The effect of groundwater to deep excavation

Abstract

Excavation is the process by which soil or rock is removing in order to reach required level. Materials resulting from such excavation often employed as fill for embankment or for other construction purposes on the same project. Deep excavation using an open cut method often too carried out until the above requirement. In the other case, deep excavation was carrying out close proximity to infrastructures and utilities. Therefore, it is important to limit the lateral wall movements and ground settlement, so that the infrastructure and utilities will safe from damage. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of ground water to deep excavation using finite element analyses with soft soil creep (SSC) model. The simulation work employed finite element software Plaxis 8.0. Parametric studies have carried out to investigate the effect of ground water to deep excavation. In this design, basement will be excavate in 12 m, 16 m, and 20 m deep at 10 m, 15 m, and 20 m for location of ground water level was to show effect of ground water based on depth of excavation. If displacement of soil is small, it is very suitable for excavation. Comparison between case 1, 2 and 3 shows that the ground water variations prior to the excavation have no appreciable effect on wall force and deflection. From the result analysis, it indicates that the location of ground water level will affect to excavation work. Therefore, the application of this Plaxis 8.0 is a great encouragement to study and understand in order to enhance an effective design and analysis.