Geotechnische und geohydraulische Aspekte beim Bau der Weserschleuse in Minden

The new Weser lock in Minden - geotechnical and geohydraulic aspects.

The dimensions of the existing ship lock at the waterway intersection in Minden do no longer meet the requirements of modern inland waterways. With an actual usage period of more than 90 years the technical lifetime of the existing lock has almost been reached thus replacement works started in 2010. In order to minimize deformations of the existing lock resulting of the adjacent excavation pit a secant pile wall was selected while ground conditions at the opposing side permitted a more cost-effective sloped excavation. The geological settings of a layered aquifer consisting of highly permeable quaternary sands above fractured clay bedrock demanded a cut-off wall in the shallow sediments and a drawdown scheme in the fractured bedrock. After describing the influence of site specific conditions on the excavation design some aspects of the interaction between ground, groundwater and structure are shown.