Seminar - Andrew De Ambrosis - The design of Shotcrete Facings in Soiled Nailed Excavations

Wednesday, November 10, 1999, 3 - 4 pm
Civil Engineering Lecture Room 3

Abstract

Over the last two decades, soil nailing has proven itself to be a practical and economical form of excavation support. However, despite the documented successes, the method has failed to be widely accepted as a viable excavation support technique. This failure is often theorised to be a result of uncertainty with some of the aspects of design. Facing design is one such area.

This lecture will introduce works undertaken to recognise which parameters govern the size of the moments induced in the shotcrete facing, and quantify their influence. Soil nailing techniques and existing design methods will be presented. A three dimensional Finite Element program with the ability to simulate the construction of a soil nailed excavation, will be introduced. The results of the simulations of two full-scale soil nailed walls will be presented and discussed. Particular emphasis will be placed upon the comparison of calculated and observed displacements and failure mechanisms. Finally, scope for continuing work will be discussed.