Diaphragm walls are built to exclude earth and water from an area so
that work may be performed under reasonably dry conditions. The range of
applications for diaphragm walls includes earth-retaining and
load-bearing walls for a variety of constructs such as underpasses, deep
basements, underground stations, tunnels docks, and pump houses. In
traditional construction methods, the concrete diaphragm wall consists
of separate panels, which are not formed as a continuous monolithic
construction. Vertical joints are used to divide the wall into panels,
and horizontal reinforcement is not continuous from one panel to the
next. Recently, a diaphragm wall, believed to be one of the largest ever
built, was successfully constructed in Egypt with a continuous
horizontal reinforcement. This paper describes in detail a new
construction method for a diaphragm wall system. In addition, the
difficulties encountered during construction are highlighted. Movements
of the wall during excavation are reported. A comparison between the new
and traditional construction methods is carried out in terms of cost
and schedule. Applying the method presented in this paper offers
substantial opportunity for reducing the steel reinforcement requirement
and eliminating the use of shoring systems or ground anchors.
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