Structured Excavation

This is an excavation in all material of whatever nature (soils or rocks) encountered for the
construction of pump stations, tanks, structure and building footings and other structures to
levels and limits specified on the Drawings or otherwise. The primary focus is to conduct work
in such a way that a stable excavation is achieved and that material outside the excavation prism
is adversely affected.

In choosing and designing the excavation system in soils, the major controlling factors are:

The type and soil strength parameters soil, groundwater conditions, slope protection, side and
bottom stability, vertical and lateral movements of adjacent areas, and effects on existing
structures.

However, the major controlling factors that must be considered in planning, designing and
constructing a rock excavation are:

- Presence of strike, dip of faults, folds, fractures, and other discontinuities

- In situ stresses
- Groundwater conditions
- Nature of material filling joints
- Depth and slope of cut
- Stresses and direction of potential sliding surfaces
- Dynamic loading, if any
- Design life of cut as compared to weathering or deterioration rate of rock face
- Rippability and/or the need for blasting
- Effect of excavation and/or blasting on adjacent structures
Excavation can be of two types namely:

(i) Open cuts or excavations – these are the type of excavations where stability is achieved by
providing stable side slopes.
Depth and slope of an excavation, and groundwater conditions control the overall stability and
movements of open excavations. In granular soils, instability usually does not extend
significantly below the excavation, provided seepage forces are controlled. In rock, depths and
slopes of excavation, particular joint patterns, in situ stresses, and groundwater conditions
control stability. In cohesive soils, instability typically involves side slopes but may also include
materials well below the base of the excavation. Instability below the base of excavation, often
referred to as bottom heave.
Many cuts in clays will stand with vertical slopes for a period of time before failure occurs.
However, changes in the shear strength of the clay with time and stress release resulting from the
excavation can lead to progressive deterioration in stability. This process can be rapid in stiff,
highly fissured clays, but relatively slow in softer clays. For cuts in hard unweathered rock,
stability is mostly controlled by strength along bedding planes, groundwater condition, and other
factors. Cuts in rock can stand vertical without bolting or anchoring depending on rock quality
and joint pattern.
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(ii) Braced cuts or excavations – these are excavations where vertical or sloped sides are
maintained with protective structural systems that can be restrained laterally by internal or
external structural elements i.e. these are cuts made into the soil or rock which requires
bracings to prevent collapse of the material.
In soils, vertical timber planks or steel called sheeting are driven down along the sides of the
excavation to support the soil. These vertical sheetings are held in place by means of horizontal
beams known as Wales. The wales are supported by horizontal struts, which extend from side to
side of the excavations. Struts are usually made of timber, for which greater than 2 m, metal
pipes called trench braces are commonly used when the depth of excavation exceeds 5 - 6 m. At
this point, the use of timber sheeting becomes uneconomical and steel sheet piles are used. As
the soil is removed from the enclosure, wales and struts are inserted. Wales are commonly made
of steel while struts can be steel or wood, depending on the size of the excavation and stresses.
Figure 6.1 shows the general structured excavation stages in soil ground, while Figure 6.2
presents the proposed apparent earth pressure for sandy soil.

Figure 6.1: General Structured Excavation Stages in Soils

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 Figure 6.2. Proposed Apparent Earth Pressure for Sand (Peck, 1969)

Several researches have investigated the lateral earth pressure induced on the retaining structures
through experimental, analytical and numerical studies (Terzaghi, 1934; 1936; Peck, 1969;
Tschebotarioff , 1973; Lambe and Whitman, 1978; Potts and Foure, 1986; Wong et al., 1997;
Haashash and Whittle, 2002; Worden and Achmus, 2013). However, the apparent empirical earth
pressure envelopes proposed by Peck (1969) and Tschebotarioff (1973) are frequently used in
practice for the design of the retaining structures installed in sand and clay soils (Figure 6.3)
The lateral earth pressure distribution on braced cuts according to Peck (1969) are as follows:
For deep cuts in sand (water table far below), the pressure distribution is rectangular / uniform
with respect to the depth.

Where ⁄
γ = Unit weight of the soil, ϕ = Angle of internal friction

For cuts in stiff fissured clays, the pressure distribution is trapezoidal

It increases up to 0.25H, remains constant to 0.5H and gradually reduces to zero
⁄

Where C = Undrained cohesion

For cuts in soft to medium clays, the pressure distribution is triangular to 0.25H, remains
constant from 0.25H to 1.0H.
⁄

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 0.25H 0.25H

H 0.2H to 0.5H
0.65HK 1.0HKa
0.4H
0.75H

0.25H
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Ka = tan (45-/2) Ka = 1- (4Su / H)
Sand Soft to medium clay Stiff fissured clay
a) Apparent earth pressure (Peck, 1969)

0.1H

0.6H
0.25H 0.75H
0.7H H
H H

0.4H
0.25H
0.2H
0.3H 0.2H 0.375H
0.5H
Sand Temporary support Permanent support
in stiff clay in medium clay
b) Apparent earth pressure (Tschebotarioff, 1973)

Figure 6.3. Apparent earth pressure envelopes proposed for soils

Example

A long trench is excavated in medium dense sand for the foundation of a building. The sides of
the trench are supported with sheet pile walls fixed in place by wales and struts as shown. The
soil properties are:

γ = 20 kN/m3; ϕ = 30°; C = 0.

a. Determine the pressure distribution on the walls with respect to depth.

b. The strut loads.
c. Maximum bending moment for determining the pile wall section.
d. Maximum bending moment for determining the section of wales.

Steps are:

i. Draw the earth pressure envelope of the braced cut and show the proposed strut level i.e A, B
and C.
ii. The whole depth will be split into simple supported beams, reactions will now be calculated
as RA, RB1, RB2 and RC.
iii. The loads on strut will be computed as:
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Where S = strut length
iv. Maximum moment of the wall section will be determined by drawing shear force diagram:
⁄

v. Maximum moment for wales

Pressure distribution on the is uniform

⁄ ⁄

Taking moment at support B in each of the simply supported beam,

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Strut loads are:

Maximum moment of the wall section

Maximum moment = 30.75 kNm, this can be used to determine sheet pile section

Maximum moment for wales

Section modulus of the wales or wall can be computed from the maximum moment from
this relation,