Characteristics of a Large-Scale Deep Foundation Pit Excavated by the Central-Island Technique in Shanghai Soft Clay. I: Bottom-Up Construction of the Central Cylindrical Shaft

Abstract

AbstractA large amount of field and experimental data has been devoted to rectangular excavations thus far. In contrast, very few data were available for cylindrical excavations, especially those with large diameters in thick soft clay deposits. Via a comprehensive instrumentation program on a 100-m-wide×25.89-m-deep unpropped (self-supported) cylindrical excavation constructed by the bottom-up method in Shanghai soft clay, the characteristics of this large-sized circular excavation were extensively investigated. This cylindrical shaft was a part of a large-scale deep foundation pit excavated by the central-island technique. The investigated items included (1) lateral wall deflections, (2) vertical wall movements, (3) lateral ground movements, (4) ground settlements, (5) subsurface settlements, (6) basal heaves, (7) vertical column movements, (8) column stresses, and (9) variation of pore pressures along depth and artesian water levels. Analysis of the field data indicates that discharging of the deep art...