1.

Introduction
“A cofferdam is a temporary structure designed to keep water and/or soil out of the excavation in which a bridge pier
or other structure is built.”
A cofferdam is a temporary construction method used in order to do construction in wet excavations. It is installed in the
work area and water is pumped out to expose the bed of the body of water so that workers can construct structural
supports, perform repairs and any other types of work using construction equipment. A coffer dam is also called as
caisson in some parts of world.

Working inside a coffer dam can be dangerous if it is not installed properly or not safely pressurized. Various materials are
used for its construction and its design must be compatible with weather conditions, waves, currents, construction
equipment, construction methods, internal permanent structures and ground conditions. There are various types of
cofferdams such as braced, earth type, timber crib, double walled sheet pile and cellular .

Generally, major loads imposed on cofferdams are hydrostatic forces of water and dynamic forces due to current and
waves and heavy equipment is used for its construction such as pile drivers, cranes with clamshell buckets, concrete
pumps trucks as well as pumps for dewatering are used in the construction process. The effective management of
equipment on site as well as workers is an important step in cost control and maintaining efficient productivity.
2. Types of Cofferdam
Braced Timber Crib Double-Walled Sheet Pile Cellular Earth-Type
2.1 Braced Cofferdams
a- Formed from a single wall of sheet piling.
b- Driving sheet piles into the ground to
form a box around the excavation site
c -“box” is braced on the inside of it.
d - Interior is dewatering using pumps.
e - They are primarily used for bridge piers
in shallow water around 30-35ft depth.

2.2 Earth-Type Cofferdams

a - It is the simplest type of cofferdam.
b - It consists of an earth bank with a clay core or
vertical sheet piling enclosing the excavation.
c -It is used for low-level waters with low velocity
and easily scoured by water rising over the top.

2.3 Timber Crib Cofferdams

a - Constructed on land and floated into place.
b - Lower portion of each cell is matched with
contour of riverbed.
c -It uses rock ballast and soil to decrease
seepage and sink into place,also known
as “Gravity Dam”.
d - It usually consists of 12’x12’ cells and is
used in rapid currents or on rocky riverbeds.
e - It must be properly designed to resist lateral
forces such as tipping / overturning and sliding.

2.4 Double-Walled Sheet Pile Cofferdams

a -They are double wall cofferdams comprising
two parallel rows of sheet piles driven into
the ground and connected together by a
system of tie rods at one or more levels.
b -The space between the walls is generally filled
with granular material such as sand, gravel rock.
2.5 Cellular cofferdams
a - Cellular cofferdams are used only
in those circumstances where the
excavation size precludes the use
of cross-excavation bracing.
b – The cofferdam must be stable by
virtue of its own resistance to
lateral forces.

3. Cofferdam Design Consideration

• Scouring or undermining by rapidly flowing water Stability against overturning or tilting
• Upward forces on outside edge due to tilting Stability against vertical shear
• Effects of forces resulting from:
Ice, Wave, Water, Active Earth and Passive Earth Pressures

4. Forces acting on Cofferdam

• Hydrostatic pressure Forces due to soil loads
• Current forces on structure Wave forces Current forces on structure
• Ice forces Seismic loads
• Accidental loads Mooring force

5. Advantages of Cofferdam
• Allow excavation and construction of structures
in otherwise poor environment
• Provides safe environment to work
• Contractors typically have design responsibility
• Steel sheet piles are easily installed and removed
• Materials can typically be reused on other projects Force due to soil land

6. Installation of Cofferdam
The success of any piling scheme requires satisfactory
completion of the following stages.
• Competent site investigation, sampling and relevant
testing to build up an informed picture of the task.
• Adequate design of all the stages of the construction.
• Setting out and installation of the piles.
Hydrostatic pressure

7 . Equipments and material required for installation

Equipment’s:
• Pile driving hammer
Vibratory or Impact
• Crane of sufficient size-
clamshells and draglines
• Concrete pumps trucks
• Dewatering pumps
• Barges may be required Pile hammer Crane pile hammer Clamshells
• Dozer, loader, backhoe,
trucks be may required

Materials:
• Steel sheet piles are typically used
• H-piles and/or wide-flange beams
Sheet steel piling Dewatering pumps
for wales and stringers.
8. Cofferdam Components
• Sheet piling
• Bracing frame
• Concrete seal
• Bearing piles

9. Sheet pile Cofferdam Construction sequence

For a typical cofferdam, such as for a bridge pier, the construction procedure follows the listed pattern.
Step 1 - Pre-dredge to remove soil or soft Step 2-Drive temporary support piles and temporarily
sediments and level the area of the cofferdam erect bracing frame on the support piles.

Step 3 - Drive sheet piles to grade and ties are Step 4 - Excavate slightly below grade, while leaving the
provided for sheet piles at the top as necessary cofferdam full of water and drive bearing piles. Place
rockfill as a leveling and support course.

Step 5 -Place Tremie Concrete seal Step 6- Check blocking between bracing and sheets
and dewater

Step 7- Remove sheet piles and bracing,

as well as backfilling and construct
new structure
 10 -Traditional Sheet Pile Shapes
Z-Type (Z): Used for intermediate to deepwall construction, Z sections are considered one
of the most efficient piles available today. Z – Piles are commonly used for cantilevered
and tied-back retaining systems.

“Z” Type (U): Used for Larson / “U” Type (U): Used for Arch shaped & lightweight : Used for Flat / Straight Type (SA), (S):
Deep wall construction. applications similar to Z - Type shallower wall construction Used for filled cell construction

11- Typical types of interlocks Joints in Sheet Piling

12- Safety
• good design 14- Application of coffer dam
• proper construction • Hydroelectric Dam Construction
• verification that the structure is • Bridge Construction
being constructed as planned • Ship repair
• monitoring the behavior of the • Oil Rig and Dam Construction
cofferdam and surrounding area • Sunken Vessel Recovery
provision of adequate access • Ship Recovery
• light and ventilation, and
• Attention to safe practices on the
part of all workers and supervisors 15- Disadvantages of cofferdams
• Special equipment required
13- Mode of failures • Relatively expensive
• Fabricated tees and wyes • Typically very time consuming & tedious
• Sheets and interlocks • If rushed, sheets can be driven out of
• Environmental condition locks or out of plumb
• Stability • When in flowing water “log jams” may
occur creating added stress on structure
16- Case Study
16 a- FORTH REPLACEMENT CROSSING. EDINBURGH
N1 Pier is the one located just adjacent to the northern tower being part of the cable-stayed section of the Firth of
Forth new bridge main crossing. It is located close to the northern shoreline and consists of a massive reinforced
concrete direct foundation, 26m x 29m and 5.5m deep, and is founded on Volcanic Tuff bedrock of the Sandy Craig
Formation.
This foundation is to be built in the dry. For making this possible, a temporary works structure had to be built in order
to resist the hydrostatic thrust forces.
Prefabrication of the cofferdam as opposed
to the more conventional form of
cofferdam construction by driving sheet
piles has the benefit of avoiding the
creation of airborne and underwater noise.
The method of pre excavation also removes
the risk of encountering obstructions.
The temporary works structure consisted
of a number of corrugated plates welded
side-by-side, arranged so the pier
foundation could be fit inside.
Location Structural elements of the cofferdam
The overall plan dimensions were 30m by 27m (transverse x longitudinal). Two levels of frames provide the required
stiffness to withstand the horizontal thrust forces.
The cofferdam rest on four bearing plates located at each corner at a level below the foundation bottom level. For
achieving this, a trench was excavated along the sides of the cofferdam prior to the cofferdam installation, which
were filled with concrete later on. This was required to provide the foundation of the cofferdam with the
corresponding water tightness, once it was dewatered.
The uplift forces were counterweight by a concrete plug beneath the foundation bottom level. Destressing wells
were also installed to minimize those forces.

Design The cofferdam had to be

designed to withstand a
pressure corresponding to
a 15m water column. The
corrugated plates would be
embedded in a concrete
trench along the contour of
the cofferdam. This plug
would act as sealant in the
joint to prevent leaking.

Cofferdam cross-section as shown in design drawings

Construction process
1.Plate bending: geometry control was very important 2. Welding of plates: all welds were executed
in this phase: if bends were not perfectly parallel, using Submerged Arch welding (SAW) process
it would have impacted the total cofferdam geometry

3.Frame assembly: frames were typically compound 4.Cofferdam walls assembly: the cofferdam’s shorter
sections connected with intermediate plates. Sections walls were welded to form one piece, whereas the
were whether standard sections or welded beams longer walls were split in four and connected to the
shorter to for a half cofferdam

5. Cofferdam assembly: both halves had to be turned

and welded together
6. Load-out onto pontoon: to load them out, Self-
Propelled Modular Transporters (SPMT) were used.
The number of axles was chosen so the total weight of
the cofferdam was spread according to the wharf
allowable bearing pressure. Also, the cofferdams
themselves needed to be strengthened to prevent the
corrugated plates from buckle

7. Once on the pontoon, the cofferdam needed to be

secured to prevent it from sliding/falling during the
haulage

8. : Cofferdam ‘fastening’ to fix it on the pontoon

deck 9. Cofferdam during transport to Edenburg
Installation
1- Form a perimeter trench cut into the 2 -Installation of the bearing plates
bedrock with a raised plinth area in the centre.

Cofferdam foundation trench. Scheme (left) and

bathymetric survey once executed (right) Placement of Pier N1 Cofferdam was computer assisted
3-Lower the cofferdam into the perimeter 4- The next step was to pour the concrete into the
trench and onto the bearing plates. trench to provide a bearing support to the cofferdam,
and a seal between the cofferdam and the bedrock

7 Temporary platforms installation (left). Trench cleaning (right

Installation of Pier N1 Cofferdam

5. Internal de-stressing wells are then installed into the bedrock Concrete pouring of internal trench using underwater concrete (left) .
to lower the groundwater pressures below cofferdam and the Divers support during operation (right)
formation area.

De-stressing system within Pier N1 cofferdam

6. Finally the cofferdam is dewatered to allow formation inspection

and foundation construction in the dry Sequence of trench filling with concrete

7. Cleaning of the formation

: Formation cleaning prior to concrete blinding

ii- Case Study
COFFERDAM CONSTRUCTION AND DEWATERING TAUNSA BARRAGE REHABILITATION PROJECT
INTRODUCTION
Taunsa Barrage is situated on the huge river of the Indus valley known as the Indus
River, in the province of Punjab, India. The irrigation system has all the rivers
interconnected through a series of link canals that facilitate inter-basin transfers.
The irrigation process is carried out by diverting the water from the rivers through a
sequence of barrages, releasing water into main canals and subsequently to
enormous irrigation network of distributaries and minor channels.
Taunsa Barrage
It was constructed in such a way that the
barrier across the barrage could resist to a
greater maximum observed flood of 300,000
cusecs for non-monsoon and monsoon
seasons. Thus taking this kind of precautions
made all satisfactory factor of safety to
divert and also the height of the cofferdam.
There was also a periodic monitoring of the
Early stage of Construction Construction of Cofferdam at front rise of water level and flow of river, which
and back of the enclosure made them to build the head across the
barrage within 15 ft and design head being
CONSTRUCTION PROCESS OF COFFERDAM at 24 ft across the barrage.

In the initial stage of the construction materials like stone and earth fill was
brought to the site to dump in the upstream and downstream of the river in
large quantities to construct the sub weir. In this kind of construction the major
equipment’s used are excavators, dozers and dumpers. These dumpers dump the
stone on top of the embankment whereas dozers move across the flowing water
and also the earth fill material was dumped from top so that it settles down. But
during the built up of the cofferdam it should be monitored keenly time to time
Dumper unloading stones
thus to safe guard the area as well as to place the materials over the settled area
Material quantities for constructing a cofferdam:
Stone - 100,000 cft (3000m3)
Sheet piles - 224,000 sft (Area), 35 – 40 ft (Depth)
Sand bags - 60,000 No
Earth filling - 11.46 M cft (324,394 m3)
DEWATERING
EQUIPMENTS USED AND THEIR
PRODUCTIVITY ANALYSIS
EQUIPMENT USED:
Construction of cofferdam was carried out using heavy equipment’s
such as
Dozers. Loaders and Dump trucks.
Backhoe . Vibrating pile hammer.
Cofferdam with sheet Dewatering pumps- tube wells along with pumps and screens in
Construction of Sub – Weir the substrata.
piles during dewatering
In the process of construction of Sheet piles analysis and overall
coffer dam, the next step is Weight of the above mentioned machinery was around 10-
stability is calculated in a
dewatering. Dewatering method software called SEEP/W for 15 tons and can move freely on newly constructed
requires a lot of pumping of water cofferdam section seepage. embankment. First stone dump was constructed followed
with certain measures like maintain Thus a realistic model is by earthfill dump. To construct stone embankment, the
the water levels to a desired point. available where for different
dumper is used to dump stone in reverse on top of the
The main equipment’s used for parameters sensitivity analyses
dewatering are tube wells, pumps is done. Eventually based on embankment and dozer is used to move material across
and screens for concreting at flowing water.
these results a sheet pile is
required different areas of the installed.
compound.
PRODUCTIVITY ANALYSIS
PHRASE 1- STONE FILL LAYER AND EARTHFILL EMBANKMENT CONSTRUCTION
PHRASE 2 - SHEET PILE INSTALLATION
PHRASE3- DEWATERING USING PUMPS
PHRASE 4- EXCAVATION USING BACKHOE

Shows different phrases

STONEFILL LAYER : SHEET PILE INSTALLATION

EARTHFILL:
Truck producitivity:
CONSTRUCTION OF A COFFER DAM 49
Load time = Haul unit capacity/loader productivity at 100%
efficiency
Load time = Number of bucket loads * excavators cycle time
Load time = 13.545 BCY /179 BCY/hr = 4.54 min
Cycle time = Load time + hauling time + dump time + return time
Assuming the average site condition the spot, maneuver and dump
time for rear dump = 1.1min
Total cycle time of truck = 4.54min + 1.1 min+ 60 + 43 = 108.64 min
Hauling distance = 60km/ (60km/hr) = 60 min,
Return distance (empty) = 60km/ (85km/ hr) = 43min
Productivity of truck = truck capacity/ cycle time = 13.545/
(108.64/60) = 7.48 BCY/hr
Productivity Calculations:
Type: Crane with vibrating hammer of 100 ft/hr
driving rate is used and operational efficiency = 40
min/hr
Then productivity = 100 ft/hr * (40/60) = 66.66 ft/ hr
The time required to drive 40ft long 1120 piles is
(1120*40ft/pile)/(66.66 ft/hr*24hr/day) = 28 days
or steel h-pile of 40ft length around 2.5 piles/hour
(table 18.2 construction equipment management
john E. Schaufelberger, prentice hall)
Duration = (1120/2.5)* 60 = 23 days
Therefore it takes around a month to complete
installation of sheet piles

EXCAVATION USING BACKHOE

DEWATERING USING PUMPS:

Size of the single enclosure = 700*9843*40= 275.6 M cu ft or

7804122.9 m3.
The total amount of water in the single enclose =
(7804122.9*1000kg/m3)/3.785 Excavation is done after dewatering and to
= 2061.85 M gallon.
The combined capacity of all pumps used in the site = 220 cu facilitate construction of sub weir.
sec or 98742.86 Gallon/min.
Total Duration of dewatering = (2061.85 M*4)/
(98742.86*60*24) = 60 days or 2 months Type: Crawler mounted Backhoe