The behavior of a rectangular closed diaphragm wall when used as a bridge foundation

Abstract

The rectangular closed diaphragm (RCD) wall is a new type of bridge foundation. Compared to barrette foundation, measuring the performance of RCD walls is relatively complicated because of their incorporation of a soil core. Using the FLAC3D software, this paper investigates the deformation properties, soil resistance and skin friction of a laterally loaded RCD wall as well as the settlement, axial force and load-sharing ratio of a vertically loaded RCD wall. Special attention is given to the analysis of factors that influence the performance of the soil core. It was found that under lateral loading, the RCD wall behaves as an end-bearing friction wall during the entire loading process. The relative displacement between the wall body and the soil core primarily occurs below the rotation point, and the horizontal displacement of the soil core is greater than that of the wall body. Under vertical loading, the degree of inner skin friction around the bottom of the soil core and the proportion of the loading supported by the soil core increase with increased cross-section size. The wall depth is directly proportional to the loading supported by the outer skin friction and the tip resistance of the wall body and is inversely proportional to the loading borne by the soil core.

Keywords

diaphragm wall / soil core / bridge foundation / FLAC3D / bearing behavior

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