Numerical studies of upgrading sheet pile quay walls using submerged grouted anchors: A parametric study

摘要

Sheet pile walls are one of the oldest earth retention systems utilized in civil engineering projects. Sheet pile walls are used for various purposes; such as excavation support system, cofferdams, cut-off walls under dams, slope stabilization, waterfront structures, and flood walls. Sheet pile walls are one of the most common types of quay walls used in port construction. The worldwide increases in utilization of large ships for transportation have created an urgent need of deepening the seabed within port areas and consequently the rehabilitation of its wharfs. Several methods can be used to increase the load-carrying capacity of sheet-piling walls. The use of additional anchored tie rods grouted into the backfill soil and arranged along the exposed wall height is one of the most practical and appropriate solutions adopted for rehabilitation and upgrading of the existing quay wall. The Ravenna Port Authority initiated a project to deepen the harbor bottom at selected wharves to a depth of 12.00 m and 14.00 m for future. An extensive parametric study through the finite element program, PLAXIS 2D, version 2012 was carried out to investigate the enhancement of using submerged grouted anchors technique on the load response of sheet-piling quay wall for the final dredged depth (14.00 m). The influence of grout-ties area, length of grouted body, anchor inclination and anchor location were considered and evaluated due to the effect of different system parameters. The analysis aims of obtaining the best configuration for given sheet pile and anchor resistance.