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Construction of Raft Foundation in Deep Sandy Beds For Major Bridges Across Perennial Rivers PDF
Construction of Raft Foundation in Deep Sandy Beds For Major Bridges Across Perennial Rivers PDF
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CONTENTS
Page
1. Introduction ... ... 422
2. Bridge Across River Bawanthadi ... ... 422
3. Bridge Across River Kanhan ... ... 439
SYNOPSIS
In the first case of submersible bridge across river Bawanthadi, the site is
located very near to the confluence with river Wainganga and heavy dewatering was
contemplated. In order to overcome the difficulty, the cut-off walls were cast above
low water level and lowered down to the designed founding level below the bed.
An innovative method of lowering down a unit of 22 m long pre-cast cut off walls
using temporary fabricated steel frame stiffeners is described here.
In the second case of high level bridge across river Kanhan, there was
standing water of around 3.0 m depth in the river bed extending almost over 80
per cent width of the river. Pre-Trenching method was adopted using Bentonite
clay for construction of cast-in-situ cut off walls.
+ Written comments on this Paper are invited and will be received upto 31 st
December, 2004.
*
**
Senior Design Engineer,
Consulting Engineer, }
Dr. Namjoshi & Associates, Nagpur.
422 MS. UGALMUGLE & D R. NAMJOSHI ON
1. INTRODUCTION
The Paper discusses construction of cut off walls for raft foundations
for two major bridges viz. submersible bridge across river Bawanthadi and
high level bridge across river Kanhan where innovative methods were
developed during execution.
Since heavy traffic is not likely to develop over this route in the
near future, a submersible bridge with a single lane carriageway was
constructed from economic considerations. The formation level of the
bridge has been fixed at such a level, that the traffic may get interrupted
only during high floods with a frequency and duration remaining within
the permissible norms.
This single lane bridge being quite long (i.e. 381 m) cause
considerable hindrance to two way traffic. Therefore waiting places of
two lane capacity were provided at two locations (Plate 1).
The raft foundation & cut off walls are further protected by providing
1100 mm thick launching apron of rubbles. The velocity at bed level
during peak floods does not exceed 2.50 m/sec, however, weight of each
stone not less than 40 kg has been used for apron. The launching apron
extends for a width of 6.75 m on u/s side and 9.0 m on d/s side. PCC toe
walls are provided along full length of the apron on both sides.
CONSTRUCTION OF RAFT FOUNDATION IN DEEP SANDY BEDS FOR MAJOR BRIDGES 425
ACROSS PERENNIAL RIVERS
2.3. Problem Encountered
It was, therefore, proposed to cast the PCC frame of cut off wall for
each unit separately & lower it down to the desired position by scooping
out the sand below the cut off & inside the frame simultaneously so
that it could gradually sink uniformly by its own weight.
The detached cut off walls are designed to perform the following
main functions in service condition :
Fig. 1.
CONSTRUCTION OF RAFT FOUNDATION IN DEEP SANDY BEDS FOR MAJOR BRIDGES 427
ACROSS PERENNIAL RIVERS
In short, under service condition of the bridge proper, the detached
cut off walls are not designed to bear any stresses. It can therefore be
considered as a non structural bridge component so far as transfer of
forces to the foundation stratum under various critical combinations of
loads are concerned . In the present case the cut-off walls are constructed
in PCC M-15 grade. However as a conventional practice, skin reinforcement
@ 5 kg/sqm is provided.
The stability of the cut off wall frame was checked for the loading
conditions, which it might have experiences during sinking process. The
inside dimensions of the rectangular frame under discussion was 22.55 x
4.60 m with a height of 2.30 m and the thickness of wall was 300 mm.
The frame of cut off wall was proposed to be lowered down to the desired
position by removing the sand inside the box & below the cut off wall.
The frame was designed to withsand following forces during sinking
process :
2.6.1. Sinking of single lane main unit: The bed was prepared,
levelled & timber logs were placed at one meter interval along the periphery
of the unit. A 500 mm wide strip in brick on edge, was constructed all
round the periphery so as to rest the base of 300 mm cut off wall. The
shuttering was erected for a full height of 2.30 m & reinforcement cage
was tied in position. The anchor bolts required for fixing the steel bracket
were placed in a 20 mm dia & 300 mm long PVC pipe casings so as to
facilitate easy removal. These bolts were placed in exact position &
tightened with the centering plates.
The concrete cut off wall was, thereafter cast in layers for full
height of 2.30 m in one operation so as to ensure adequate self weight
and to facilitate ease in sinking. [A top layer of 200 mm was left to be
cast initially so as to leave scope for achieving a perfect level after final
sinking] (Photo 2). The vertical shuttering plates were removed. Thereafter
steel brackets were tightened to the concrete cut-off walls at predetermined
locations. After that horizontal steel strut was braced at 0.75 m from
bottom to the brackets on opposite walls (Fig. 1). It was ensured to place
timber wedges at junction of bracket & steel strut on both sides so as
to allow easy removal of brackets after final sinking (Photo 3). The
sinking operation started after the concrete of cut off walls attained
adequate strength. The following arrangement was made for sinking
operation.
For removal of sand within the box, 3 nos. of Winch with Grab
(Latur cranes) of 350 kg capacity (65 HP) were used. The removed sand
was deposited at a distance of 10 m on d/s side i.e. beyond the toe of
apron on d/s side. In all 60 HP electrically operated water pumps were
required to work continuously for the sinking operation.
430 MS. UGALMUGLE & D R. NAMJOSHI ON
The cut-off wall unit was seated to the desired level. Sand was
refilled in the box upto the top of horizontal steel strut (leaving the
portion around the strut) so as to reduce the earth pressure on the cut-
off wall from outside. Thereafter the wooden wedges were removed &
the strut was relieved of axial thrust. The whole steel frame work i.e.
horizontal struts & vertical brackets were removed one by one and side
by side and sand filled in the box up to the bottom level of proposed raft
(Photo 4).
The following material & labour were required for casting & sinking
of one main unit (single lane) of cut off wall.
Casting Operation
Period Required
2.6.2. Intermediate unit: The cut off walls required for bridging of
the gap between the two adjacent main units (under simply supported
span) overlapped both units by 300 mm from outside (Photo 5), (Fig. 2a).
The cut-off walls were cast for the required length for full height on
u/s & d/s side separately. These two cut off walls were braced with a
single horizontal steel strut connected with a vertical steel bracket at
both ends for sinking purpose. The cut-off walls were cast leaving a gap
of 50 mm on u/s and d/s side so as to avoid friction with the main unit
while sinking. Both the cut-off walls were sunk to the desired level by
adopting the same procedure as that followed for the main unit. It was,
however, observed that the self weight of the intermediate unit (being
small in length) was insufficient to overcome side friction & hence
counterweight had to be provided during final sinking.
The following labour & material were required for casting & sinking
of the intermediate units of cut off walls.
Casting Operation
Period Required
IN TE R ME D IAT E U N IT
3 00
A
3 00
fillet 150 x 1 50
up to 1.3 m fro m
bo ttom
M A IN U N IT M A IN U N IT
25 00
3 00 3 00
Fig. 2a.
30 0
Su rfa ce r einf 37 5 45 0 75
Su rfa ce r einf
ex tend ed fr om
ex tend ed fr om
m ain u nit 30 0 int erm e diate un it
30 0 35 0 C onc re te b loc k of si ze
60 0 x 350 x 23 00 m m t o be
c as t in s itu @ all t he four
c orne rs o f interm e diat e uni t
M A IN U N I T 30 0 60 0
aft er fin al s ink ing
90 0
IN TE R ME D IAT E U N I T
D ETAILS OF A
The area covered by this unit is larger by about 70 per cent than
the single lane unit. In order to limit the dewatering efforts, the two lane
unit (Fig. 3a) of size (22.55 m x 7.90 m) was divided into two independent
units of internal size 10.00 m x 7.90 m leaving a gap of 2.50 m (similar to
that left between the single lane units). The intermediate cross cut off
wall at the continuous end was cast 1.0 m below the raft top level so as
to avoid propping action during service condition. The 1.0 m height was
built up by constructing a temporary precast CC block masonry upto the
raft top level in order to have uniform loading all along the periphery.
The longitudinal walls were stiffened from inside at two intermediate
locations by providing the removable vertical steel brackets thus dividing
the same in three bays of length less than 4.0 m each. The brackets on
the opposite walls were braced by removable horizontal steel strut fixed
at 0.75 m height from bottom. The cross cut off walls were also stiffened
from inside at center with a vertical steel bracket. The steel bracket on
the opposite cross cut off walls were braced by longitudinal removable
horizontal steel strut which simultaneously stiffened the two struts provided
in transverse direction also. The same procedure as adopted for other
units for casting & sinking was adopted for these two units also. The
intermediate unit was cast & sunk to desired level. The temporary walls
of block masonary of 1.0 m height constructed over intermediate cross
cut off wall was removed & sand was refilled upto the bottom level of
proposed raft. These two parts of the units were finally joined to form
a single unit for two lane flared portion (Fig. 3b).
Fig. 3a.
CONSTRUCTION OF RAFT FOUNDATION IN DEEP SANDY BEDS FOR MAJOR BRIDGES 435
ACROSS PERENNIAL RIVERS
After final
sinking of
overlapping
cut off the
main cut off
wall is cast
insitu to main-
tain continuity
The following material & labour were required for casting & sinking
of one part of Two lane unit of cut off wall.
Casting Operation
Period Required
2.8.1. The cut off units were sunk to an average depth of 3.50 m
below the LWL and the inside dimension was increased by 150 mm
(4600 mm to 4750 mm) so as to provide adequate margin for the likely
shift, if any in the lateral direction during sinking. This was done so as
to ensure uniform & symmetrical raft about the center line of the bridge
of required minimum dimension. No change in dimension of the main
units was warranted to accommodate shift in the longitudinal direction,
as the same could be accommodated by varying the length of the
intermediate unit which was cast after final sinking of main units on
either side.
2.8.2. The cut off wall has to satisfy the following main functional
requirements
(a) The minimum depth below the raft top RL should be 2.30 m
(b) The cut off wall top should be in level with the raft top.
The cut off wall was cast in upto 2.10 m height only in the initial
stage before sinking. The surface reinforcement required, however, was
tied for the full height of 2.30 m. There was no difficulty in sinking it
to a little more depth so as to observe minimum depth of 2.30 m of cut
off below raft top RL at all the corners & intermediate locations. After
meeting with the requirement of minimum depth on final sinking, the
remaining cut off height which was left to be cast initially (around 200
mm), was concreted upto the desired level at top of the raft after making
up the difference in height, if any, at all the corners. This ensured to
achieve a perfect horizontal plane at the top of the raft level.
2.8.5. During construction of cut off walls near the banks it was
observed that at some places, rock outcrops were struck under the units
(Photo 6). It is a structural necessity that the cut of walls all along the
2.8.6. Similar rock outcrops were met with below the raft portion
within the cut off walls, where the rock outcrops were cut to a depth such
that a uniform sand cushion of minimum 900 mm could be laid below the
proposed raft.
2.8.7. Rock was continuously met with on both the banks. The cut
off walls of the end units were therefore constructed by adopting
conventional method of excavating an open trench and casting in situ of
the PCC cut off walls.
2.8.8. The rubble apron was deleted in the portions where rock was
met with in the bed. However the apron and the toe wall was extended
horizontally for 2 m length inside the rock so as to overlap the rocky bed
and to ensure sufficient grip against local erosion (Fig. 5).
The bids received were ranging between 5.0 to 6.5 crores with a
similar arrangement as contemplated by the department. However one
alternative proposal with R.C.C. raft foundation and elaborate protection
work was offered at 4.27 crores. This alternative proposal being
unconventional one (RCC raft foundation for a major bridge having
perennial flow & standing water in the bed) took some time to arrive at
a considered decision after carrying out a detailed technical scrutiny &
examining construction viability. The contract was finally awarded in
November 1997.
was provided with a haunched beam below each pier support. Abutment
on left bank and Piers P-1 to P-11 had R.C.C. raft foundations while
remaining 3 piers and abutment on right bank rested over rock with open
foundations. The foundable strata on right bank was available at a
reasonable depth.
3.40 m deep and 0.35 m wide PCC detached cut off walls with
nominal reinforcement were provided to confine the 900 mm thick sand
filling below the R.C.C. raft. The sand cushion was overtopped by 100 mm
thick P.C.C. leveling coarse. 700 mm thick rubble apron overtopped by 300
mm thick PCC paving cast in staggered bays of 2 m x 2 m were provided.
This protection work extended for a length of 15.70 m on d/s side & 11.75
m on u/s side beyond the cut off walls. The hydraulic features with
calculation for protection work are given in Annexure-II.
The raft slab is provided with a haunched base below the RCC pier
for even distribution of concentrated load over a span of 12.0 m
(Photo 8).
This part of the pier footing being a rigid one is not deformable.
The load at bottom of pier is assumed to disperse uniformly through the
deep concrete footing at 45 degrees to the base of raft.
6.0 m depth below the LWL. The water spread extended for almost about
80 per cent width of the river. This situation naturally warranted heavy
dewatering before laying raft foundation and the cut off walls. In order
to reduce the dewatering efforts to the barest minimum, it was necessary
to go in for such a technique which would allow the operation of open
trenching as well as concreting of cut off wall under water. Hence the
bentonite clay technique was employed here.
The cut off wall was to be constructed for a total length of 315 m
i.e length on both sides and that required at ends. This operation was
however tackled by taking a panel of about 30 m at a time. A working
earthen platform for a width of about 15 m was constructed in the river
bed with its top at about 0.50 m above the low water level so as to cover
the area required for construction of bridge foundation as well as the
width of path required for operating the machinery and equipment.
The alignment of the cut off wall and its width was precisely marked
on the ground. The guide rails were embedded in the platform to form a
defined width of the cut off wall trench (Photo 10). The trench was
excavated to a depth of about 0.50 m and it was filled with bentonite
slurry. The slurry was allowed to penetrate and saturate the adjacent soil
CONSTRUCTION OF RAFT FOUNDATION IN DEEP SANDY BEDS FOR MAJOR BRIDGES 445
ACROSS PERENNIAL RIVERS
The hopper was fitted with a hook attached to the sling of the
crane. When the concrete passes through the tremie pipe it is raised and
lowered so as to induce vibration and compaction of the concrete laid.
In this process care is taken that the bottom of the tremie pipe always
remains submerged in the concrete mass laid in the cut off wall so that
there is no chance of bentonite slurry getting entrapped in the concrete
mass. Concreting was thus continued till the panel was filled upto the
desired height. The final level was checked by lowering a chain.
The process of excavation and concreting of the cut off wall was
continued in a phased manner till the full length of cut off wall was cast.
The construction of toe wall on u/s side together with the apron
was tackled first. This reduced the dewatering effort required for the
construction of the raft and the d/s apron. For construction of the above,
the dewatering was done by adopting conventional method of well
point. A circular concrete caisson of 5.50 m internal diameter was sunk
to a depth of about 5 m below the LWL and a number of electrically
operated water pumps were used to keep the water level below the raft
bottom till concrete was set (Photo 15). The RCC wall type piers
together with cantilever caps were constructed thereafter.
Abutment on right bank was resting over open foundation and was
designed and constructed as per usual practice. The left side abutment
was located well inside the bank which was composed of sandy clay.
The width of raft below piers was reduced to 8.5 m. The abutment,
however, had to be provided for the full width i.e 11.25 m to retain the
approach earth. The total length of raft provided below abutment was
17.35 m in order to restrict the pressure within the safe being capacity
(SBC) of the soil. This raft, stiffened by counterforts, was projected in
450 MS. UGALMUGLE & D R. NAMJOSHI ON
the front by about 45 per cent of the total length so as to restrict the
difference between maximum and minimum pressure over foundation by
not more than 1t/sqm under all conditions. The raft below abutment was
separated out from the main raft below piers by providing a cross cut
off wall.
(a) The cut off walls on u/s and d/s side were extended in the
longitudinal direction further upto mid span between P-12 &
P-13 though these were anchored in rock.
(b) The vent portion around P-12 was provided with 300 mm thick
nominally reinforced PCC M-20 grade paving resting over
250 mm thick PCC M-10 base & 900 mm rubble filling.
(c) This paved vent portion was confined by providing cut off
walls all around which were anchored into rock.
(d) The end piers (P-10 & P-11) over RCC raft foundation were
provided with 1500 mm thick rubble filling below the 900 mm
thick sand cushion as an additional precaution.
(e) The rubble apron and the toe wall was extended horizontally
for 2 m length inside the rock so as to overlap the rocky bed
and to ensure sufficient grip against local erosion (Fig. 8).
The height of pier was about 13 m above the LWL and also due to
standing water in the bed, suspended truss type centering was used for
supporting the superstructure. The width of the pier cap was slightly
increased so as to rest the ends of trusses. The superstructure was cast
after placing the neoprene bearing pads over the RCC pedestals.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Authors express their thanks to Shri D.G. Marathe, Chief Engineer
and Shri S.K. Mukharjee, Superintending Engineer, Designs for their
encouragement and able guidance during the construction of bridge
CONSTRUCTION OF RAFT FOUNDATION IN DEEP SANDY BEDS FOR MAJOR BRIDGES 451
ACROSS PERENNIAL RIVERS
across river Kanhan. A word of appreciation is also due to M/s. Khare
& Tarkunde Infrastucture Pvt. Ltd., Nagpur for their relentless efforts in
successful completion of the bridge.
REFERENCES
1. IRC:51998 Standard specifications and code of practice for road
bridges : Section I General features of design (Seventh Revision)
2. IRC:62000 Standard specifications and code of practice for road
bridges : Section II Loads and stresses (Fourth Revision)
3. IRC:782000 Standard specifications and code of practice for road
bridges : Section VII Foundation and substructure (Second Revision)
4. IRC: 89 1997 Guidelines for design & construction of river training and
control works for road bridges. (First Revision)
5. Beams on elastic foundations Hetenyi (1946) ANN ARBOR. The University
of Michigan Press.
6. Namjoshi, A.G., Dewatering Problem in construction of Raft Foundation
bridge across Morna River on Borgaon Hatrum Road in Akola district,
Journal of the Indian Roads Congress, Vol. 40, Part 3, 1979.
7. Namjoshi, A.G. & Dr. Kulkarni, S.S., Shallow caissons design, construction
and sinking technique and review of some field techniques adopted for construction
of cut off walls, Journal of the Indian Roads Congress, Vol. 532, Sept.
1992.
8. Namjoshi, A.G., Anticipated Scour depth in non alluvial/clayey beds
International Seminar on Bridge Substructure and foundations, Delhi Conference
Documentation, Vol. 2, Jan. 1992.
9. Namjoshi, A.G. & Dr. Kulkarni S.S, Economic design of raft foundation
bridges. Journal of International Seminar on Bridge Substructure and Foundations,
Delhi Conference Documentation, Vol. 1, Jan. 1992.
452 MS. UGALMUGLE & D R. NAMJOSHI ON
Annexure-I
Salient Features
5999
Unit Discharge q = = 17.885 Cumecs/m
(380.75 45.32)
L.B.L. = 257.630 m
Mean Scour RL = 263.8008.57 = 255.230 m
Cut off depth required = 257.330 255.230 = 2.10 m
Provide minimum depth of cut off = 2.30 m
t = 0.06 x Q 1/3
1/3
= 0.06 x 5999
= 1.09 m
Annexure-II
8872
Unit Discharge q = = 51.88 Cumecs/m
(171)
CONSTRUCTION OF RAFT FOUNDATION IN DEEP SANDY BEDS FOR MAJOR BRIDGES 455
ACROSS PERENNIAL RIVERS
Unit discharge to be increased by 19 per cent as per IRC:78-1983
Cl.No. 703.1
Cut off wall bottom to be kept 300 mm below normal scour level
R.L.84.96-0.30 = 84.66 m proposed bottom R.L. = 84.65 m