Horizontal Pressure Reduction on the Underground Contour of the Structure by Means of a Cut-Off Wall

Abstract

The article deals with the issue of reducing the horizontal pressure of the ground on the underground walls. The relevance of this issue is stipulated by the need to ensure the strength and operational reliability of the underground part of buildings and structures having a large burial in the foundation. It is important to solve this problem and to ensure the strength of the shallow subway vertical walls. One of the ways to reduce the horizontal ground pressure on the retaining structures is the construction of the cut-off walls. These walls should be located in the zone of expected soil collapse. The simplest way of theoretical solution of this problem is the finite element method (FEM), which cannot be regarded as absolutely reliable because in this situation, we deal with limit equilibrium of soil mass, i.e. with the class of problems for which FEM does not always give guaranteed reliable results even in qualitative terms. Therefore, an additional control in the form of some approved schemes based on obvious, easily verifiable provisions is required. The paper presents a technique for determining the size and position of cut-off walls on the basis of known solutions of the theory of limiting equilibrium of soils. The calculation algorithm is exemplified by an illustrative calculation model.