1.

INTRODUCTION
Urban settings pose unique challenge to the construction Industry. Special features of urban
areas are restricted movements, inadequate space for equipment, soil heterogeneity (including
fill and remains of old foundations or other unexpected obstructions), effects of changes in
the water table, foundation interaction (the detrimental effects of construction of new
structures on the surrounding buildings).As the number of deep excavations in city is seen to
increase exponentially so are the problems associated with their construction. Structures in
the immediate vicinity of excavations, dense traffic scenario, presence of underground
obstructions and utilities have made excavations a formidable task to execute. Clearly, deep
excavations are posing mounting problems that demand a site specific and tailor made
retaining solution. Even in complicated urban settings, deep retaining systems have been
deployed successfully by overcoming construction challenges. This article describes some of
the key retaining structures that are used.
1.1 DEEP EXCAVATION SUPPORTING SYSTEMS
Several in-situ support systems have been deployed for containing deep excavations. The
criteria for the selection of these systems are excavation depth, ground conditions, ground
water level, allowable vertical and horizontal displacements of adjacent ground, availability
of construction know-how, cost factors, subsequent construction methodology, working space
limitations etc. One of the key governing factors is the requirement of water tightness of the
retaining structure. Following types of deep support systems are commonly used in
metropolitan cities.
(i) Diaphragm walls
(ii) Pile walls (Contiguous, Tangent or Secant)
(iii) Soldier pile with wooden lagging walls
(iv) Sheet pile walls
(v) Composite supporting systems that is, any of the retaining systems (i) to (iv) above
strengthened by Anchors, internal strutting etc.
Diaphragm walls, Contiguous Piles and Soldier piles with wooden lagging walls are
addressed in the following section

2. CONTIGUOUS PILE WALLS

There are different types of pile walls. Diameter and spacing of the piles is decided based on
soil type, ground water level and magnitude of design pressures. Large spacing is avoided as
it can result in caving of soil through gaps. In Contiguous bored pile construction, centre to
centre spacing of piles is kept slightly greater than the pile diameter. Secant bored piles are
formed by keeping this spacing of piles less than the diameter. Tangent piles are used when
secant piling or diaphragm walling equipment is not available.
General construction sequence for piling operation:
(i) Centering of rotary rig on the proposed pile point
(ii) Carrying out the boring operation
(iii) Driving the casing to an approximate depth
(iv) Maintaining the stability of the borehole simultaneously with bentonite slurry
(v) Continuing boring operation in soil and rock using soil bucket and Soil/Rock auger
(vi) After completion of boring, cleaning of borehole by bentonite flushing
4

Fig 1: Contiguous Pile Retaining System

(vii) Lowering of rebar cage into the borehole

(viii) Repeat bentonite flushing operation and subsequently
(ix) Pouring concrete through tremie
2.1 Merits and Demerits
Contiguous piles serving as retaining walls are popular since traditional piling equipments
can be resorted for their construction. They are considered more economical than diaphragm
wall in small to medium scale excavations due to reduction in cost of site operations.
Common pile diameters adopted are 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0m. These piles are connected with a
Capping beams at the top, which assists equitable pressure distributions in piles. These
retaining piles are suitable in areas where water table is deep or where soil permeability is
low. However, some acceptable amount of water can be collected at the base and pumped out.
Contiguous piles are suitable in crowded urban areas, where traditional retaining methods
would otherwise encroach the adjoining properties. Provision of Contiguous piles restricts
ground movements on the backfill side, and thus protects the neighbouring structures,
foundations and boundary walls from the detrimental effects of the excavation. Contiguous
piles facilitate deployment of several independent sets of equipment and gangs along its
alignment which can speed up its execution. They can be constructed using even the
conventional piling equipments, and can be constructed in hard and rocky sub-soil conditions
where diaphragm wall construction is difficult. Such retaining systems has advantage of
employing varying diameter of piles in lieu of change in sub-surface conditions, or on
encountering competent stratum at a depth which is different than that anticipated during
design. Further, unlike the diaphragm wall which relies on the orthogonal geometry of the
excavated area contiguous pile retaining system can constructed to form any shape in the
excavated area. They are however, not considered suitable for construction in areas of high
water table, as retention and containing water is not possible in contiguous piles. Perfect
alignment of piles is often difficult to achieve at site, and this in turn is found to affect the
dimension and alignment of the Capping beams.

3. DIAPHRAGM WALLS
Diaphragm walling is a technique of constructing a continuous underground wall from the
ground level. Diaphragm walls provide structural support and water tightness. These
reinforced concrete diaphragm walls are also called Slurry trench walls due to the reference

Fig 2: Diaphragm Wall

given to the construction technique where excavation is made possible by filling and keeping
the wall cavity full with bentonite-water mixture during excavation to prevent collapse of
Vertical excavated surfaces. These retaining structures find following applications: earth
retention walls for deep excavations; basements, and tunnels; High capacity vertical
foundation elements; Retaining wall foundations; water control. These are also used as a
permanent basement walls for facilitating Top-down construction method.
Typical wall thickness varies between 0.6 to 1.1m. The wall is constructed panel by panel in
full depth. Panel width varies from 2.5m to about 6m. Short widths of 2.5m are selected in
less stable soils, under very high surcharge or for very deep walls. Different panel shapes
other than the conventional straight section like T, L are possible to form and used for special
purposes.
Steps involved in the construction of diaphragm wall can be broadly listed as follows:
Guide Wall Construction along alignment
Trenching by crane operated Grab or hydraulic grab
Bentonite flushing
Lowering reinforcement cage
Concrete using Tremie
It must be remembered that Diaphragm wall are constructed as a series of alternating primary
and secondary panels. Alternate primary panels are constructed which are restrained on
either side by stop end pipes. Before the intermediate secondary panel excavation is taken
up, the pipes are removed and the panel is cast against two primary panels on either side to
maintain continuity.
6

Fig 3: Construction of Diaphragm Wall

3.1 Merits and Demerits

Diaphragm wall construction is relatively quiet and minimum noise and vibration levels make
it suitable for construction in urban areas. The water tight walls formed can be used as
permanent structural wall and are most economical when use in this manner. The finished
structural wall formed prior to excavation allows subsequent construction of the basement in
a water tight and clean environment. Once the diaphragm walls are constructed, work can be
planned to proceed simultaneously above and below the ground level. There is a minimum of
space wasted.Diaphragm walls however, require the use of heavy construction equipment that
requires reasonable headroom conditions, smaller cranes can be used though this could
compromise efficiency. They are not considered efficient means in hard and rocky grounds,
where the conventional grabs are undeployable.

4. SOLDIER PILE WITH WOODEN LAGGING SYSTEM

Soldier pile and lagging walls are some of the oldest forms of retaining systems used in deep
excavations. Soldier piles are driven/ bored at regular interval and allowed to gain strength.
Excavation proceeds step by step after placement of Soldier piles at the periphery of the
excavation. Depending on the ground conditions, wooden laggings are placed spanning from
one soldier pile to another. At some predetermined levels, horizontal Waling beams and
supporting elements (struts, anchors or nails) are erected. Ground anchors are increasingly
used in such supports due to easy access to equipments.
This type of retaining system involves the following broad based activities:
(i) Constructing soldier piles at regular intervals (1 to 3m on centre typically)
(ii) Excavating in small stages and installing wooden lagging.
(iii) Backfilling and compacting the void space behind the lagging.
7

4.1 Merits and Demerits

Soldier pile and lagging walls are the most inexpensive systems compared to other retaining
walls. They are also very easy and fast to construct. These are found to be suitable for soils
with some cohesion and without water table. They are commonly preferred in narrow
excavations for pipe laying or similar works, but are also used for deep and large excavations
in conjunction with struts.
The major disadvantages of soldier pile and lagging systems are that they are primarily
limited to temporary construction. They cannot be used in high water table conditions without
extensive dewatering. Poor backfilling and associated ground losses can result in significant
surface settlements. They are not as rigid as other retaining systems. Because only the flange
of a soldier pile is embedded beneath subgrade, it is very difficult to control basal soil
movements.

5. CASE STUDY
5.1 Diaphram wall construction at CC-01 Stretch of Delhi Metro Corridor
Table 1: Diaphragm wall construction at CC-01 Stretch of Delhi Metro

Sr. No.

Project

1.

Kashmere
Gate Station
Mandi House
Station
Lal Kila
Station
Jama Masjid
Station

2
3
4

Wall
Thickness(mm
)
800
1000
800
1000
800
1000
800

Wall length(m)

Wall
Depth(m)

552
60
336
140
336
280
300

20-22
24
20-22
17-18

Among the various strectches of Delhi Metro rail corridor, diaphragm wall construction
features at Kashmere Gate station have been discussed here.
5.2 Diaphragm wall at Kashmere Gate Station
In Kashmere Gate area, diaphragm wall was used to support 17m excavation. This station
area comprised rectangular access area at the centre with vertical launching shafts at the ends.
The total length of diaphragm wall including the access and shaft portion was 612m (Table 1)
and 125 panels were used with their width varying from 3m to 6m. A minimum width was
governed by the minimum split width capability of the grab. M35 concrete was used for the
diaphragm wall, with main rebar diameter of 36mm. Total weight of reinforcement cage
varied from 16 to 24 MT depending on the panel width. Laps in rebar were avoided by
employing threaded couplers. extra nuts were use which was threaded at special fabrication
shed at the site. Few of the concrete panels of the diaphragm wall at the launching shaft were
constructed using 40mm and 25 mm diameter fibre reinforcement to facilitate cutting
operation through the end diaphragm walls using TBM machines. Trenching for diaphragm
wall was carried out using rope operated grabs of 6.50T to 8 T capacities with the help of
cranes (75T capacity). The entire trench was stabilized with bentonite slurry by restricting its
specific gravity to a maximum value of 1.2. The vertical alignment of the wall and shape of
cross section were checked using Koden ultrasonic drilling monitor, which gave the precise

output in from of continuous log. Inclinometers were installed to monitor the movement of
the diaphragm walls during various stage of excavation.

Fig 4: Trenching with Mechanical Grab

Gate site

Fig 5: Cage Lowering for D-Wall at Kashmere

5.3 Soldier Piles and Wooden Lagging supported system at CC-01 stretch of Delhi
Metro Project, near Jama Msjid
Excavation was required at the Cut and Cover portion of TBM launching shaft at Jama
Masjid site of CC-01 stretch. Soldier piles with timber lagging were provided to support the
boundary of the excavation. The average depth of excavation varied from 3m to 16m.
The supporting system comprised soldier piles spaced at 1.8m c/c and with a closer spacing
of 1.6m c/c near the launching shaft. Wooden laggings of thickness 100mm to 120mm were
supported between the soldier piles. Three levels of Struts were provided at depths 3.285,
7.285, and 10.831m below the established ground level (EGL-209.80m). Additional level of
Waler beam with pre-stressed rock anchors were provided 2m above the excavation level.
Rock anchors with capacity of 86.4T, spaced at 3.6m c/c, were embedded 6m into the
quartzitic bedrock to meet the bond strength considerations. King Post consisting of Hshaped structural steel section NBP 600 x 220 x 154.4 was employed. Boring operations was
carried out with conventional way using Rotary rig till 3 to 4 m depth, casing was then
lowered into the drilled hole with necessary verticality. Further, boring & drilling was carried
out with auger / soil bucket and boring operation was terminated after a penetration of 0.6 m
into weathered Quartzite Rock. Throughout, the boring operation, borehole wall was
stabilized with bentonite slurry having specific gravity of 1.04 at supply point to about 1.11
for the flushed out flow. On termination of borehole kingpost along with reinforcement cage

provided for bottom 1.5 m length was lowered into the borehole. On termination of borehole
kingpost along with reinforcement cage provided for bottom 1.5 m length was lowered into

.
Fig 6: Soldier Pile With wooden lagging System

the borehole.The kingpost was supported and thereafter the annular space in the borehole was
backfilled with sand. Excavation of about 1.5 to 2.0 m was considered free standing for few
hours and in the ensuing period wooden laggings were inserted into the web portion of
adjacent H shaped soldier piles. Excavation operation was followed by insertion of lagging,
and was continued till the required excavation depth was achieved.

6. CONCLUSION
In the above sections, the retaining systems suitable in the urban environment were outlined.
Restrictions of space in the urban settings compel use of deep vertical excavations which
require supports that are designed to consume minimum construction space. Retaining
systems like diaphragm wall, contiguous pile wall sand soldier piles with wooden lagging and
sheet pile wall has been described in this article. We also discussed the case study of
Diaphragm wall and Soldier pile wall which has been extensively used in the Delhi metro rail
construction projects.

7. REFERENCES
1. Puller, M., Deep Excavations: A practical Manual, Thomas Telford, London, UK, 1998
2. Venkata Ramasubbarao Godavarthi: Contiguous Pile Wall as Deep Excavation
Supporting System
3. Donald R.McMahon:A DSM wall for excavation support
4. S.S. Gue & Y.C. Tan Design and Construction Considerations for Deep Excavations
5. M. Ufuk Ergun, Deep Excavations
6. Mehtod Statement of Soldier Pile Phase-III CC-01 Project
7. Mehtod Statement of Diaphragm Wall Phase-III CC-01 Project