RETAINING STRUCTURES

ECV 4302
3(3+0)
Pre-requisite ECV 3304
Dr. Nik Norsyahariati Nik Daud
Room : A-6-23 (no. 13)
Phone : 03-8946 4349
Email : niknor@upm.edu.my
 3.0
Braced and Strutted
Excavations
• Lateral Earth Pressure in Braced Cuts
• Design of Various Components of a
Braced Cuts
• Stability of Braced Cuts
• Failure of Single Wall Cofferdams by
Piping
 Stability of Braced Cuts

Heave of the Bottom of the Cut in Clay

o Braced cuts in clay may become unstable as a result of heaving of
the bottom of the excavation.
o Terzaghi (1943) analyzed the factor of safety of long braced
excavations against bottom heave.
o The failure surface for such a case in a homogeneous soil is shown
in Figure 15.20.
o The ultimate bearing capacity at the base of a soil column with a
width of B’ can be given as
o B = width of the cut
o H = depth of the cut
o T = thickness of the
clay below the base
of excavation
o q = uniform
surcharge adjacent
to the excavation
o Hence, the factor of safety against bottom heave is

o For excavations of limited length L, the factor of safety

can be modified to
o In 2000, Chang suggested a
revision of Eq. (15.19) with
the following changes:
1. The shearing resistance along
ij may be considered as an
increase in resistance rather than
a reduction in loading.
2. In Figure 15.20, fg with a
width of B” at the base of the
excavation may be treated as a
negatively loaded footing.
3. The value of the bearing
capacity factor Nc should be 5.14
(not 5.7) for a perfectly smooth
footing, because of the restraint-
free surface at the base of the
excavation.
o With the foregoing modifications, Eq. (15.19) takes the form

o In most cases, a factor of safety, FS of about 1.5 is

recommended.
o In homogeneous clay, if FS becomes less than 1.5, the sheet
pile is driven deeper.
 o In homogeneous clay, if FS becomes less than 1.5, the sheet
pile is driven deeper.

o Usually, the depth d is kept less than or equal to B/2, in which case
the force P per unit length of the buried sheet pile (aa’ and bb’)
may be expressed as (U.S. Department of the Navy, 1971)
o Usually, the depth d is kept less than or equal to B/2, in which case
the force P per unit length of the buried sheet pile (aa’ and bb’)
may be expressed as (U.S. Department of the Navy, 1971)
Examples
 Stability of Braced Cuts

Stability of the Bottom of the Cut in Sand – Failure of Single Wall

Cofferdam by Piping

o The bottom of a cut in sand is generally stable.

o When the water table is encountered, the bottom of the cut is
stable as long as the water level inside the excavation is higher
than the groundwater level.
o In case dewatering is needed (see Figure 15.23), the factor of
safety against piping should be checked. (Piping is another term
for failure by heave)
o Piping may occur when a high hydraulic gradient is created by
water flowing into the excavation.
o To check the factor of safety, draw flow nets and determine
the maximum exit gradient [i max(exit)] that will occur at points
A and B.
o The magnitude of icr varies between 0.9 and 1.1 in most
soils, with an average of about 1.
o To calculate the maximum exit gradient, examine Figures
15.25 and 15.26 and perform the following steps:

1. Determine the modulus, m, from Figure 15.25 by obtaining

2L2/B (or B/2L2) and 2L1/B.

2. With the known modulus and 2L1/B, examine Figure 15.26

and determine L2 i max(exit) /h. Because L2 and h will be known,
i max(exit) can be calculated.

3. The factor of safety against piping can be evaluated by using

Eq. (15.24).
Examples
0.033
0.54

0.033
Excavation – Part 3: Pre-excavation
Requirements
Excavation – Part 4a: Sloping and Shoring
Requirements
Excavation – Part 4b: Sloping and Shoring
Requirements
Excavation – Part 5: Situations