Evaluation of buttress wall shapes to limit movements induced by deep excavation

Abstract

Three-dimension finite element analyses of deep excavations with buttress walls were performed to evaluate the effect of buttress wall shapes on limiting movements induced by deep excavation. Results showed that a combination of the rectangular and the capital L-letter shapes (RL-shape) yielded the greatest performance in reducing wall deflections and ground surface settlements. The main deformation-control mechanism mainly came from the horizontal and vertical frictional resistances of buttress walls against adjacent soils which were pushed by wall deflections and the soil heave at the excavation bottom, respectively. Besides, the RL-shape buttress walls were successfully verified through a well-documented case history.