Diaphragm Wall

• A diaphragm wall (slurry wall) is a reinforced cast-in-place continuous concrete wall.

• Diaphragm walls are reinforced concrete elements constructed using bentonite slurry to temporarily support an open trench
in the ground.
• The construction includes the excavation of a trench under the protection of a support suspension (i.e., a thixotropic slurry
such as bentonite mud for example) designed to temporarily stabilize the trench wall.
• A diaphragm wall is a structural concrete wall constructed in a deep trench excavation, either cast or using precast concrete
components.
• Diaphragms walls are often used on congested sites, close to existing structures, where there is restricted headroom, or
where the excavation is of a depth that would otherwise require the removal of much greater volumes of soil to provide
stable battered slopes.

Applications of Diaphragm Walls –

• They are used in two main fields of application in civil

construction:
1. as foundation elements for vertical and horizontal
loads (barrettes)
2. as retaining walls for excavation pits.

• In areas with dense and historic urban infrastructure.

• Where very rigid earth retention system is required.
• They are used where noise and vibrations must be limited.
• Where dewatering is not possible.
• Earth retention walls for deep excavations, basements, and tunnels.
• High capacity vertical foundation elements.
• Retaining wall-foundations
• Retaining wall-water control
• Used in top-down construction method as permanent basement walls
• Where geology and ground water precludes the use of conventional earth retention system.
• Compared to other wall types, Diaphragm walls are stiff with respect to ground movement control. Diaphragm wall are often
attractive in granular soils with high ground water table, when low permeability layer underlies granular soil. Diaphragm
walls are terminated in underlying low permeability layer which consist of soil/rock keying into low permeability layer reduce
ground water seepage below wall.

Technology -
• Diaphragm walls are rectangular-section excavations with a complete ground asportation that is made in situ.
• The result is an underground concrete wall.
• They are essentially retention walls, which are constructed for instance at wharfs.
• A rectangular-section tool is generally used to remove the soil, thus creating a rectangular excavation.
• Furthermore, the rectangles making up the wall must be interlocked to ensure structural endurance and water tightness.
• The diaphragm wall panel construction entails three steps: the construction of guide wall, the panel excavation (demolition
– removal - stabilization), and the construction phase (reinforcing cage – casting – curing).
• To build a continuous diaphragm wall the primary panels are firstly constructed and spaced at a distance slightly larger
than the panel width. The secondary panels are built in the empty spaces between the primary ones. T
 Diaphragm Sheet Pile Wall -
• The diaphragm wall, bearing piles, and anchor piles would be installed from a dry ground platform, either above high tide
level or in a dewatered excavation.
• The top portion of a diaphragm wall cast is usually inferior concrete, and therefore the wall would be cast higher than
required and cut down to level.
• Construction of the in-situ relieving
slab and cap would be done in a
dewatered excavation.
• The walls generally range in
thickness from 500 - 1,500 mm and
can be excavated to depths of over
50 m.
• Excavation is typically carried out
using rope-suspended mechanical or
hydraulically operated grabs.
• Specific ground conditions or greater
depths may require the use of hydro
mills – hydraulically-operated
reverse circulation trench cutters –
to penetrate hard rock by ‘cutting’
rather than ‘digging’. Hydro mills can
achieve depths of up to 80 m.

Construction Stages -
• A diaphragm wall is constructed using a trench excavated in ground and supported by a mud fluid (typically bentonite or
polymer mud) until the mud is replaced by concrete, after the steel cage installation.
• Walls generally range from 600 to 1500 mm thickness, in wide between 2000 and 3500 mm and can be excavated to depths
of 60m or more.

General Arrangement on Site

1. Site Logistics and Slurry

Plant Setup -
• Diaphragm wall installation requires sufficient work area to setup slurry plant and to assemble reinforcing cages prior to
placement in wall.
• This work may be difficult in congested sites.
• To reduce area requirement of site cage, prefabrication is possible.
• Slurry plant includes slurry mixer, storage tanks and descending units.
• Sufficient storage tanks must be used for bentonite slurry hydration.
• A typical jobsite constructing Diaphragm walls through slurries will use the following equipment:
A crane equipped with grab
A plant to produce the slurry
A plant to desand the slurry
A service crane to position steel reinforcement cage in the borehole and to handle the tremie pipes to cast the
concrete

2. Pre-trenching –
• It is performed to remove shallow obstructions and provide stable support for guide walls.
• This is performed as open excavation backfilled with flow fill/ excavated under self-hardening slurry.
 3. Guide Wall Construction –
• Guide walls are two temporary parallel cast-in-place or pre-cast
lightly reinforced concrete beams constructed along the side of the
wall in order to guide the excavation tool and stabilise the top
portion.
• Guide walls maintain the horizontal alignment and wall continuity of
a diaphragm wall while are adopted to
avoid superficial soil collapse
to mark the panels position and
to support the steel cages during the concrete aging.
• This temporary support is important as the slurry levels vary during
construction and the wall tends to be unstable.
• Equally important, guide walls help guide the diaphragm wall grabs
vertically and aid in the positioning of the final structure.
• The dimensions and shape of the guide walls may change
depending on the nature of the surface soil.
• As it happens in bored piles, the bentonite slurry inside the
excavation hole shall always be kept some meters above the height
of the water table.
• In some special cases where the water table is very close to the
surface and the soil has poor mechanical properties, the guide walls may be built on a higher height compared to the ground
plane to preserve the above mentioned height difference.
Guide walls

Forming the guide wall and using it in trench operation

 4. Panel Excavation – (excavation for the
diaphragm wall )
• The single panel is excavated downward using grab
until reaching the required level.
• The trench is prevented from collapsing during
excavation, reinforcing and casting by the use of
supporting bentonite slurry.
• The slurry forms a thick deposit (the cake) on the walls
of the trench which balances the inward hydraulic
forces and prevents water flow into the trench.
• A slurry made of polymers can also be used. Grabs are
diaphragm wall digging tool consisting of two jaws
which can open and close to collect cuttings and take
them out of the excavated trench. Jaw outer profiles are
fitted with teeth to cut the soil.
• The excavation work cycle starts with the open grab
rested on the ground: thanks to the tool weight and
speed, the teeth penetrate the soil.
• By activating the closing system, the grab excavates the
soil and keeps part of it inside the jaws.
• Teeth arrangement on the jaws is usually an odd
number of teeth on one jaw, and an even number of
teeth on the other, to ensure perfect closing.
• The jaws asymmetrical configuration tends to deviate 1. Alternate Panel
from straightness and for this reason the grab is not Method
always used in the same direction, but alternately in
both directions: every time the grab is lowered into the
excavation, it is rotated by 180°.
• The grab is lifted with the jaws closed and the soil is
discharged in a designated area.
• The work cycle is repeated a number of times until
excavation has been completed.
• The primary panels are excavated first and Secondary
panels are constructed between primary diaphragm wall
panels.
• Once the panel is excavated, prior to concreting, the
supporting slurry fluid must be cleaned and refreshed so
its density, sand content, viscosity and PH are within specified levels.

2. Successive Panel Method

 5. End stop Placement –
• End stops are used to control concrete placement so that secondly adjacent panels are not excavating monolithic concrete.
• End stop may be permanent or removed after concrete placement.
• Permanent End stops are typically wide flange shaped.
• Removal End stops can be pipe/special keyway End stops.
 6. Excavation support using bentonite slurry - Stability Fluid
• Excavation for the diaphragm wall produces a vertical strip in soil which can collapse easily. Bentonite slurry is used to
protect the sides of soi1.
• Bentonite is a naturally occurring clay which, when added to water, forms an impervious cake-like slurry with very large
viscosity.
• The slurry will produce a great lateral pressure sufficient enough to retain the vertical soil.

Trench excavation working in bentonite

slurry with grab alignment control by guide
wall
 7. Descending the Bentonite mud support and the Panel -
• Panel may be descended to remove excess sand in slurry and bottom panel.
• Removal of sand from slurry decreases density of slurry so that tremie concrete doesn’t mix with slurry or trap pockets of
sand.

8. Reinforcing Cage
Placement –
• Once the bottom of the panel is
reached and cleaned, the
reinforcement cage can be
lowered into position.
• The reinforcement cages have a
significant size and weight, as a
general rule, the cage is built by Fixing and placing the reinforcing cage
laying the components (of
adequate length) on the ground
then connecting them together.
• Reinforcement is inserted in the
form of a steel cage but may be
required to lap a few sections in
order to reach the required
length.

Stage 4 Stage 7 Stage 8 Stage 9

 8. Concreting (termie pipes) –
• The concrete is placed through a vertical steel
pipe with an open, funnel-shaped upper end
named tremie to avoid the segregation of
concrete.
• With the tremies, concreting of a diaphragm wall
starts from the bottom and the tremies are lifted
progressively as the concrete level rises.
• As concrete is being poured down, bontonite will
be displaced due to its lower density than
concrete. Bontonite is then collected and reused.
• Simultaneously with placing concrete, slurry is pumped from the panel to be refreshed and re-used in the next panel
excavation.

9. Joining for the diaphragm wall panel –

• Diaphragm wall cannot be constructed continually for a very long section due to limitation and size of the mechanical plant.
• The wall is usually constructed in alternative section. Two stop end tubes will be placed at the ends of the excavated trench
before concreting.
• The tubes are withdrawn at the same time of concreting so that a semi-circular end section is formed. Wall sections are
formed alternatively leaving an intermediate section in between.
• The in-between sections are built similarly afterward but without the end tube. At the end a continual diaphragm wall is
constructed with the panel sections tightly joined by the semi-circular groove.

10. Using hydro fraise (reverse circulation trench cutter) to form diaphragm wall panel:
• Bored piles of square section can be installed using the Hydrofraise or similar drilling techniques. The bore hole is stabilized
by drilling mud.
• The “Hydro fraise” is a drilling machine powered by three down-the-hole motors, operating with reverse circulation.
• A heavy metal frame, serving as a guide, is fitted at its base with two cutter drums carrying tungsten carbide tipped cutters.
• These rotate in opposite directions and break up the soil. A pump is placed just above the drums and evacuates the loosened
soil, which is carried up to the surface by the drilling mud.
• The mud with cuttings is continuously filtered (desander unit) and then poured back into the trench.
• A heavy crawler crane supports and manipulates the machine. It carries the power pack supplying the hydraulic power,
which is conveyed through hoses to the three down-the-hole motors, two of them driving the cutter drums and the third
driving the pump.
• The hydraulic cutting device is designed to give the cutter drums a high torque at low speed of rotation. The guide frame is
suspended from the cable-operated crane. A hydraulic feed cylinder is used to achieve a constant rate of advance or to
maintain a constant weight on the cutter drum.

Hydro - fraise French Cutter

• A hydrofraise is a reverse circulation excavation tool which
consists of a heavy steel frame with two drive gears
attached to its bottom end, which rotate in opposite
direction round horizontal axes.
• Cutter wheels area mounted onto the drive gears.
• As they rotate, the soil beneath the cutter is continuously
removed, broken up, mixed with the bentonite slurry in the
trench and moved towards the opening of the suction box.
• The slurry charged with soil or rock particles is pumped by
a centrifugal pump which is located right above the cutter
wheels through a ring main of hose pipes to a desanding
plant where it is cleaned and returned into the trench.
• The hydrofraise is also called hydro mill and trench cutter
(or just cutter).

Main applications of the hydrofraise –

The hydrofraise is used for the construction of diaphragm and cut-off walls in difficult conditions: excavation of rock and
hard layers of soil, deep panels and strict tolerances.
 Equipments Used -

The equipment required for the execution of diaphragm walls with

hydrofraise is composed by the excavation machine (hydrofraise)
and the slurry plant; its main functions are –

1. Hydrofraise -
• Excavation of the soil.
• Pumping of the mix soil support slurry from the trench to the slurry
plant.
• Cleaning of the bottom of the excavation.
• Replacement of the support slurry before concreting.

2. Slurry Plant
• Production and storage of the support slurry.
• Pumping of the Support slurry from the slurry plant to the trench.
• Separation of the mix soilsupport slurry created by the hydrofraise.
• Treatment of the waste slurry.

Construction Method -
• The execution of diaphragm walls with hydrofraise is based on the reverse circulation technique.
• The excavation is carried out by milling soil by means of two drums fitted with tungsten carbide cutters, rotating in opposite
directions.
• Particles of soil, suspended in the support fluid, are pumped off the trench by utilizing a suction pump and delivered to the
desanding plant through the pipelines.
• At the plant the particles of soil are removed from the bentonite suspension, which is recycled into the storage tanks

• The construction phases are as follows –

The support slurry is prepared in the slurry plant. Bentonite powder (1) is mixed with water in a high turbulence mixer (2) to
produce the support slurry, which is pumped (3) to the storage tanks (5). •The support slurry is pumped from the storage
tanks to the trench my means of a centrifugal pump (6). •The hydrofraise (8) cuts the soil, mixes it with the support slurry
 and pump it back (8) to the plant, where the soil is separated from the slurry with a desanding unit (4). •Waste slurry is
pumped to the waste slurry storage tank (9) and then treated with a filter press (10).

• The construction Sequences of a hydrophraise panel -

 Bentonite Slurry:
Bentonite is a type of clay that has an ability to swell and gel when dispersed in water which is used in construction mainly
in excavation and foundation works.

Importance -

• Bentonite is of a great commercial importance possessing innate bleaching properties like fuller's earth; hence, it is also
known as bleaching clay.
• Containing more than 85% clay mineral, montmorillonite, it is high plastic clay.
• There are basically two types of bentonites, namely: • Swelling-type (or sodium bentonite) and • Non-swelling-type (or
calcium bentonite). Sodium bentonite is usually referred to as bentonite, whereas calcium bentonite is called Fuller's earth.
• The commercial importance of bentonite depends more on its physicochemical properties rather than its chemical
composition.
• Excellent plasticity and lubricity, high dry-bonding strength, high shear and compressive strength, low permeability and low
compressibility make bentonite commercially viable.
• Bentonite is valued in foundry sand binding, drilling mud, iron ore palletization and as a waterproofing and sealing agent in
civil engineering works.

Preparation of Bentonite Slurry:

• Bentonite slurry is prepared with an objective to achieve maximum hydration of the bentonite, therefore its powder must be
added to the mixing water gradually in order to ensure that all the particles are wetted and do not clump into partially
hydrated balls.
• Bentonite slurry can be prepared either in batches or in a continuous process, depending on the type of equipment used.
• Typically, the bentonite powder is added through a simple venturi-hopper or directly into a high shear mixer. • The mixing
equipment must generate sufficient shear to ensure that all the individual bentonite particles are dispersed in the mixing
water.
• The quantity of bentonite powder to be added to the mixing water depends on the quality of the bentonite and the required
viscosity of the slurry.
• For most applications, concentrations between 4% and 6% by weight are typical.
 Functions and Uses of
Bentonite Slurry -

• Bentonite slurries are known to

perform the following pivotal
functions:
• Support the excavation by exerting
hydrostatic pressure on its walls i.e. to
prevent the collapse or retain an area.
• Remain in the excavation, and not flow
to any great extent into the soil thereby
acting as a sealant.
• Providing almost instantaneously a
membrane with low permeability.
• Suspend detritus and prevent sludgy
layers building up at the base of the
excavation.
• Staying Insular and non-reactive by
clean displacement by concrete, with
no significant interference with the
bond between reinforcement and set
concrete.
• Cleaning to remove suspended
detritus, by passing through screens
and hydrocyclones, in preparation for
re-use. In addition, for economic and
environmental reasons, the maximum
re-use and minimum disposal of used
slurry are required.
• Bentonite slurry can be re-used
repeatedly provided its properties are
carefully monitored and kept under
control.
 Joint Designs -
There are three main types of joint design used for diaphragm walls:

stop and pipes

Stop end pipes

• The steel pipes are installed at both panel fronts before concreting.
• The pipes rest on the excavation bottom and match the circular shape of the panel
fronts.
• The concrete injected takes the shape of the stop end pipes, the latter are filled with
bentonite slurry and the panel has concave fronts.
• Once primary panels have been constructed and the stop end pipes
removed, secondary panels are executed.
• Once secondary panels have been fully excavated, concreting can
start. Concrete fills the semicircular joints and provides a very good
interlock.

Disposable pipes

• Pipes are in PVC; they are fixed to the cage and lowered
to rest on the bottom.
• During concreting, the whole section is filled by concrete,
except for the pipes which remain full of bentonite slurry.
• The result is a panel with two holes.
• After excavating the secondary panels, by using a
dedicated tool the concrete seam separating the pipe
from the secondary panel and the pipes are demolished.
• As a result, a round indentation is created in the primary
panel. When concrete is cast in the secondary panel, it primary secondary primary secondary
fills the recess and creates a joint with the primary panel.

pipes

primary secondary primary

 Sheet Piling -
• With this method, a steel sheet pile is driven into the primary panel, before concrete is cast.
• After concreting has been completed, the concrete on the fronts of the panel takes on the shape of the sheet pile and a
recess is created.
• When concrete has hardened enough to keep its
shape, sheet piles are extracted.
• Afterward the secondary panel is excavated
using a suitable tool to copy the recess of the
primary panel and remove soil from this area.
When concreting, concrete fills the recess and
provides a good interlock between the panels.
• This technique allows for the insertion of plastic
elements called water stops between the
panels, in order to guarantee increased water
tightness.

The Milan Joint-

• Trevi Group has developed a special system

during the works for the Milan Underground
line 3 project in 1985, a system which has been
called “Milan joint” because of its origin.
• The joint is built using a PVC pipe, connected
to the primary panel cage.
• The bottom end of the pipe is closed by a holed
cap so as to allow the bentonite slurry to flow
in the tube thus preventing the walls of the
tube from collapsing due to the pressure the
concrete, rising up during the excavation, will
exercise on the tube walls. After excavation of
the secondary panels has been completed, a
cleaner is mounted on the grab; the grab is
then lowered and the cleaner breaks the wall
of the PVC pipe.
• This way the concrete penetrates into the
pipe’s cross-section thus creating a
waterproof joint