Extrusion of Soft Clay Through a Retaining Wall

Abstract

This note describes a slide which occurred in a very soft clay during the construction of an approximately 11 m high cast-in-place reinforced concrete pile wall. Clay squeezed through the openings between three adjacent piles after the clay had been exposed for 1–3 days. An analysis indicates that the slide was caused by excessive overburden pressures at the level of the opening in relation to the low undrained shear strength of the clay.