Introduction to Shoring Systems

by
Dr. Magdy Thabet Elsheikh

Consultant Engineer & Assistant Professor

at
Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University
 Dr. Magdy ElSheikh

Outline
• Introduction
• Types of Shoring:
– H-Beam & Planks
– Sheet Piling
– Secant Piles & Contiguous Piles
– Diaphragm Wall
• Important Notes

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 Dr. Magdy ElSheikh

Introduction

Shoring (‫)سند جوانب الحفر‬:

• Provides temporary support

during the construction process
• Essential when there is no room
for open excavation due to:
• Existence of roads next to
plot
• Existence of building next to
plot
Traditional Excavation at an angle

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 Dr. Magdy ElSheikh

Introduction

Shoring (‫)سند جوانب الحفر‬:

• Provides temporary support

during the construction process
• Essential when there is no room
for open excavation due to:
• Existence of roads next to
plot
• Existence of building next to
plot
Example of a Shoring Method

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 Dr. Magdy ElSheikh

Types of Shoring: H-Beams & Planks

• H-beams & Planks are preferably used in case the structure has one • H-beams could also be
basement level (3 – 5.5 m) referred to as piles or
• Types of planks could be: soldier beams
• Wooden • Planks could be
• RC slabs (10 to 12 cm) referred to as lagging
• Length of plank is ≤ 2 m

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 Dr. Magdy ElSheikh

Types of Shoring: H-Beams & Planks

• Tie backs or struts provide additional • H-beam could be substituted for 2 back to
hinge support to the shoring wall, back C-Channels for ease of construction in
allowing them to go to greater depths case of tie-backs

• Depths of 3-4 m w/o tie back

• Depths of 4-5.5 m w/tie back

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Types of Shoring: Sheet Piling

• Sheet piling is preferably used in case the structure has

one or two basement levels (3 – 7 m)
• A Waller beam provides additional linear support, i.e. acts
as a linear hinge along the length of the sheet pile

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Types of Shoring: Sheet Piling

• Sheet Piling is not commonly used in
buildings in the UAE due to the high
prices of steel

Sheet Piling with Waller Beams and Struts

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Types of Shoring: Secant Piles & Contiguous Piles

Secant Piles Contiguous Piles

• Consist of:
• Secondary or Soft Piles which are • Row of Reinforced piles with minimum
drilled first (No reinforcement) spacing between two consecutive piles
• Followed by Primary or Hard Piles
(Reinforced)

Primary Pile Fcu = 20 Secondary Fcu = 40

Pile

Secant & Contiguous piles are preferably used in case the Diameter of Piles (m)
structure has two or three basement levels (6 – 14 m) 0.5 0.75 0.90 1.00 1.20

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Types of Shoring: Secant Piles & Contiguous Piles

Advantage of Secant Piles Disadvantage of Contiguous Piles

• Blocks the flow of water (water • Does not block the water flow due to
block/water cut) the pile spacing, hence is not used often

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 Dr. Magdy ElSheikh

Types of Shoring: Secant Piles & Contiguous Piles

Advantage of Secant Piles Disadvantage of Contiguous Piles

• Blocks the flow of water (water • Does not block the water flow due to
block/water cut) the pile spacing, hence is not used often

Used with soil

with low or no
cohesion such as
sand, i.e. More
applicable in UAE

Rock, or soil with

low permeability

High Water Flow Used with soil with

Low Water Flow high cohesion such
as clay

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Struts & Tie-Backs

Struts Tie-Backs
Could be used in cases where tie-
backs are not favorable due to
neighboring buildings or structures.
Ø=2m

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Struts

In cases where the length of the strut is too

long (L > 60 m), they are connected to block of
concrete or piles

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 Dr. Magdy ElSheikh

Types of Shoring: Diaphragm Wall

• Diaphragm Wall is preferably used if the

structure has three or more basement
levels (12 – 20 m)
• Consists of:
• Secondary segments which are
constructed first (shorter RFT cage)
• Followed by Primary segments
(Long RFT cage)
• Length of each segment is 2 – 3 m

Secondary Primary

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Types of Shoring: Diaphragm Wall

Diaphragm Wall
Depth (m) Avg. Thickness
of wall (m)
12 1.0
15 1.2
20 1.5

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Important Notes

• All shoring walls are temporary structures

• Except underground metro structures in Egypt and other countries
• Tie-back life span due to corrosion and deterioration is 2 years unless it is initially corrosion
protected, for example: Intercontinental Project
• No columns should be allowed to rest over shoring wall
• Retaining wall should be used as the permanent structural wall, i.e. design assumes that no
shoring exists
• For table below: H-Beam, Secant Piles, Diaphragm Wall

Approximate Values
Height of Excavation (m) 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 12 14 16 18
Shoring Wall Thickness (m) 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.0 1.2 1.0 1.2
Shoring + Retaining Wall 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.6 1.5 1.7
Thickness (m)
• Approximate values depending on: type of soil, water level, no. of tie-back rows, etc.
• All the thicknesses must be subtracted from land perimeter
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Important Notes
H-Beams & Planks
Secant Piles or
Diaphragm Wall
Excavation level
Introduction to Shoring Systems
Dr. Magdy ElSheikh
Top 1.5 to 2.0 m should not be
“Secant Pile” or “Diaphragm
Wall”
• This is to allow entry of
services inside the project
from connection points
17
 Dr. Magdy ElSheikh

Important Notes
Waterproofing
Secant Piles • If waterproofing is next to sheet pile, it
cannot be extracted from the soil.

Shotcrete to make
surface plane Shotcrete to make
surface plane

RW
RW
Secant Piles
Waterproofing Waterproofing
membrane membrane

Raft
Retaining Wall

P.C.

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 Dr. Magdy ElSheikh

Important Notes

Capping Beam
• Used for Secant Piles and Diaphragm Wall to connect all parts together
Introduction to Shoring Systems
 Dr. Magdy ElSheikh

Important Notes

Capping Beam
• Used for Secant Piles and Diaphragm Wall to connect all parts together
Introduction to Shoring Systems
 Dr. Magdy ElSheikh

Important Notes
Making use of lost shoring areas
• The slabs in ground floor and above could be

Plot limit
cantilevered to reach the plot limit
• Slabs cannot rest on shoring
GF
~5 cm

Shoring Wall
Basement

Introduction to Shoring Systems

 Dr. Magdy ElSheikh

Example of one project

Introduction to Shoring Systems

 Dr. Magdy ElSheikh

Example of one project

Introduction to Shoring Systems

 Dr. Magdy ElSheikh

CUT AND COVER (top-to-bottom)

• 1. Installation of
shoring wall

• 2. Installation of
decking and roof
slab

• 3. Construction
of station box

• 4. Installation of
side walls and
base slab

• 5. Backfilling and
reinstatement

Introduction to Shoring Systems