STP 1129

Slurry Walls: Design,

Construction, and Quality
Control

David B. Paul Richard R. Davidson, and Nicholas J. Cavalli, editors

ASTM Publication Code Number (PCN)

04-011290-38

1916 Race Street

Philadelphia, PA 19103
 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Slurry walls : design, construction, and quality control / David B.

Paul, Richard R. Davidson, and Nicholas J. Cavalli, editors.
(STP ; 1129)
"ASTM publication code number (PCN) 04-011290-38."
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8031-1427-3
1. Hazardous substances--Environmental aspects. 2. Slurry trench
construction. I. Paul, David B., 1956- . I1. Davidson, Richard
R., 1953- . III. Cavalli, NicholasJ., 1949- . IV. Series:
ASTM special technical publication ; 1129.
TD195.H39S58 1992
628.4 ' 2--dc20 92-32908
CIP

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Peer Review Policy

Each paper published in this volume was evaluated by three peer reviewers. The authors addressed
all of the reviewers' comments to the satisfaction of both the technical editor(s) and the ASTM
Committee on Publications.
The quality of the papers in this publication reflects not only the obvious efforts of the authors and the
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Printedin Fredricksburg,VA
September1992
Foreword

This publication, Slurry Walls: Design, Construction, and Quality Control, contains papers
presented at the symposium of the same name, held in Atlantic City, NJ on 27-28 June 1991.
The symposium was sponsored by ASTM Committee D- 18 on Soil and Rock. David B. Paul
of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in Denver, CO, Richard R. Davidson of Woodward-Clyde
Consultants in Denver, CO, and Nicholas J. Cavalli ofWehran Envirotech in Middletown, NJ
presided as symposium chairman and co-chairmen, respectively, and are all editors of the
resulting publication.
Contents

Overview--D. B. P A U L , R. R. D A V I D S O N , A N D N. J. C A V A L L I ix

STATE-OF-THE-ART PAPERS

History of Slurry Wall Construction--A. L. RESSIDI CERVIA 3

Making Diaphragm Wall Joints Watertight with the CWS System--P. VANEL 16

Slurry Walls--Construction Quality Control--G. J. TAMAROAND R. J. POLETTO 26

USA Practice Slurry Wall Specifications 10 Years Later--R. A. MILLETT,

J. Y. P E R E Z , A N D R. R. D A V I D S O N 42

HAZARDOUS WASTE

Slurry Trench Cut-Off Walls for Environmental Pollution Control--

W. E. G R U B E , J R . 69

Composite Barrier Slurry Wall--N. J. CAVALLI 78

New Trenching Method Using Synthetic Bio-Polymers--G. R. TALLARD 86

SoU-Pollution Effects on Geotextile Composite Walls--H. Y. FANG,S, PAMUKCU,

A N D R. C. C H A N E Y 103

Using Slurry Walls to Protect an Historic Building: A Case Study--R. G. GARVIN

A N D J. F. B O W A R D 117

Effects of Construction of a Diaphragm Wall Very Close to a Masonry Building-

s. F. C H A N A N D T. F. Y A P 128

Design and Construction of Cement-Bentonite Cutoff Wall for S. A. Murray, Jr.,

Hydroelectric Station--K. R A M A C H A N D R A A N D C. H. S W A N 140

Concrete Slurry Wall for Temporary and Permanent Foundation Wall at Gallery at
Harborplace--Baltimore, Maryland--D. G. G I F F O R D A N D J. R. W H E E L E R 151
Slurry Wall Performance Adjacent to Historic Church--E. w. WINTER,
T. S. N O R D M A R K , A N D G. T A L L A R D 164

Materials for Slurry Walls in Waste Chemicals--R. e. KHERA

A N D R. K. T I R U M A L A 172

Innovative Aspects of Leachate Containment with Composite Slurry Walls: A Case

H i s t o r y - - M . M A N A S S E R O A N D C. V I O L A 181

Underreamed Drilled Shafts Installed Using Slurry M e t h o d s - - D . n. SCHOENWOLF

A N D D. J. D O B B E L S 194

Deep Foundation Elements Installed by Slurry Wall Techniques--E. G. JOHNSON,

K. E. J O H N S O N , A N D C. M. E R I K S O N 207

Quality C o n t r o l of Slurry Cutoff W a l l I n s t a l l a t i o n s - - R . A. BELL AND J. L. SISLEY 225

Construction of Diaphragm Wall at Wells Dam East Embankment--

D. L. R O B E R T S A N D D. M. H O 235

Plastic Concrete Slurry Wall for Wister Dam--E. D. ERWIN AND J. M. GLENN 251

SEEPAGE CUTOFFS

D e s i g n and Construction of a Plastic Concrete Cutoff Wall for the I s l a n d C o p p e r

M i n e - - R . R. D A V I D S O N , G. DENISE, B. F I N D L A Y , A N D R. B. R O B E R T S O N 271

Design, Construction and Performance of a Soil-Bentonite Cutoff Wall Constructed

in Two S t a g e s - - M . A. K H O U R Y , P. H . F A Y A D , A N D R. S. L A D D 289

Seepage Cutoff Wall for Mud Mountain Dam--R. R. DAVISON,J. LEVALLOIS, AND
K. G R A Y B E A L 309

The Construction of " T h i n " Slurry Walls and the Supporting Liquid Slurries
USed--H. C. M. B R E E K 324

State of the Art in Bio-Polymer Drain Construction--s. R. DAY AND C. R. RYAN 333

STRUCTURAL

Performance of an Internally Braced Slurry-Diaphragm Wall for Excavation

S u p p o r t - - N . A. B O N O , T. K. LIU, A N D C. S O Y D E M I R 347

Post Office Square Garage Project--A Case History of Instrumented Slurry Wall
Performance--D. A. SCHOENWOLF, R. V. WHITMAN, E. L. ABBOTT,
A N D J. M. B E C K E R 361
Quality Control in Construction of Structural and Diaphragm Wall Joints--
K. H. LEE, C. D. OU, AND K. W. TSAI 377

Design, Construction and Performance of a Deep Circular Diaphragm Wall--

D. A. BRUCE, P. H. C. CHAN, AND G. J. TAMARO 391

Permanent Slurry Walls at Baltimore Metro's Shot Tower Station--A. PATEL AND
R. CASTELLI 403
Overview
The first International Symposium on Slurry Walls: Design/Construction/Quality Control
was held on 27-28 June, 1991 in Atlantic City, NJ. The purpose of this symposium was to
bring together an interdisciplinary and international group of engineers and scientists to: (1)
provide a forum to exchange experiences and findings related to the design, construction, and
quality control methods for slurry walls; (2) learn from both successful and unsuccessful case
histories; (3) promote technology transfer between the various disciplines and countries rep-
resented; and (4) provide an education resource for those attending. In fact, due to the large
attendance from a truly international group of engineers, scientists, and practitioners, a
broader perspective was provided by the authors.
Eighteen papers presented at the symposium and 12 other papers that were not presented
due to time constraints, are included in this volume. The thirteen papers, in addition to several
others, were presented at a poster session. They are grouped into four main categories: (1)
State-of-the-Art; (2) Hazardous Waste; (3) Seepage Control; and (4) Structural.
The state-of-the-art presentations included a history of slurry wall development by Ressi
which describes the techniques and equipment typically used for slurry wall construction.
Vanel presented several innovations including a new joint system between panels. Tamaro
and Poletto described the importance of construction quality control and pointed out that
there are no national standards for the design and construction of slurry walls. Millet and Perez
provided an update to a paper they presented 10 years ago on the then state-of-the-practice of
slurry wall construction specifications in the United States.
The importance of dealing with hazardous waste has grown tremendously in the last decade
and slurry cutoffwalls have been the primary method for preventing underground migration
of pollutants. Grube provided the perspective of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
on the use of slurry cutoff walls for environmental pollution control. Cavalli presented a com-
posite vertical barrier system that utilizes a geomembrane installed through slurry. The recent
introduction into practice of biodegradable slurries was discussed by Ryan and Tallard.
Instead of bentonite slurry, guar-gum based slurries are used to maintain the open trench.
They have been used in recent projects to allow for the installation of deep drains that elimi-
nates sheeting, shoring, and dewatering. The effects of soil pollution interaction on the stability
of geosynthetic composite walls was presented by Fang, Chaney, and Pamukcu.
Davidson et al. discussed the use of plastic concrete to construct a seepage barrier at a large
copper mine in Vancouver, B. C. Construction of a 400-foot-deep wall through the Corps of
Engineers Mud Mountain Dam outside of Seattle was described by Davidson et al. Compac-
tion grouting was utilized by the contractor to restress the dam to allow for excavation of the
deep panels without large slurry losses.
Papers were also presented which describe the use ofcutoffwalls for unique structural appli-
cations. Johnson et al. presented two case studies where barrettes or load-bearing elements
(LBEs) were installed for projects constructed by the "up/down" method. Schoenwolf pre-
sented very interesting results from a monitored reinforced concrete wall utilized for the deep-
est building excavation ever undertaken in Boston. Bruce and Tamaro presented a valuable
case history of the use of a cutoff wall to construct a 165-foot-deep shaft, 52 feet in diameter,
within two city blocks of the ocean.
 The editors are grateful to the authors for their efforts in preparing the excellent papers
included in this volume. They provide a valuable contribution to the state-of-practice not only
in the United States, but all over the world.

David B. Paul
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Denver, CO;
chairman.

Richard R. Davidson
Woodward-Clyde Consultants, Denver, CO; co-
chairman.

Nicholas J. Cavalli
Wehran Envirotech, Middletown, NY; co-
chairman.