sand (15<NSPT<27)

30m
GZ1 Dense Sand (NSPT>60)

DESIGN

The adopted solution consisted in a concrete

bored piles wall, braced with part of level -1 slab,
avoiding more flexible and more invasive
solutions such as temporary anchors .
The special foundations solution was conditioned
by the high level of loads and the ground
conditions. A solution with combined piled raft
foundations - CPRF, associated with pile toe
injection was used.

RETAINING WALL DESIGN

RAFT SLAB AND PILE DESIGN

The displacements and stresses of retaining wall,

as well as the force acting on the bracing, were
studied using Plaxis 2D. Further analysis of bracing
system was carried out using an FEM model
SAP2000.
SAP 2000 FEM model used to
design the bracing system
(part of the 1st basement slab)

The piled raft foundation behaviour was

modeled with the FEM software SAP2000.
Tridimensional elements were modeled
considering elastic springs to simulate soilstructure interaction under the slab and along
piles shaft.
SAP 2000 FEM model of the
slab and foundation piles

Floor0
Floor-1

Raft Slab

Bored pile
wall

Vertical d splacements
on the raft slab

QUALITY CONTROL AND EXECUTION CONTROL

Large diameter
bored piles

GZ2 Medium Sand

(15<NSPT<27)

GZ1 Dense
Sand (NSPT>60)

PLAXIS FEM model used to

design the retaining wall

Integrity tests in foundation

bored piles:. Sonic tests and
crosshole tests.
Monitoring and observation
plan with inclinometers and
topographic targets.

Grout
injection

Horizontal displacements of the wall.

FEM Model vs Inclinometer

0,0
-2,5
-5,0

Alarm Criteria

Floor-3

Level -1 Slab

Alert Criteria

Floor-2

Depth [m]

GZ3 Loose Sand

(5<NSPT<9)

View of the bracing slab during

the final stage of excavation

-7,5

-10,0

-12,5
0

+20
+40
Displacement [m]

CONCLUSIONS
10m depth excavation were executed with a Retaining Wall braced only
at level -1
Extremely small displacements of the retaining wall were obtained
No money was spent on temporary elements, such as ground anchors
Grout injection performed on the base of the foundation piles allowed
to increase the load without increase the settlements
Combined Pile Raft Foundation is a very suitable solution for high rise
buildings, which allows to transmit about 30% of the total loads
through the slab, saving money and time by reducing the number of
foundation piles

Copyright 2015

Rui Tomsio1: rtomasio@jetsj.com

Alexandre Pinto2: apinto@jetsj.com

R. Coelho3: rcoelho@jetsj.com
R. Kaidussis4: ricardo.nicolas@rosond.co.mz

Current stage of
construction
Aerial view of the
excavation works