A model set up is described to simulate the construction procedure of a deep excavation in front of a retaining wall (e.g. sheet pile wall, diaphragm wall). The retaining wall maybe a cantilever, single or double propped wall. The equipment is based on the excavator developed by Kimura et al (1993). A mechanism has been added to simulate the prestressing of the anchors. The model wall is embedded into the soil before exposing it to the pre-set g-level. The excavation starts until the first anchor level is reached. The anchors of the first anchor level are tightened and the excavation continued until the next anchor level or the final excavation depth is reached. Likewise the excavation could be continued until failure occurs. During the whole excavation process bending moments of the wall are detected by strain gauges which allows the calculation of earth pressure distribution and, together with some displacement measurements, of the wall deflection. Test results are demonstrated on the behavior of a single propped flexible sheet pile wall in dry sand. The results show the benefit of the technique to analyze the influence of excavation process on the wall behavior.
展开▼
