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[0002] Most perimeter walls are designed essentially to act as earth or soil retaining structures, e.g. basement structures, storm water tanks and traffic underpasses etc. Often the retaining walls comprise a series of piles (such as bored, CFA or secant piles), diaphragm walls, sheet pile walls or ‘post & plank’ schemes.
[0003] In many instances the perimeter wall is also required to support vertical loads from the superstructure. Often the loads are relatively small and can therefore be carried on a single wall element. Alternatively, the loads can be accommodated by installing a relatively small capping beam, which serves to distribute the load over several wall elements (piles, panels, etc.).
[0004] In many instances there is a need to support heavy concentrated loads and in these circumstances it is usually necessary to: i) extend the depth of the perimeter walls; and/or ii) install a deep capping beam to distribute the load to several elements.
[0005] However, both of these approaches suffer from a number of disadvantages. Extending the depth of the perimeter wall is labour intensive and obviously requires a larger quantity of concrete, therefore adding considerable cost to the overall foundation construction. Installing a deep capping beam which serves to distribute the load to a number of elements requires considerable skill and can be difficult and time consuming. Furthermore, it may be necessary to support local structures in order to excavate for a deep capping beam.
[0006] Preferred embodiments of the present invention seek to provide a method whereby substantial concentrated vertical loads can be carried in the line of a perimeter or retaining wall which, advantageously, do not require the use of a capping beam or spreader beam to distribute the vertical loads onto several wall elements. Advantageously, the depth of the retaining wall can therefore be reduced. Additionally, in some circumstances, it may be possible to reduce the thickness of the retaining wall element.
[0007] The present invention therefore seeks to provide a method in which a load bearing pile is installed in the line of a perimeter wall. The method of the present invention is particularly applicable to a perimeter wall consisting of a series of diaphragm wall panels.
[0008] According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a foundation structure comprising a load bearing element positioned between adjacent elements of a perimeter wall.
[0009] According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of constructing a perimeter wall, the method comprising the formation of at least one load bearing element in the ground between adjacent elements of the perimeter wall.
[0010] In one embodiment of the present invention diaphragm wall panels are constructed either side of the load bearing element. However, the present invention may also be applied to periemter walls constructed from a driven sheet wall or a secant pile wall formed from complementary “male” and “female” piles.
[0011] A steel reinforcement section provided along a longitudinal axis of the load bearing element serves to transmit the load of an above ground structure down to the toe of the load bearing element.
[0012] The foundation structure of the present invention is generally constructed by forming the load bearing element first and then constructing the adjacent elements of the perimeter wall either side.
[0013] Formation of the load bearing element may be by forming a hole in the ground to a depth below that of the proposed perimeter wall. The hole is then partially filled with concrete to a level just below the toe of the proposed perimeter wall and a reinforcement section is plunged into the concrete before it has hardened. Alternatively the section may be positioned within the hole and the concrete placed around the lower end thereof, within the lower part of the bore hole. Preferably, a suitable embedment length is used in order to accommodate the load to be transferred by the reinforcement section to the base of the pile.
[0014] Positioning of the reinforcement section is advantageously achieved by employing the use of a positioning frame having a means to adjust the plan position of the section at an upper and lower level.
[0015] The reinforcement section may comprise steel, pre-cast reinforced concrete, or a combination of steel and concrete. For perimeter walls which are to be constructed from diaphragm wall panels, an “I” shaped section has advantages since the width of the panels may complement either side of the I shape.
[0016] When the reinforcement section has been positioned, the bore is filled above the low level cast concrete with a backfill mixture of sand/cement, bentonite, mortar/grout. After the backfill has gained adequate strength (usually after 1 to 2 days), guide walls are constructed to define the proposed perimeter wall in the conventional manner.
[0017] The perimeter wall elements are then constructed on either side of the column section. The column section will preferably be slightly wider than the perimeter wall element excavating tool, and the tool will excavate any material in the ‘belly’ of the section.
[0018] In accordance with the present invention it is possible to install a load-bearing element (e.g. a column section) into a perimeter wall, which can support a concentrated load of 20,000 kN. In practice, with a suitably designed embedment detail, loads of 40,000 kN and even greater can be accommodated.
[0019] Conventionally perimeter walls are designed to span vertically, whether as a cantilever or between horizontal supports such as floor slabs. The thickness of the wall element depends on the soil properties and the length of vertical span.
[0020] An important advantage of the present invention is that it is possible to economise the design of the perimeter wall by the provision of a load bearing element in the line of the wall. For example, where the cantilever height, or distance between supports, is large, the wall elements between adjacent (main) piles can be designed to span horizontally. This reduces the stresses, and a thinner, more economical, wall can be designed.
[0021] In a similar manner, where the wall elements themselves are reinforced concrete piles, sheet piles or other discrete vertical elements, the horizontal support can be accommodated by, for example, a steel walling beam spanning between the vertical load-bearing elements.
[0022] The individual load bearing elements and the embedded sections can be designed to resist the external soil forces, and at the same time support substantial vertical loads as described herein.
[0023] For a better understanding of the present invention, and to show how the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0024]
[0025]
[0026]
[0027]
[0028]
[0029]
[0030]
[0031]
[0032]
[0033] In
[0034] The construction of the first diaphragm wall panel is also illustrated by
[0035] In
[0036]
[0037] After installation of the load bearing element
[0038]
[0039] After installation of the load-bearing element