Experimental Study on the Horizontal Bearing Characteristic of a Strip-Walled Underground Diaphragm Wall

Researching and developing a new type of diaphragm wall foundation can solve the problem that the traditional diaphragm wall structure may not meet the high standards of safety and stability of underground structures in some specific engineering environments. This paper focuses on the horizontal bearing characteristic of a new form of foundation, a strip-walled underground diaphragm wall, through a series of model tests. In the tests, nine plexiglass models with different section sizes, wall spacings and wall heights, as well as loading strategies (horizontal loads along and against the wall in the model), were conducted. The influence of the above factors on the horizontal bearing performance of the foundation and the soil resistance distribution around the wall was studied. The results show that when the horizontal load applied along the wall is greater than 50 N, the growth rate of total displacement at the top of the wall gradually decreases; when a horizontal load is applied against the wall, with a uniform change in wall height, the optimal wall spacing is 11 cm. When the same displacement occurs, the bearing performance of the model under the former loading strategy is generally 10% higher than that under the later loading strategy. In addition, the depth where the maximum bending moment along the wall occurred gradually moves downward with the increase in horizontal load, and the increase in wall spacing and wall height has a positive effect on the horizontal bearing characteristic. With the application of load, the maximum bending moment of the wall will gradually decrease along the depth. The increase in wall spacing and wall height can improve the overall flexural stiffness and horizontal bearing performance of the foundation. Lastly, the group wall effect coefficient, β, is put forward, and a simplified formula for calculating the horizontal bearing capacity of a strip wall foundation is proposed. In the formula, β is negatively correlated with the buried depth of the wall and positively correlated with the distance between the walls, and its coefficient is greater than 1.

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