You are on page 1of 81

Final Project Project B42, S11

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus


6/9/2011

Marta Marton
Sophie Eyler

Supervisor: Kirsten Malte Iversen

2011
wwww

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

Contents
1.

Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 3

2.

Geological description ............................................................................................................. 5

2.1.

Book: Engineering geology in Denmark ............................................................................... 5

2.2.

Per Smed maps .................................................................................................................... 6

2.3.

Contour lines map ................................................................................................................ 8

2.4.

Pre quaternary surface map ................................................................................................ 8

2.5.

Book: Underground studies in Arhus area........................................................................... 9

2.6.

GEUS map........................................................................................................................... 10

2.7.

Danish area information .................................................................................................... 11

2.8.

Drawing .............................................................................................................................. 13

3.

Geotechnical description ....................................................................................................... 14

3.1.

Informationonexistingbuildings ......................................................................................... 15

3.2.

Soil conditions .................................................................................................................... 15

3.2.1.

Groundwater conditions ................................................................................................ 17

3.2.2.

Plasticity ......................................................................................................................... 17

3.2.3.

Soil profiles ..................................................................................................................... 19

3.2.4.

Strength, deformation parameters and unit weights .................................................... 20

3.3.

Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 22

4.

Risk assessment ..................................................................................................................... 23

5.

Excavation of the soil ............................................................................................................. 27

5.1.

Demolition ......................................................................................................................... 27

5.2.

Excavation of the soil ......................................................................................................... 28

5.2.1.

The excavation process .................................................................................................. 31

5.3.

Temporary dewatering ...................................................................................................... 33

5.4.

Safety ................................................................................................................................. 34

6.

Retaining walls ....................................................................................................................... 37

1|Page

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus


6.1.

2011

Sheet pile walls .................................................................................................................. 39

6.1.1.

Timber sheet pile walls .................................................................................................. 39

6.1.2.

Concrete sheet pile walls ............................................................................................... 40

6.1.3.

Steel sheet pile walls ...................................................................................................... 41

6.1.4.

Berlin wall ....................................................................................................................... 42

6.1.5.

Diaphragm wall .............................................................................................................. 43

6.1.6.

Secant pile walls ............................................................................................................. 44

6.2.
7.

Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 46
The design of the retaining walls........................................................................................... 47

7.1.

Steel sheet pile walls.......................................................................................................... 50

7.2.

Secant pile walls ................................................................................................................. 54

7.2.1.
7.3.
8.

Calculation of the reinforcement ................................................................................... 55


Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 57

Ground anchors ..................................................................................................................... 58

8.1.

Anchors for the steel sheet pile walls ................................................................................ 63

8.2.

Secant pile walls ................................................................................................................. 64

8.3.

Installation of the ground anchors .................................................................................... 65

9.

Calculation of the foundations .............................................................................................. 68

9.1.

Calculation of the reinforcement of the footings .............................................................. 72

10.

Calculation of the bottom concrete plate ......................................................................... 73

11.

Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 78

Bibliography .................................................................................................................................. 79

2|Page

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

1.

2011

Introduction

The aim of this project is to construct the parking basement of a hotel in Aarhus, placed in an
urban area, in the heart of the city.

The parking basement will be provided for the Scandic Arhus City, which will be finished in
2012. To make way for the new hotel the city demolished some of the old buildings.
First of all a geological description of the building sites ground has to be made in order to have
a guess of what kind of soil can be expected in the area of the excavation. It will also give any
special precaution that has to be taken regarding the pollution or the ground water for
example. The second step is to do a geotechnical description. Basically this will precise the
geological description and show what the soil is composed of, its strength, plasticity
The risk assessment is written in order to list each and every danger that can appear while
erecting the building.

3|Page

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

Then the excavation of the soil will be studied. First the existing buildings have to be
demolished in order to make place for the new hotel. The demolition method will be explained
in that part. Finally the excavation part will include the excavation process with the machinery,
the phase plan of the excavation in two levels, the dewatering and the dangers that can appear
all along the duration of the excavation work.
The next topic will be about retaining walls. Indeed the different types of retaining walls will be
compared and the best solution(s) will be chosen to insure that the ground is retained and the
excavation pit is dry. The design of the chosen solution(s) will be studied. For example the
reinforcement of the secant pile wall will be calculated and the sheet piles will be chosen
regarding the possible and available dimensions, the calculation of the anchors, the anchors
capacity, the soil conditions The reinforcement of the secant pile wall will be studied and the
steel section in the piles will be determined. Finally the lengths of the anchors in sheet piles and
secant piles walls will be calculated and the installation of the anchors will be explained.
After that comes a reinforced concrete calculation. The footings of the foundations will be
defined by using the loads from the upper levels of the building. The bottom concrete plate of
the parking basement at the level - 2 will be designed as well according to the imposed load
from the parking lot and the swelling pressing the other way from the bottom of the concrete
plate.

4|Page

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2.

2011

Geological description

-by SophieBefore starting the excavation work, a geological description has to be made in order to get a
first overview of what the ground is made of. Once the different layers, thicknesses and
strengths that can be expected are known, then a first choice of retaining walls can be made.
Different maps showing the Danish underground and two books about the geology in Denmark
and the underground in the area of Arhus were used to make this geological description. Step
by step the different information are found starting with the general ones and ending with the
specific ones.

2.1.

Book: Engineering geology in Denmark

The chapter 9 of the "Engineering geology in Denmark" book is used to find the type of soil that
can be generally expected in the area of the building site. However this chapter only gives
global information and the investigation needs to be pushed further to have specific datas
about the building site.
The shape of the level curves in this area are used to determine the type of landscape without
taking in account the changes brought by the human being.

5|Page

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

For example the "valley" in the lower left corner is not taken into account in the determination
of the landscape because it has been built for the railway of the train.
The contour lines are irregular and the surface is undulating. This shows a moraine landscape.
This type of landscape, formed by melting of ice, is the most common in Denmark. It consists of
material that has melted free of the glaciers and has been released from the ice. In this
situation, moraine clay can be expected in the upper bed.
The contour lines are also closely spaced and the curves are closed corresponding to high
situated hills in the landscape. This shows that there was an ice marginal hill in this area. It's
been formed in front of a gradually advancing glacier where ice acted like a bulldozer on the
soil. The beds are disturbed that's why it is difficult to predict the nature of the soil.
To conclude, the information given by this chapter gives a moraine landscape. Moraine clay is
expected in the upper bed. The beds are also expected disturbed meaning that several
materials can be expected in the same layer.

2.2.

Per Smed maps

This map (Per Smed map number 2) shows the general type of soil that is usually found in the
area of Arhus in the period which goes from 1978 to 1982. This map will confirm the type of soil
found with the chapter 9 and specify it for the location of the building site.
It gives a good overview of the quaternary geological features in the landscape and shows the
relationship between the large valley systems and other landscape forms. It has to be taken
into account that this map only shows an interpretation of the landscape-forming processes.
That's why this map can be used to determinate the type of soil that can generally be expected
but without being specific about what layers will be found.

6|Page

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

The map is taken for the area of Arhus and a zoom is made on the location of the building site.
A thin red grid is found at that place. According to the legend, "moraine landscapes from
Weichsel glaciation, mainly with clayey soil" is expected at the building site.

7|Page

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

It does confirm the type of landscape found previously in the chapter 9. The building site is a
part of a moraine landscape with clayey soil and it comes from a glaciation period, meaning
that meltwater materials can be found in the ground.

2.3.

Contour lines map

This map shows the contour line of the area nowadays. Associated with theorthophoto map of
the city, it gives the level of the ground surface exactly at the point of the building site.

2.4.

Pre quaternary surface map

The Pre quaternary surface topography of Denmark map is the result of the landscape-forming
geological processes throughout the Tertiary and up to the present day. The contour lines are
the present topographical contour lines. Basically this map shows the ground surface level that
can be studied for the geological description.

8|Page

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

According to the pre quaternary surface map the colour found in the area of the building site
light green. The legend says that the corresponding level is between -25 and 0 m below the
sea level.

2.5.

Book: Underground studies in Arhus area

This book gives a lot of information concerning the background, the groundwater and the type
of soil that can be found in the area of Arhus. Several typical soil profiles in this area had been
compared to finally draw the soil profile that we can expect for the building site.
Unfortunately the whole book and maps are in Danish so this only page below had been
studied.

9|Page

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

The picture above shows the different soil profiles that had been compared and themselves
compared with the rest of the information that have been gathered. That means that only the
type of soil that agree with the other information have been taken into account to draw the
hypothetic soil profile of the building site. The result is shown in point:8. Drawing.

2.6.

GEUS map

The geological surface map from GEUS shows the dominant soils in 1m depth just below the
top soil. The technical boreholes will help to find the ground water level at the building site.

10 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

As no technical boreholes had been found at the same place of the


building site two boreholes have been studied to determine the
ground water level.
The first borehole (the one shown as an example above) gave a
ground water level at + 5.4 and the second one (where is the star
above the building site) gave it at + 11.2. A calculation has been made
in order to interpolate the ground water level at the building site
itself. This gave the ground water at the level approximately+ 9m
above the sea level.

2.7.

Danish area information

This web site displaysa lot of information about the environmental and planning datas in
specified locations. It shows also background maps, terrain conditions and contour line maps.
Basically this web site will help to find out if there are special care that has to be taken
regarding to the building site.

Activation / deactivation of
the different layers

Building site

11 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

First, the area of the building site is found so the scale is good enough and the informationis
clearly seen. Then every layer is checked in order to see what environmental and planning
parameter have to be taken into account while building the hotel.
The building site takes place at the parcel 333a. Just across the street there is a monument
protection line but not close enough to be relevant for the building site itself. There are no
particular preservation for the nature
because the hotel is situated in an urban
area. The area has limited water interests
meaning that there are no specific
problems with the groundwater. This
picture shows the areas where the soil is
contaminated around the building site.
The soil shouldn't be especially
contaminated at the building site area
but thatinformation should still be kept in
mind.
Finally the web site offers the opportunity to have a look at historical maps showing the
neighborhood from 1842 to 2008. All those maps show the same building at the exact same
place of the building site. This means that there was no former construction at that place. There
is no "construction material" below the existing building.
To conclude, except regarding the soil contamination, there is no specific preservation that has
to be taken care off at the building site.

12 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2.8.

2011

Drawing

13 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

3.

2011

Geotechnical description

-by MartaIn this projectit is very important to have the geotechnical description ofthe building site, which
summarizes and evaluates all results obtained during investigation in the siteand in the
laboratories.In order to calculate the retaining walls, anchors and also the bottom plate some
parameters will be needed. For thisit were given all theall boring logs, laboratory test results
from the different drillings. With theseboringsit is be possible to draw the cross sections of the
soil, and to determine the strength and deformation properties of the soil in the specific area.
The borings are divided in two phases. The first phase includes 7 borings which performed
before the demolition of the existing buildings. The second phase includes 3 borings which
worked only after demolishing the existing buildings.
The report covers the results of the second investigation phase above construction: 3
geotechnical boreholes.

Figure 1 Place of the drillings

14 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

3.1.

2011

Informationonexistingbuildings

While the future hotel will be located in an urban area, in the heart of Aarhus, it is really
important to have an overview on the surrounding buildings. For the new building there were
performed some surveys of the existing conditions of the area where it will be placed: in
stergade, between Hans HartvigSeedorffs StreetandSndergade. It is expected that the new
hotel will be built with a large car park below the hotel. The purpose of these studies is to give
historical data to such an extent that the existing building conditions around the proposed
building can be assessed, including age of the buildings, basement, the possible type of the
foundation, and the depth of the foundation.
The building has its border on the north up to stergade, on the west up to Hans Hartvig
Seedorffs Street, and to the east it borders up to the buildings on Sndergade.
The new buildings area is surrounded by other buildings, and roads, located next to the area
which will be excavated, possibly causing danger to these roads and buildings as a result of the
excavation and/or dewatering.
Many of the buildings in the surrounding are old, and they dont have a good ground in
accordance to the applicable rules and standards.
Because of the basement and car park below the new hotel, the excavation has to be done
below or on a level with the existing building foundation level.
The expected water level is about 3-4 meters from the ground. So it will be probably necessary
to perform a temporary dewatering for the excavation. Dewatering should then be arranged so
that the water table is lowered at least 0.5 meters below the excavation level.There will
probably be a dug in clay or moraine clay, in which case the dewatering of the excavation
possibly will be done by simple drainage.

3.2.

Soil conditions

The studies in the second phase include drilling no. 3 and no. 10 to 25 m below ground and
drilling no. 8 to 11 m below ground. In the 3 new wells from ground level between 1.3 and 1.8
m has been taken fill and between 4.2 up to approximately 11 m glacial deposits - mainly in the
form of moraine clay. Glacial deposits are found underneathof very fat tertiary clay from 4 to 11
meters depth (from 1.9 to 6.1 in elevation), with glacial sediments; however, this is not present
in drilling no. 8.In both bore no. 3 and 10, the upper zone of the Tertiary clay moved from its

15 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

deposition siteduring the last ice age and now covers the static tertiary clay either as loose
flakes orpossibly as folded structures.
The static Tertiary succession is: at the top Viborg clay (upper Septarie clay),then Kysing marl
(upper Svind marl) and at the bottom Moesgrd clay (lower Septarie clay).
1. Fill layer
From the terrain is generally taken a coating and underlying base course.
2. Glacial deposits
Glacial deposits consist predominantly of clay, as in boring 10 it can be observed
alternationofrelatively thin flakes with very fat Septarie clay or micaand in boring 8 it can be
observed alternationwith relatively thin layers of glacial sand and silt.
Clay is mostly pretty cool, sporadic fat. Moreover, locally it was found embedded layer of very
fat local moraine of Septarie clay.
The strength of the clay increases with depth. As in most of the previous wells were right soft
clay deposits (cv<80 kN/m2) - right fixed (cv<150 kN/m2) to between 2 and 5meters depth below
ground. Including increasing the strength of cv>170 kN/m2. The bore no. 8 is thebottom layer
even extremely solid with wing forces cv>700 kN/m2.
3. The Tertiary clay deposits
The static Tertiary deposits, which are only taken in hole 3 and 10, consists of top Viborg clay
(Septarie clay), then 0.9 to 2.2 m Kysing marl (Svind marl) and at the bottomMoesgrd clay
(Septarie clay), which is not penetrated 25 m below the ground, but having Svind marl in
slightly greater depth.
The new wells give rise to only minor adjustments to the chart below from the report of the
first phase.
Updated overview of vane tests and classification properties of Tertiary clay

Soil type
Flake of Tertiary clay
Mica

Wing strength
cv [kN/m2]

Watercontent
w [%]

Unitweight
[kN/m3]

170 - 450
>700

27 - 34
18

18.5 19.6

16 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus


Viborgclay
Kysingmarl
Moesgrdclay

3.2.1.

180 - 690
350 - >700
210 - >700

28 - 37
27 - 38
31 - 38

2011

18.0 19.2
19.0 19.5
18.5 - 20

Groundwater conditions

The depth to groundwater level is measured immediately after completion of the drilling. In
boring 8 the height of the water table was 10.1 meter, which corresponds 3.0 meters below
ground level. The drilling no. 10 was dry. In the boring no. 3 the water surface elevation was
measured 8.8 meter which is equivalentto 1.5 meters below ground.
In the project it will be considered a normal water table for the uplift calculations, which is
located in elevation 8.5 m along stergade and on the southerly direction in elevation approx.
9.5 m.

3.2.2.

Plasticity

1. Viborg clay
Updated overview of plasticity forViborg clay

Drilling

Test

Ip[%]

32766/1

23

51

32766/2

21

77

31

70

32766/4

25

50

32766/4

26

61

32766/5

33

61

32766/6

19

55

32766/6

20

61

32766/7

31

51

32766/7

35

67

10

22

53

17 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus


10

32

69

COWI/B1

22

70

COWI/B1

30

74

2011

Plasticity index is in the middle: 62%, i.e. significantly lower than for the lower Septarie
clay,Moesgrd clay.
2. Kysing marl (upper Svind marl)
Plasticity forKysing clay

Drilling

Test

Ip[%]

33

28

31

88

33

43

Plasticity index is in the middle: 53 %


3. Moesgrd clay (lower Septarie clay)
Updated overview of plasticity in Moesgrd clay

Drilling

Test

Ip[%]

32766/1

49

79

32766/2

42

84

49

73

32766/4

49

71

COWI/B1

38

131

COWI/B1

46

110

Plasticity index is in the middle 91%, i.e. significantly higher than the upper Septarie clay,Viborg
clay.

18 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

3.2.3.

2011

Soil profiles
One useful method compiling subsurface
data is to draw the vertical cross-sections
across the site. These sections are most
easily developed when they intersect the
borings.
In the geotechnical report it was given all
the boring logs which were performed on
the site. By using these logs, and also by
adding some interpretation, when the
conditions between these borings were
not given, the soil profiles could be made.
Because of the lack of information
between the borings, the soil profiles are
not the exact mirror of the reality, and
because of the interpretation these soil
profiles are unique.

Figure 2 Example of a boring log

The method which was used drawing these profiles:


1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Determining the depth of the different drillings.


Drawing each boring in his exact place.
Drawing the different layers of the soil on each boring.
Connecting the same layers from one boring to another (where it is obvious).
Drawing the layers between two consecutive boring (estimation).

For this project two soil cross-sections were made: one where the borings no. 3, 6 and 10 were
performed and the other one where the borings no. 1, 4, 7 and 8 were performed.(See
Appendix no.2)

19 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

3.2.4.

2011

Strength, deformation parameters and unit weights

For the later calculations it was important to determine some important parameters:undrained
shear strength, friction angle, effective cohesion, saturated unit weight, dry unit weight.
Some of these parameters could be determinedusing the boring logs: wing strength or shear
strength measured by vane test (cv), water content (w), and also the unit weight ().
To determine the wing strength in the different layers of the soils it was calculated the
arithmetic mean (average) of the wing strengths for each layer in each boring. Where the
difference was very big between twoconsecutive values, (like from cv=100 it changed to cv=370
and then again to cv=70) the very different value was disregarded. In some layers the values
differed quite much, thanks to the increase of the strength by the depth, because of this, the
layers were divided in an upper and a lower level (like the Viborg- and the moraine clay). First
the averages of the soil types were determined for each drilling, then for each soil profile, and
in the end the wing strengths were determined for the soil in the construction area.
To have a better security, in most of the cases for the wing strength it was taken a value lower
than the average, but never higher.(See Appendix no.2)
The undrained shear strength (cu) (or triaxial certain values of pressure) is determined using the
vane tests where
, unless if it is cracked clay or gyttja.
Another parameter which is important to be determined is the unit weight. For the future
calculations two types of unit weight will be needed: the saturated unit weight (m), which is a
parameter characteristic for the layers situated under the water level, and the dry unit weight
(d), which is used for the layers situated above the water level.
From the Danish Technical Handbook (TekniskStbi) the different parameters for the typical
Danish natural soil deposits could be read, like the saturated unit weight (m), friction angle
(pl), effective cohesion (c).

20 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

Figure 3 Classification-, strength- and deformation parameters for typical Danish natural soil deposits (from
TekniskStabi)

The effective cohesion (c) is a mathematical factor to represent the use of breaking the
condition of the form=c+*tan (Coulombs failure condition). Normally, one can assess
(<20 kPa) loaded
unloaded.
For some of the layers, like flakes, Viborg clay, Kysing marl and Moesgrd clay, the effective
cohesion and the friction angle wasnt given in tables, so estimation was done. It was
considered to make calculations on the safe side so c was taken 0
unloaded), and the
friction angle was low estimated.
The dry unit weight (d) will be calculated using the following method(See Appendix no.2):
1. Determination of the grain unit weight from the following equation:

is the saturated unit weight;


is the grain unit weight;
e, is the unit weight of the water;
e = 0.3(e.g. dense, well graded granular soil)-1.5(e.g. soft clay), is the void ratio.

2. Calculation of the dry unit weight (d)from the following equation:

21 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

In order to calculate the dry unit weight the value of the void ratio was needed. In the project
an estimation of the void ratio was made due to the lack of information.
After the calculations all the parameters which will be needed in the later calculations are
shown in the following table for all the layers which are present in the specific area.
Parameters for the different type of soils

[kN/m2]

[kN/m2]

pl
[]

[kN/m3]

[kN/m3]

16

13

Moraine clay (upper level)

120

15

30

20

17

Moraine clay (lower level)

360

16

32

22

Moraine sand

40

22

Meltwater clay

140

10

26

20

Meltwater sand

37

19

Meltwater silt

160

10

26

20

Viborg clay

280

28

19

Mica (Glimmer clay)

>702

25

19

Flakes (Glacial clay)

210

25

19

Kysing marl

380

25

18

Moesgrd clay

480

26

18

Soil type
Fill

3.3.

cu

Conclusion

To conclude, comparing the geotechnical description with the geological one, it can be stated
that the expected soil conditions and groundwater level was demonstrated by the results from
the drillings executed on the site.

22 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

4.

2011

Risk assessment

-by MartaThe piling works for the construction of the new hotel include performance-related factors,
which threaten to cause damage on the surrounding buildings. The risk assessment covers only
existing buildings and structures located outside the neighbouring boundaries.
The greatest risks are associated with dewatering and the excavation work. During the
excavation close to the existing buildings, it will be hard to avoid the emergence of cracks and
small gaps in them resulted by the deformations of dewatering. It is a must to be prepared of
this, and to repair the damages.
The project includes a building with double basement and plate foundation. The bottom plate
will be anchored with vertical anchors to avoid the heave. The lowest excavation level in
elevation is +4.2.
The retaining walls will consist of sheet pile walls and secant pile walls because there is
necessary to get close to the existing buildings i.e. along the adjacent boundary to the south
and along a ca. 22 m stretch of the southern part of neighbouring boundaries to the east.
Dewatering has to be placed so deeply that all the permeable layers to be are cut off.
To minimize the noise and vibrations at the steel sheet piles the sheet pile profiles must be
forced down by hydraulic pressure with Crush Arrows. If it is required the sheet piles should be
supplemented with hosing/drilling so that the sheet piles achieve the projected toe level. Predrilling will be done on the inside of the building pit and the eventual drilling during future
excavation levels will be done after injecting with cement stabilized bentonite.
The establishment of the secant pile walls will begin with building a guiding wall cast of
concrete so that the centre distance between each pile correspond to the desired overlap. The
secant pile walls are constructed with 80 cm diameter bore piles, which are provided with 8 cm
overlap.
Dewatering close to the buildings must be monitored for example by inclinometer
measurements.
Dewatering is anchored with drilled, temporary ground anchors. The anchors are placed in
different anchoring level and are installed at varying angles. The ground anchors are injected

23 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

again (normally 24 hour after the first injection). It wont be taken into account any sewer lines
or other wiring by placing the anchor levels.

Risk factors
The piling works for the planned structure contains the following potentially risky moments on
the neighbouring buildings:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Demolition of existing buildings


Reducing steel sheet pile walls
Drilling down and casting of secant pile walls
Establishment of ground anchors for dewatering (drilling, injecting and holding it)
Temporary ground water lowering
Excavation
Establishment of ground anchors for bottom plate

Demolition of existing buildings


The risks associated with the demolition work have not been assessed.
Reducing steel sheet piles
It is reported that the steel sheet piles are forced down by hydraulic pressure, with Crush
Arrows. If it will be managed to reduce the steel sheet piles only by hydraulic pressure it will be
possible to meet even the most stringent vibration limitscompared to neighbouring buildings.
It will be a necessary extent to do hosing and/or drilling. Both of them potentially involve
substantial risks for neighbouring buildings and structures. The drilling will be performed only
inside of the sheet piles. The drilling occurs during sheet pile tip and liner and the liner is also
not close, so the effect of possible erosion damage, distortion from clamping, etc. must be
considered carefully.A risk of hosing and drilling thus requires a detailed description of
methodology and application, with reference to past assignments.
Drilling down and casting of secant pile walls
It would probably be impossible to keep even the most stringent vibration limits in relation to
neighbouring buildings. The greatest risk of vibration may occur if they hit bigger stones or
structural parts during drill work.

24 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

There must be developed for this work a description of the work explaining detailed
performance of the drilling works, more specifically, how to ensure to avoid the surrounding
soil erosion damage from the inflowing water to thoroughly bore baths during drilling and
casting.
Establishment of ground anchors for dewatering
There must be developed for this work a description of the work explaining installation
performance, particularly how to ensure to avoid the surrounding soil erosion damage. In
addition should be explained the risk phrases of the anchors free length which is not injected.
Finally, it is important the presentation of the documentation that the anchors do not hit
underground structures and equipment - including wiring systems.
Excavation
Excavation leads to deformations of dewatering and hence deformation (vertical as well as
horizontally) of land and buildings, etc. behind the walls.
There must therefore be performed calculations explaining deformations size.
Deformations should be compared with limit values which must be already established for each
neighbouring building. There must also be prepared a job description that outlines that in which
stages must be excavated, and in what tempos to be installed stabilizing anchors or other form
of bracing.
Finally, it is estimated that the most vulnerable buildings will be monitored with benchmarks so
that excavation work can be stopped if the assumed values against the expected thingsare
exceeded. Furthermore inclinometer measurements (slope measurements) will be performed
on selected walls so that the walls current buckling mode can be evaluated in relation to
expectations.
It is scarcely possible to avoid the nearest neighbouring buildings cosmetic damage. Even very
small deformations are in danger of causing damage that might not otherwise have been
obtained at a later date. The limit for how big movements buildings can withstand before any
significant damage to their static system is building-dependent. There must be approved and
controlled retail calculations of all dewatering and anchorages in all relevant fracture and
serviceability limit state.

25 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

Temporary ground water lowering


It is expected that it will probably be executed without risk to neighbouring buildings. In the
event of a finding substantial leaks - e.g. due to locking skip tests or other variations - the
situation can be reassessed.
Establishment of ground anchors for bottom plate
It is possible to install ground anchors for flat foundations without risk of significant nuisance
for neighbouring buildings.

26 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

5.

2011

Excavation of the soil

-by MartaDeep excavations are needed e. g. for foundations,underground traffic routes and other
infrastructurefacilities. The dimensions of theexcavation are determined by the drawings from
the architects.The design of the excavation depends on several factors: like thelocal situation,
the conditions of the ground and thegroundwater and other circumstances. In urban areasthe
excavations must be done due to the adjacentbuildings by underpinnings or by retaining walls.
Nowadays, the land prices are high, and only small areas are available, therefore the investors
plan more and more basements. To solve the traffic problems new lines areplanned
underneath the existing ones. So the depthof the excavations increases and reaches values, for
which no local experiences exist.
The bottom and the walls of the excavations mustguarantee - with a certain factor of safety the structuralclearance and a certain amount of water impermeabilityif necessary. The ground
movement,which is unavoidable especially in cases with softand loose soils, has to be restricted
to such an extent,that no greater damages occur in the neighbourhood.Here the first
movements occur by establishing thewalls and the sealing of the ground.

5.1.

Demolition

To make way for the new hotel,the


first thing which has to be done is
the demolition of the existing
buildings. For this the nonexplosive method will be used,
which means hydraulic excavators
will be brought to the construction
site to do the undermining process.
The demolition project manager
has to determine where the
undermining will be done. He also
has to take into account the safety
and clean-up considerations in order Figure 4The building site after the demolition
to determine how the building will be undermined and ultimately demolished.

27 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

Loaders or bulldozers may also be used to demolish the building. They are typically equipped
with "rakes" (thick pieces of steel that could be an I-beam or tube), so they will be used to ram
the building walls.
After the demolishing the construction site has to be cleaned, thanks to this the excavation it
can be made.

5.2.

Excavation of the soil

Before any excavation work is undertaken, a risk assessment must be carriedoutfirst to assess
the degree of hazard (See Chapter no.4).
To excavate the soil it is necessary to estimate the amount of soil which is going to be
removed.By analysing the drawings, two plans were done for this process. To find the better
solution, the following aspects were compared:

Volume of soil removed;


The excavators operating time;
Cost;
Aesthetics.

Volume of soil removed


Figure 5The chosen excavator: CAT 336D L

It depends on the excavated area and the depth of the


excavation. The geotechnical description says that the lowest excavation level is +4.2 meters,
which means that the height of the excavation will be 8.8 meters.
The excavators operating time

The chosen excavator which is going to work on the site is: CAT 336D L Hydraulic excavator
(Caterpillar), with a 2.55 m3 maximum bucket capacity. The cycle time is estimated to 0.50
minute. To calculate the effective cycles per hour the following are taken into account:
Cycle time

0.50 minute

Cycles/60 minute hour

60 / 0.50 = 120

Operator Skill/Efficiency

0.9 (90%)

Machine Availability

0.95 (95%)

Gen Operational Efficiency

0.83 (50 min/hr)

Effective Cycles per Hour

125 x 0.9 x 0.95 x 0.83 = 85

28 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

Therefore in an hour the amount of soil which it can be removed: 2.55* 85 = 216 m3/hour.
The cost of the rent of the excavator is estimated to 4000 DKK/day.

1st solution
In this solution the excavation will be done until the Hans Hartvig Seedorffs Street, which will
have anexcavated areaof 2958 m2. Therefore the volume of the excavated soil will be:

For this amount of soil the excavator has to work:

By 8 hours working per day the excavator has to be rented for 15 days, costing 60000 DKK.

29 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

2nd solution
With this solution the neo-classicist buildings faade on Hans Hartvig Seedorffs Street wont be
demolished, because it is very characteristic on that area. This will reduce the excavated area:
2724 m2, the volume of soil:

and the excavators operating time:

These 110 hours of work means 13.75 days, therefore the cost of the rent for this period of the
excavator will be estimated to 55000 DKK.
This solution needs more attention in the demolition because of the old faade, which will be
supported during these works.

30 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

Conclusion
Comparing the results of the first two aspects, it
can be noticed that there is not so big
difference, but still the second solution is more
likely, because it has less removed soil, and the
excavator will work 14 days instead of 15. The
cost also will be lower, but this doesnt really
count in a big construction like this.
The decisive aspect why the 2nd solution was
chosen was the aesthetics.

Figure 6The neo-classicist facade

5.2.1.

The excavation process

For the excavation it was made a phase plan which shows the activities done for each day. (See
Appendix no.4 and no.5)Because of the two levels under the ground, the excavation will be
done during two phases: the first oneincludes the excavation works until the second level and
the other one is for the second level. Excavating one level takes 7 day. The area which is going
to be excavated per each day is:

By making this drawing the aim was to divide

the area in equal pieces. Of course this couldnt be exact: the smallest excavated area for one
day being 375 m2 and in the other hand the largest one 409 m2.A ramp was made for each
phase from the Hans HartvigSeedorffs Street because of the access of the excavator. (See
Appendix no.3)
Regarding to the calculation of the ground
anchors (See Chapter no. 8) the following
drawing shows the number of anchors which
are going to be placed for each excavated area
for one level.
The numbers 1,2,3 7 show the order of the
excavated areas.
It is assumed that the drilling machine can drill
the hole for 5-6 anchors per day. This means
installing the anchors for one area can take
Figure 7 Excavated areas and number of anchors per level more days up to 7 days. Also it can be noticed

31 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

that in the area no.5 no anchors will be placed.


In some of the corners was not possible to place anchors therefore in those placed inner
bracing will be used. The anchors are put in the ground the day after the soil has been
excavated. The secant pile walls will be placed where the present soil type is clay. Thanks to this
reinjection will be done in 24 hours after the drilling and injection of the anchors. On some days
lots of activities are done in the same time. Installing anchors can be possible while excavating
another area. The anchors resistance is tested 7 days after their implementation. For this
reasons, at the end of the excavation work, the last days are taken to test the anchors put the
week before. Testing and reinjection doesnt take a lot of time, so this wasnt a factor which has
to be considered carefully while planning the excavation. This is also shown on the detail below
made for two consecutive days. (See Appendix no.5)

Figure 8 Detail of the phase plan

The table gives the information about the week, and the day when the specific activities will be
done. The number in brackets shows the activity number for each set of installed anchors. This
meansfor one set of anchorsthe number(32) will be the number for each type of activity done:
installing (5 anchors), reinjection (if there is a case) and testing. Thanks to this will be easier to
follow which works have to be done on the specific day.
As a result the whole excavation works including the installation of the anchors will take 64
working days, starting from Day 1 until Day 89 with 13 weeks duration.

32 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

5.3.

2011

Temporary dewatering

For the excavation it is necessary to perform a temporary dewatering. Dewatering should then
be arranged so that the water table is lowered at least 0.5 meters below the excavation level.
In principle there are four different methods for controlling groundwater in connection with a
building or construction project below the groundwater table:

Water is allowed to seep into the excavation and is removed by bilge pumping (possibly
with drain)
A temporary or permanent dewatering is established, whereby the groundwater table is
drawn down to below the construction/excavation level
The groundwater movement is cut off with tight walls, for example sheet pile walls, slot
walls, freezing, injection
The water pressure is withheld with air pressure, for instance in tunnels and caissons.

Figure 9 Selection method

There will probably be a dug in clay or moraine clay, in which case the dewatering of the
excavation will be done by simple drainage. This is the simplest and cheapest form of
groundwater drawdown which is pumping from a system of drains and pumping wells at the
bottom of the excavation.

33 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

Figure 10 Simple drainage

By simple drainage, the water is allowed to seep into the building pit and is subsequently
pumpedaway through a well point pump. The method is commonly applied by smaller/modest
wateramounts and when there is no risk of soil fractures.
The pump sump can be shaped as a 315 mm corrugated plastic well with slits, which is placed in
anexcavation filled with pearl stones and connected to the drain flow.
For a pump, an electrically powered, well point pump, sized as required (available with
capacitiesof up till approximately 100 m3/h) is chosen.
The method can be applied to excavation to moderate depth under the groundwater level in
freegroundwater depots, where the water-bearing beds consist of sand and gravel.
Furthermore, themethod can be applied to excavation below the groundwater level in for
example moraine clay,where water-bearing beds of sand and gravel are often found.

5.4.

Safety

During excavation works can be present the following hazards:

operator falling off from excavation machine


running over a pedestrian when travelling backing
destroy underground electrical cables
contact with overground electrical cables
collision with other vehicles
operation the machine by unauthorized person
machine upset
soil collapse

34 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

getting caught in the pinch points of the bucket arms or the pivot area of an articulated
machine
spilling a load on others
falling over an edge
a raised bucket falling.

In order to prevent accidents, all the persons present on the site have to respect the following
instructions:

To avoid falling off during climbing or descent from machine they have to wear safety
shoes and clean the stairs.
To avoid running over a pedestrian, they have to check before starting the machine if all
the back-up alarm is working, to use properly adjusted rear view mirrors, and when
lighting is poor, use both front and rear lights, take care for any distance. They should
never throw the engine into reverse without looking behind them.
No one, other than the operator, should ride the equipment. The bouncing and jarring
can cause passengers to be thrown off. The usual result is, the passenger is run over
Before starting excavation they have to ask a chart of underground cables. It is
forbidden to use the excavation machine near/ above the underground cables. In this
case excavation has to be done manually.
To avoid contact with overground electrical cables they have to respect the minimal
distance to the electrical cables (3 m)
To avoid collision with other vehicles have to be organised the internal transport on the
site.
To avoid operation of the machine by unauthorised person, the operator has to take out
the key before leaving the machine.
In order to prevent machine upset, the operator have to be familiar with the
instructions described in the machine manual, and have to respect all the limits
described on it.
During manual excavation the operators have to take care of soil collapse. To prevent
this all the walls on the dig have to be protected with supports, have to be inspected
daily and after raining. The excavated soil has to be stored at the minim 70 cm distance
from excavation site.
Articulated loaders have a very nasty pinch point at the pivot. Operators should always
check both sides of the machine before moving it, to make sure no one is in this
dangerous area.
In order to prevent spilling a load on others, if someone ventures into the danger zone
around where someone else is working, sounding a warning blast and stopping would

35 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

certainly be in order. All the peoples from the site have to be instructed to have
cautions if they are around, between, or under a raised bucket or its arms.
The cage is designed to protect the operator in the event of rollover. In order to provide
this protection, the operator must be inside the cage, using his seat belt.
Have the bucket lowered to the ground unless the work they plan to do requires that it
be raised. Install jacks or blocks under raised buckets or arms so they cannot fall on
them if something goes wrong.

36 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

6.

2011

Retaining walls

-by MartaThe building site is located in an urban area; therefore the excavation has to be approximately
the same size as the building, in order not to disturb the surrounding buildings. While the future
building will have in the basement a parking place, it has to be done a deep excavation. The
solution for supporting this deep excavation is to place retaining walls in the specific area.
In order to find the best solution for this project, which means to choose the type of the
retaining walls which will be used, it isuseful to have an overview on the different type of the
walls.
A retaining wall is a structure that retains (holds back) any material (usually earth) and prevents
it from sliding or eroding away. It is designed so that to resist the material pressure of the
material that it is holding back.
The retaining walls are used where it is not possible to
excavate in open pit due to:space, stability, and ground
water.The scopes of these walls are:
To restrict the deflection;
To restrict the bending moment and thus
weight ;
To restrict the height of wall (driving depth);
Preventive measures by inadequate driving
depth;
To ensure structures against uplift (by
anchorage).
Figure 11 Retaining wall cross section

Before choosing the type of the retaining walls some conditions should be taken into
consideration:
The substrata
The soil layers that occur on the site:

37 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

Moraine clay
Meltwater sand
Flakes (glacial clay)
Viborg clay
Kysing marl

Moesgrd clay

Tolerances
Risk of damage
Some damages can occur during the foundation works. Therefore it has to be prepared for
damages due to incorrect evaluation of the substrata and/or incorrect calculations, due to the
ground water-table or seeping in water, and damages caused by the excavation process.
Conditions pertaining to neighbours
The building is located in the centre of Aarhus, so it is important to take into account some
considerations like noise, dust vibrations, permanent- and temporary ground water-table
lowering in connection with the neighbouring buildings.

Noise: The noise coming from the building site is disturbing, for example from the
vehicles which transport the materials, from the installation of the pile walls, especially
in an urban area, where the buildings are really close to each other. Therefore the work
should be done by trying to use methods which do not generate a lot of noise.
Dust: It is impossible to avoid the dust from a building site, but it can be minimized. The
best solution for this to spray the area at regular intervals using a watering system that
can correspond to evaporation
Vibration: Another annoying factor which can cause damage to the existing buildings. To
avoid the unexpected subsidence in the existing buildings all surrounding constructions
foundations should be examined before the work is started.
Temporary ground water-table lowering: It can be a serious problem too, it has to be
done with attention, but in the project it is expected that it will probably be executed
without risk to neighbouring buildings

For more detailed explanation about the risks in connection with the retaining walls (See
Chapter no. 4)

38 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

In order to choose the best solution for the future building it should be listed the advantages
and disadvantages of the different type of walls.
There are several types of retaining walls, from these some of them cant be chosen because
they dont fulfil from the start some considerations: for example the gravity- and the cantilever
are used for lower constructions.

There are 4 types of walls which will be discussed more detailed:

6.1.

Sheet pile walls

-by MartaSheet piling is used on a large scale for retaining walls in excavation pits. Sheet piling can be
supplemented with up to several anchor levels in order to stabilize and fix a sheet pile wall in
large deep excavations. Sheet pile walls are constructed by driving prefabricated sections into
the ground. Soil conditions may allow for the sections to be vibrated into ground instead of it
being hammer driven. The full wall is formed by connecting the joints of adjacent sheet pile
sections in sequential installation. Sheet pile walls provide structural resistance by utilizing the
full section. Steel sheet piles are most commonly used in deep excavations, although reinforced
concrete sheet piles have also being used successfully.
The materials which can be used for sheet piling is primarily wood, concrete and steel.

6.1.1.

Timber sheet pile walls

This type of piling should be restricted to short to moderate wallheights (less than 3 meters)
and used only for temporary structures. The most common types oftimber sheet piles are
wooden planks and Wakefield piles. Wakefield piles are constructed bynailing three planks

39 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

together in an offset manner. Wooded pile walls may be consideredpermanent if the wall is
permanent submerged underwater or if treated with preservatives.
Advantages:

Low cost;
Readily available;
Good aesthetics;
Easy of handling.

Disadvantages:

Difficult to install into dense or gravelly

soils;

Limited to short duration retaining walls


at construction sites;

Limited height of structures;

Decay of structures may be hidden.

6.1.2.

Concrete sheet pile walls

Concrete piles are typically made with steel reinforcing and prestressing tendons to obtain the
tensile strength required, to survive handling and driving, and to provide sufficient bending
resistance.Long piles can be difficult to handle and transport. Pile joints can be used to join two
or more short piles to form one long pile. Pile joints can be used with both precast and
prestressed concrete piles.
Advantages:

Rigid and incur larger earth pressure and


greater bending stresses than a flexible
wall;
Longer service life than other walls;
Good aesthetics;
Advantageous in marine environments;
Capable of supporting significant axial
loads.

40 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

Disadvantages:

Heavily and bulky and require larger equipment to deliver, handle and drive;
Higher material cost;
Large displacement piles and consideration must be given to adjacent structures;
May cause settlement in soft soils;

6.1.3.

Steel sheet pile walls

Steel is the preferred sheet pile material and represents over 95% of all sheet pile
constructions. The steel sheet pile is used both as a temporary and as a permanent
construction.

Advantages:

Provides high resistance;


Relatively light weight and easy to handle;
Can be used repeatedly;
Long service life;

41 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

Less expensive;
Eliminate or reduce water;
Easy to increase pile length by welding or bolting.

Disadvantages:

Corrosion of steel sheet pile;


Not aesthetically pleasing in high profile situation;
Not good in hard soils;
Driving may cause neighborhood disturbance (noise, vibration);
Less tight;
Problems with the interlocks: they can break.

6.1.4.

Berlin wall

-by SophieA Berlin wall, also called a soldier pile wall, is a temporary (in case of timber panels) or a
permanent (in case of concrete panels) retaining wall mostly used in case of urban area
constructions. It's one of the oldest methods known for establishing retaining walls in
connection with deep excavations. The Berlin wall, called in Denmark Copenhagener wall, is the
front runner for sheet
pile wall. The method
of implementation of
that type of walls is still
very
used
today,
simple and durable.
This method is used for
large excavation which
is made along an
existing construction.
The
method
of
implementation is very
simple. First HEB-steel
profiles are driven or
vibrated
into
the
ground. The distance

42 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

between them is going from 0.5 to 2m. To link the steel profile several materials can be used:
wooden panels, HEB steel profiles, fiber concrete or finally but very rarely, sheet pile profiles.
The panels are pressed down in stage between the HEB-steel profiles as the excavation goes
down. Generally, this type of wall can only support small soil pressures.
Advantages:

This method is for large excavation;


Berlin wall is often used along an existing building;
It's very convenient to urban areas;
The implementation is simple.

Disadvantages:

The Berlin wall is only used for small depth;


This method can't be used in case of a high water-table level.
It mostly used for temporary structures.

6.1.5.

Diaphragm wall

-by SophieDiaphragm wall, also called slurry wall in United States, is a continuous retaining wall formed
and cast in a trench. The terms
"diaphragm" and "slurry wall'
come from the final step of the
implementation. The slurry is
replaced by concrete which acts
like structural system for
temporary retaining wall or as a
part of a permanent structure.
Diaphragm walls are mainly used
for deep excavations basements /
parking and tunnels. They can
also be used as the future
foundations of the construction
above.

43 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

The method of implementation is suitable for urban areas because it doesn't generate a lot of
noise or vibration compared to sheep pile driving. First a guide-wall made from in-situ cast
concrete, concrete elements, guide rail constructions will be placed on the ground to make sure
that the future will be straight. Then panels will be driven and filled in with bentonite so the
drilling will stay opened and not collapsed. After that, the traditionally bounded reinforcement
is placed in the drilling. Finally the concrete is poured in the drilling as the bentonite is forced
out of the trenches. This fluid will be after cleaned and reused.
Advantages:

This method allows retaining walls of great depth (up to 100m);


It can be used in case of high water-table level;
Excavations can be made in difficult conditions of the soil;
The implementation can be made very close to existing construction;
The retaining wall can be a part of the final foundation of the construction.

Disadvantages:

There is a risk of variation in the thickness of the wall;


The implementation takes quite a long time;
This method is very expensive;
The construction of this type of wall requires the use of heavy construction
equipment;
It also takes a lot of space on the construction site and above it;
The excavated soil has to be moved somewhere else.

6.1.6.

Secant pile walls

-by MartaSecant pile walls are formed by constructing interlocked concrete piles reinforced with either
steel rebar or steel beams. Used extensively in dense population areas due to the minimal
disturbance they cause to adjacent structures, secant walls are a form of top down construction
used for environmental remediation and soil retention.

44 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

Figure 12 Scheme of principles

Primary piles are installed first with secondary piles constructed in between primary piles once
the latter gain sufficient strength. Pile overlap is typically in the order of 8 centimetres.
Advantages:

Can be used close to existing buildings (no noise and vibration);


Increased construction alignment flexibility;
Increased wall stiffness compared to sheet piles;
Can be installed in difficult ground (cobbles/boulders);
Can be used as a permanent construction;
Good a load bearing construction;
Can be used in very deep excavation (more 8m);
Gentle installation method (drilling).

Disadvantages:

Increased cost compared to sheet pile walls;


Takes a long time to install;
Using a lot of materials (steel and concrete);
Verticality tolerances may be hard to achieve for deep piles;
Total waterproofing is very difficult to obtain in joints.

45 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

6.2.

2011

Conclusion

-by MartaComparing the mentioned retaining walls the timber- and concrete sheet pile walls could be
disregarded as an option quite easily. That is because the timber sheet pile walls were not an
option considering the height of the construction and the concrete pile walls are too heavy and
too expensive.
The implementation of the diaphragm walls takes quite a long timeand also it is very expensive,
so in this way this type of wall was also not a good option.
The main reason why the berlin wall was not chosen is that it is not completely waterproof.
The steel sheet pile walls have also some disadvantages, but comparing with the other type of
walls they are still the best solution which could be used for this construction.
The secant pile walls were chosen from the start because there was a need to get close to the
existing buildings in one part of the building; therefore it was really important to choose a type
of wall which it can be implemented without noise and vibration.
The table below shows summarizes the advantages and disadvantages for the chosen wall
types:

Resistance
Stiffness of wall
Duration of installation
Installation in hard soils
Gentleness in installation method
Lifetime
Weight
Cost

Steel sheet pile wall

Secant pile wall

+
+
+
+
+

+
+
+
+
+
-

46 | P a g e

2011
The design of the retaining walls
Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

7.
-by Marta-

The design of pile retaining walls requires several successive operations: evaluation of the
forces and lateral pressures that act on the wall, determination of therequired depth of piling
penetration, computation of the maximum bending momentsin the piling, computation of the
stresses in the wall and selection of the appropriatepiling section and the design of the walling
and anchorage system.
Before these operationscould be initiated some preliminary information must be obtained.
These include the elevation of the topof the wall, the elevation of the ground surface in front of
the wall, the maximum water level. It
was essential that a subsurface
investigation has beenperformed with
exploratory borings and laboratory
tests of representative samples. Onthis
basis, a soil profile could be drawn and
the engineering properties of the
different soilstrata could be accurately
determined. These properties should
reflect the field conditionsunder which
the wall is expected to operate. Only
after these preliminary steps could the
final design have done.
Now, by having all these necessary
information the calculation of the
retaining walls it can be made.

Figure 13The place of the different type of retaining walls

The picture shows where the sheetand secant pile walls placed. The blue
line indicates the place of the steel
sheet pile walls, and the red onethe
place of the secant pile walls.

47 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

The dimensioning of the walls was examined in ultimate limit state. This limit state ensures
sufficient safety against failure, and as a basis of the calculation it uses the plasticity theory /
failure theory (Coulombs failure condition):=c+*tan .
To satisfy the ultimate limit state, the structure must not collapse when subjected to the peak
design load for which it was designed. A structure is deemed to satisfy the ultimate limit state
criteria if all factored bending, shear and tensile or compressive stresses are below the factored
resistance calculated for the section under consideration.
The soil parameters taken from the geotechnical description are characteristic values; therefore
it is important to define the partial coefficients for these parameters and to determine the
design value of them.
The Danish National Annex (EN 1997-1 DK NA:2008) set up the following values for the
different parameters:

Figure 14 Partial coefficients for soil parameters (m)

The Danish National Annex it also says that depending on the structure whether it is a
permanent or a temporary one partial coefficients shall be used with values taken as (M)
where is a number for which the following applies: 0 < <1. While this is a permanent
construction the value for will be equal to 1.0.
Because of the lack of the information about the characteristic load on the surface an
assumption was made and it was setto 20 kN/m2. For the design load the partial coefficient is:
1.5.
The short term stateuses the parameters cu and , which are referred to as the undrained
(total) strength parameters. The clay is considered smooth, which means that its friction angle
was considered to be equal to 0.

48 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

The long term stateuses the parameters cand , which are referred to as the drained
(effective) strength parameters. The clay now its rough, so in the calculations the effective
friction angle was going to be used.
The sand both in short and long term state is treated as a rough soil layer.
To calculate the sheet and the secant pile walls it was used Brinch Hansens general theory
about lateral soil pressure, which forms the basis for the calculation of traditional sheet piling in
Denmark. The fundamental principle of Brinch Hansens theory is that the lateral soil pressure
on a given wall is dependent on the walls direction of movement and the location of the point
around which the wall rotates.
It is important to mention here that because of the lack of information about how to calculate
the water pressure caused by the difference in water-tables between the back and the front
sides of the wall, it was considered that the water level on both side of the wall is in the same
level.
It was important to choose the most economical solution; therefore more methods were used
in the calculations.
Through dimensioning, the walls total height is determined, as well the pull force in the
anchorand the maximal moment in the wall.
Because of the depth of penetration, the anchor force and the maximal moment are different
for thecalculation methods; it means that there will be different price levels for the different
walls. It ispossible, through a comparison of the calculations, to choose the most economic wall
ifconsideration must not be taken to a specific depth of penetration, a given anchorage or a
specificprofile.
Brinch Hansen has shown that a retaining wall that is correctly dimensioned under thecondition
of a specific fracture mode will not be able to fail in any other way.
With the calculations it was determined the following:

Toe level
Lengthof wall
Maximum bendingmoment
Horizontalanchorload

49 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

There were performed both hand and computer calculation in order to have more secure
results. For this it was used the Danish software SPOOKS, which also uses the basis for the
calculation of sheet piling described by Brinch Hansen.

7.1.

Steel sheet pile walls

-by MartaThe steel shite pile walls will be placed in the whole contour line of the excavation, except the
line along the adjacent boundary to the south and along a ca. 22 m stretch of the southern part
of neighbouring boundaries to the east.

Figure 15The different type of layers and their parameters used for the calculations

In order to find the best and cheapest solution the calculation was done by using 4 methods.
According to BrinchHansens soil pressure theory, one can choose different fracture methods,
which have an influence on thesheet piles final hammering depth and dimensions.

50 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

The retaining walls are penetrated in clay so both the short term state (STS) and long term state
(LTS) was checked.
The steel sheet pile walls were designed
with:
1. One anchor with
a. 0 yield hinge
b. 1 yield hinge
c. 2 yield hinges
2. Two anchors

Figure 16 Anchored wall with 0, 1 and 2 yield hinges

After all the calculations (See Appendix no.6) the results are shown in the following tables:

The results by using 1 anchor with 0, 1 or 2 yield hinges:


UNDRAINED
CONDITION

Toe level
Length (m)
Mmax (kNm/m)
A (kN/m)

DRAINED
CONDITION
Toe level
Length (m)
Mmax (kNm/m)
A (kN/m)

0 yield hinge

1 yield hinge

2 yield hinges

+3.28
9.72
-8.25
547.52

+3.21
9.79
-92.66
558.26

+3.05
9.95
2.77
543.49

0 yield hinge

1 yield hinge

2 yield hinges

+2.49
10.51
16.52
176.81

+3.09
9.91
56.55
120.50

+1.15
11.85
59.00
126.26

51 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

The results by using 2 anchors:

Toe level
Length (m)
Mmax (kNm/m)
A1 (kN/m)
A2 (kN/m)

UNDRAINED
CONDITION

DRAINED
CONDITION

+3.5
9.5
78.40
46.72
93.72

+3.7
9.3
135.73
60.73
74.9

All these solutions are correct, but they will have big impact on the price of the wall.The
following can change the results:

The installation method of the sheet


Soil conditions
The possible dimensions of the available sheet
The anchor capacity
Is this the final excavation level or is it only a temporary excavation level
Steel prices in different qualities

Comparing the results from both short and long term it seems that the long term solution used
for all of the methods should be used to make the calculation of the sheet walls.
To find the best price, first the length of the wall was considered. If the wall is shorter the price
can be reduced importantly.By designing the sheet pile walls with one anchor the results show
that using one yield hinge gives the shortest wall: 10.11 meters.Introducing one more anchor
the height of the wall will be reduced to +9.3 meters.
After this, the horizontal anchor loads give the result that the wall with two anchors has smaller
or more or less the same anchor pull than the one with just only one anchor.
The last thing was to compare the maximum bending moments. The values indicates that the
difference between the bending moments is not that big, so the appropriatesteel qualitywhich
is going to be used can be the same for all of the methods.
As a final conclusion the cheapest method is the one with two anchors, thanks to its shorter
height and lower anchor pulls.

52 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

Now with these results, the steel quality has to be chosen. Because the bending moment in the
wall is quite small, the steel quality S 240 GPfrom the German HOESCH company was selected:

The value 240is the characteristic value of the yield strength: fyk= 240 MPa. The safety factor of
steel is equal to: f,steel =1.1. Therefore the design strength can be calculated as:

So:

MPa.

Now the steel quality is chosen, the next step is to find the most appropriate sheet type. For
this the necessary moment of resistance will be calculated with the following formula:

The last thing in the selection of the steel sheet pile walls is the shape of the walls, the profile.
The steel sheet piles are typically made of rolled steel U or Z profiles that have folded
lengthwise edges that lock together with the neighbouring profile and steer the profile whilst it
isbeing hammered down into the ground. For this construction the Z-shaped steel sheet pile is
going to be installed: they feature the joints located outside in the right and left when fit with
each other.

53 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

Figure 17Thechosen profile and its dimnesions

7.2.

Secant pile walls

-by SophieSecant pile walls will be placed on the line along the adjacent boundary to the south and along
a ca. 22 m stretch of the southern part of neighbouring boundaries to the east.

Figure 18The different type of layers and their parameters used for the calculations

54 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

The secant pile walls are placed mostly on clay which has a result that the calculation of them in
undrained condition wasnt working. Therefore these retaining walls were designed only in long
term state (LTS).
Two methods were used by designing these walls:
1. One anchor without yield hinge
2. Two anchors
Because the present layers are stiff it is not necessary to use any yield hinges.
After all the calculations (See Appendix no.7) the results are shown in the following table:
DRAINED
CONDITION

0 yield hinge

Toe level
Length (m)
Mmax (kNm/m)
A1 (kN/m)
A2 (kN/m)

+1.37
10.63
190.55
547.52
-

2 anchors

2 anchors

Solution 1

Solution 2

+3.0
9.0
342.80
510.6
48.2

+3.7
8.3
224.50
258.04
298.54

Comparing the results, first of all,they show that the shortest wall is given by the wall with two
anchors by the second solution. The maximum bending moment is the smallest in the wall
without yield hinge but the difference is not too big so the Solution 2 using 2 anchors is again
the winning method. Then it is noticed that the anchor pull (the summarized one) is almost the
same in each solution. The first solution of the secant pile wall with 2 anchors can be
disregarded easily because the Solution 2 in each aspect is the better solution. In the end, the
decisive aspect was the height of the wall, therefore the cheapest solution is considered to be
the Solution 2.

7.2.1.

Calculation of the reinforcement

For this construction site, one of two secant pile is reinforced. (See Figure 12) This means that
the reinforcement in the anchor has to be considered for one entire pile and two half of them.
Basically for the calculations two wall elements will be taken into account when determining
the reinforcement in the secant pile wall.

55 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

The secant pile wall takes the load coming from the earth pressure corresponding to the
calculation of the retaining wall. Each wall element acts like a vertical beam with its bottom end
fixed in the ground. The diaphragms formed by the two levels of parking are not considered in
the calculations because the wall has to stand the earth pressure before the implementation of
the rest of the building. Thats why the earth pressure has a triangular distribution and the
moment which is considered is quite big.
First the concrete strength, diameter of the pile and strength of steel are picked and those will
be verified with the calculations. In this case:
Concrete: C25/30
Fcd = 25 MPa
Steel: B550
Fyd = 458 MPa
Diameter of secant pile: d = 80 cm

Then, an assumption is made to start the calculations with z (which is the hight between the
centre of gravity of the reinforced part and the centre of gravity of the compression part.)

56 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

The formula written above gives the exact dimensions of the compressed area. The centre of
gravity of the compressed area has to be calculated to find the exact z. after the same
calculation are done again to shows that the theoretical result found before was approaching
and of course to find the exact section of steel that has to be put in the pile.

The steel cage is placed all around the wall element even if in
the end, it will be really relevant only in the tensed part.
Finally the diameter of 80 cm is sufficient. The steel section found is:
As= 30.1 cm2
The solution that has been decided is 10 steel bars with a diameter of 32 each placed all around
the wall element. (See sketch below)

7.3.

Conclusion

On the site will be installed two different types of retaining walls: in one hand steel sheet pile
walls and in the other hand secant pile walls. More methods were done in order to find the
most economical solution, and thiswas given in both cases by using two anchors. The steel
sheet pile walls will have a length of 9.3 meters and the secant pile walls will be with one meter
shorter: 8.3 meters. To show how these retaining walls will be placed on the site a drawing was
made. (See Appendix no.9)

57 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

8.

2011

Ground anchors

-by MartaA ground anchor is defined as a steel bar or multi-strand tendon grouted in a drilled hole
inclined at an angle below horizontal, whichis capable of transmitting an applied tensile load to
a load bearing stratum, for the specifiedduration of the structure in which it is required to
withstand the design load.
Considering the type of the anchor which will be installed to the walls, the inclined anchors will
bring the best solution. The other option was the horizontal ones, but because of the problems
which would have been appeared during the installation, this solution was disregarded.
The retaining walls were designed, so the values for the anchor pulls are known. The type of the
ground anchors was also chosen so the next step is to calculate them.
To calculate the anchors it means to find out their length. The length of the anchors is formed
by the external-, free-, and the fixed length.

External length
It is approximated to 1 meter.

Free length
This is that length of the tendon which transmits no
load to the surrounding strata.
Coulombs theory says that potential failure plane
behind the wall forms an angle with the
horizontal:

(See the picture).

Figure 19 Calculation of anchor length

58 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

In order to make the calculations the partial coefficients have to be considered. The Danish
National Annex says that these coefficients for the ground anchors (Piles and anchors) are not
relevant in Denmark:

Figure 20 Partial coefficients for soil parameters (m)

It is important to note: because the retaining walls will be installed as permanent construction,
together with them the ground anchors will be permanent too. Therefore the same rule will be
applied here too: the value for in (M) is set to 1.0.
Different layers of soil are faced when calculating the anchors for the steel sheet pile walls
which means it has to be taken into account that the layers have different friction angles. To
stay on the safe side, the lowest friction angle (30) was used in order to determine the free
length of the anchors.
As a normal procedure, the inclined anchors will have a 20 inclination; this of course can
change up to 2 because the drilling machines cannot be that precise.
To calculate the fixed length it can be used the figure shown above. From the triangle the
length of the c is known, which is the distance from the foot point of the wall to the anchor
point.
First, by dividing the triangle in two ones, the common leg of them could be expressed as:
)

))

59 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

The c can be calculated by summarizing the two adjacent legs of the triangles:
)

))

Then,bis determined from the first equation and it is substituted in the second one:
)

)
(

))

) will be expressed:

Finally, the length of a, which is the free length

)
(

))

This free length is not the total free length; therefore it will always be rounded up.

Fixed length
This is the length of anchorage over which the tensile load is transferred to the
surroundingground. It shall be constructed outside the zones of active soil.
To calculate the fixed length the following formula will be used:

is the strength between injection zone and the soil (R=A (anchor load) );
is the area of the fixed zone:
d: diameter of the bore hole, typical between 80 and 150 mm. For this construction
is set to 140 mm;
: length of the fixed zone;
: shear resistance pr. Area.

For the calculation of the shear resistance pr. Area there are two different situations, which
depend on where the fixed length of the anchor is situated: one situation would be when it is
located in clay and the other one when it is in sand.

60 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

In Denmark in those cases when the fixed anchor length is in a clayey layer for the shear
resistance pr. Area the following formula is used:

is material factor. For this construction the injected material will be concrete,
therefore m will be equal to 1;
: 0.3 < r < 0.5. In the calculation r is set to 0.4;
is the undrained shear strength.

Because the anchors will be reinjected, the shear resistance will be increased by 75% in this
case.
In the other hand, having the fixed anchor length in sand, the shear resistance can be calculated
with the following formula:

is a constant factor. The anchors are working in tension; therefore it will be equal to
0.2;
is the average effective overburden pressure adjacent to fixed length (taken at
midpoint).

An important step is to define in which layer the fixed length will be located. For this the
calculated free length might be helpful. To determine the location the following rule will be
applied:

is the level of the anchor.

After allthe fixed length is determined:

It should beverified if the whole fixed length is in the same type of soil or not. For this the lower
level of the fixed length has to be defined:
)

61 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

In the end the total length of the anchor will be:

In order to calculate the design ultimate resistance for the ground anchors the partial
coefficients have to be defined. These coefficients are set up in the Danish National Annex:

First, the correlation factor for the calculated resistance: Rber, which is not relevant in
Denmark:

Figure 21 Correlation factors to derive characteristic values from ground test results (n the number of profiles
of tests)

The note below the table says:


These design rules shall be such that the ultimate resistance using the characteristic value Rc;k
does not exceed the measured ultimate resistance divided by =1,5, therefore for the
characteristic ultimate resistance the following formula will be applied:

Because the injected soil anchors are considered as bored piles, the partial coefficient
for them will be defined as:

Figure 22 Partial resistance coefficients (R ) for bored piles

62 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

As a conclusion, the design ultimate resistance of the ground anchors can be calculated
applying the following formula:

Where:

8.1.

Anchors for the steel sheet pile walls

Anchors are placed in everyoutgoing sheet pilecurve, which gives1.15 meters distance between
them. Both upper and lower anchors were designed in this way. (See Appendix no.10)
The table shows the length of the anchors and the designvalue of the load that the anchors
must transfer tothe soil.

Level

Anchor pull
(kN/m)

Anchor
load
(kN)

Free
length
(m)

Fixed
length
(m)

External
length
(m)

Total length
(m)

Rd
(kN)

Anchor 1

+10

60.73

69.84

3.5

10.42

14.92

35.82

Anchor 2

+7

74.9

86.14

10.00

13.00

44.17

The lower anchors fixed length reaches a moraine clay layer. This is not a problem because the
clay is stiffer, so by calculating the fixed length as if it would be only in a sand layer means that
the calculation was made on the safe side. While the fixed length can varies therefore the shear
resistance in clay is 126.72 kN/m.

Figure 23 Steel sheet pile wall with 2 anchors

63 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

8.2.

2011

Secant pile walls

The anchors are placed in the middle of every second secant pile wall by having 1.44 meters
distance between them. This rule is applied for both the upper and lower anchors. (See
Appendix no.10)
The table shows the length of the anchors and the designvalue of the load that the anchors
must transfer tothe soil.

Level

Anchor pull
(kN/m)

Anchor load
(kN)

Free
length
(m)

Fixed
length
(m)

External
length
(m)

Total
length
(m)

Rd
(kN)

Anchor 1

+11

258.04

371.58

10.06

15.06

190.55

Anchor 2

+6

298.54

429.90

1.5

11.64

14.14

220.46

Figure 24 Secant pile walls with 2 anchors

64 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

8.3.

2011

Installation of the ground anchors

-by SophieTo execute a soil anchor, the first work to do is to drill a hole through the wall and the soil in
order to place the anchor - rod anchor (more rigid) or line anchor (less rigid, for longer anchors)
- in it and to put the concrete afterwards. (See picture below with the drilling machine)

Figure 25 Installation of ground anchors Step 1

The second step is placing the anchor in the hole while leaving space to fill it in with concrete to
fix the anchor in the ground. So then the first day of their implementation, the hole is drilled,
the anchor is placed and concrete is put to form the fixed area. (The picture below shows the
implementation of the concrete in the drilling)

Figure 26 Installation of ground anchors Step 2

65 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

24h after putting the concrete, the anchors strength is tested. If its found out that the strength
is too low then the anchors hole will be refilled with concrete. After that comes a period of
wait during seven day to let the concrete get its final strength. The anchors resistance is tested
again afterwards. As before, if the anchor is not strong enough, additional concrete will be put.
(This picture is a sketch of the machine which tests the anchors strength.)

Figure 27 Installation of ground anchors Step 3

If concrete is not necessary and the test says the anchors strength is sufficient (or after
reinjection if not), the anchor is blocked in the wall and the steel anchor is tensed to hold its
part of the retaining wall. (The picture below shows the final result. The fixed, free and external
lengths are clearly visible after the work has been done.)

Figure 28 Installation of ground anchors Step 4

66 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

A special attention has to be taken while implementation for the placement and geometry of
the anchors. Indeed for example their horizontal direction has to be watched out so they cant
touch each other because it would change their strength. Their inclination has also to be
respected. They all have to be inclined in the same angle with incertitude of about 2. Finally
their placement regarding the surrounding buildings is restricted. The fixed part of the anchor
has to be at least three meters below the foundations of the existing buildings. (The following
sketch shows the different restrictions that have to be respected when it comes to the
installation of the anchors in the ground.)

Figure 29 Restriction for the installation of the ground anchors

67 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

9.

2011

Calculation of the foundations

-by Marta and SophieAfter installing the retaining walls and the anchors, the foundations have to be placed.
Foundation systems are often classified as shallow or deep foundations, depending on the
depth of the load-transfer member below the super-structure and the type of transfer load
mechanism. The required foundation system depends on the strength and compressibility of
the site soils, the proposed loading conditions, and the project performance criteria (i.e. total
settlement and differential settlement limitations).
A foundation is the part of a structural member which transmits the load of the construction to
theunderlying, loadbearing layers. If the load is transferred to
the ground through horizontal or nearlyhorizontal foundation
surfaces, one speaks of footings.
The foundation of these load bearing walls is usually done using
strip footings. In another hand the foundation can be done using
single footings which e.g. can be rectangular or square. For this
construction the rectangular footings were chosen.
The ultimate load which a foundation can support may be
calculated using bearing capacity theory.

Figure 30 Rectangular footing

Bearing capacity is the power of foundation soil to hold the forces from the superstructure
without undergoing shear failure or excessive settlement. Foundation soil is that portion of
ground which is subjected to additional stresses when foundation and superstructure are
constructed on the ground.
Terzaghi (1943) proposed a well-conceived theory for determination of the ultimate bearing
capacity of shallow rough rigid continuous (strip) foundations supported by a homogeneous soil
layer extending to a great depth.
The general bearing capacity formula is the following:

68 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

R': effective vertical bearing capacity at the lower edge of the footing (FUK)
A': effective area of the footing: A=b*l
b': effective width of the footing
': submerged specific weight under FUK
q': effective vertical overburden pressure beside FUK
s, sq, sc: shape factors
i, iq, ic: inclination factors
dq, dc: depth factors

On the site at the excavation level there is two different type of soil: sand and clay. Therefore
the general formula can have different forms for the mentioned soil types.
The footings placed on clay are calculated in undrained condition with the following formula:

And the ones placed on sand in drained condition (c=0):

In order to calculate the bearing capacity of the footings four cases were considered depending
on the vertical centrallyacting design value of the lineload including the own weight of the
footing.

Figure 31 The cases

69 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

Case 1: Biggest load (red circles)


Case 2: Smallest load (blue circles)
Case 3: purple circles
Case 4: Those footings are not represented on the drawing but they are under the beams that
support the slab. (See Appendix no.15)
NB: Those footings are not represented on the drawing because their length and width are the
same as the dimensions of the column above.
In order to know what load is coming down on which column, a lowering of loads was done.
This has been done in a very basic way just to get a rough overview of the load going down to
the foundations. The principle is to distribute the loads on different elements which compose
the structure of the building. This study is started from the upper level (roof) and goes down
through the structural elements until the footings.
The first thing to do is to establish in which way each slab, balcony, roof, column and beams is
carrying down the loads. Then the permanent loads have to be defined (roof type, type and
width of the walls and slabs etc). For example the ratio poids of the reinforced concrete that
has been used to make all the calculations is 25 kN/m3. After that, the utilization of each room
has to be define in order know which imposed load goes for which room. For example in a hotel
(which is set as a building in which people leave), the stairs and entrance hall get an imposed
load of 2.5 kN/m2 and the parking lot as well.
Once all of those parameters are set, the calculation can begin by adding the dead load and the
imposed load floor by floor and do an addition with every loads in the end down at the
foundations. The result of this will be given in kN/m 2. To transform it in a punctual load on the
footing is has to be multiplied by the covered area of the footing. This basically means that it
has to be multiplied by half the length of the spans in both ways.
The general load combination is: 1.0*G+1.5*Q+WF, where WF is the weight of the footing
calculated with the formula:
. The volumic weight of reinforced
3
concrete, called ratio poids is equal to 25 kN/m .
The effective width is equal to the geometric, because there is no eccentricity: e=0. Therefore
the effective area A=b*l.

70 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

For the effective vertical overburden pressure is used the lowest value from the effective
vertical overburden pressure on the outside- and inside of the lower level of thefooting.

The bottom concrete plate is constructed in concrete with a specific weight of c= 24 kN/m3,
and the singels on the top with a specific weight of c= 18kN/m3.

So the effective overburden pressure q=15 kN/m2.


Because there isnt any horizontal force acting on the footings the inclination and shape factors
will be set to 1.0.
Now that all the factors are determined the bearing capacity can be calculated for each case.
In the end must be verified if the bearing capacity is bigger than the loads considered load
combination for each case.
The results (See Appendix no.11) for each case including the dimensions of the footings, the
design value of the lineload acting on them and the bearing capacity are shown in the
following table:
Footings

Case 1

Case 2

Case 3

Case 4

Length (m)
Width (m)
Height (m)
Vd (kN/m)
R' (kN/m)

3.0
1.75
1.5
1834.53
2093.73

+1.25
1.0
1.0
529.6
761.06

+1.75
1.25
1.0
1279.43
1410.5

0.5
0.5
1.0
45
89.42

71 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

9.1.

2011

Calculation of the reinforcement of the footings

For each type of footing (case 1, 2, 3 and 4) the reinforcement has to be calculated by
determining the steel section. After that the steel bars can be chosen to ensure the strength of
the foundation.

When the foundation is taken upside down it act like two pieces of beam supported in the
middle by a column and loaded by the reaction of the soil. Thats why the M ed that is calculated
is the moment which results from the soil pressure.
(

Asx is determined by z which is the efficient height.

There is a minimal value of reinforcement in the secondary direction that has to be put in the
foundation.

The space between the bars in the principal direction is calculated with:

The space between the bars in the secondary direction is determined by:

72 | P a g e

2011
10. Calculation of the bottom concrete
plate
Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

-by SophieThe bottom concrete plate of the level -2 is designed according to the Eurocode 2: Design of
concrete structures Part 1-1: General rules and rules for buildings. The Danish National Annex
has also been used.

Figure 32 Detail of the bottom concrete plate

Values according to Danish annex of Eurocode 2 and Danish Annex:

Strength of reinforcement:

73 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

It gives:
withfyk = 550 MPa

Strength of concrete:

It gives:
withfck = 25 MPa

Lapping:

Cover:

x - y:

74 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

The first step is to calculate the self-weight of the bottom concrete plate. This value will give
the G. Then the imposed loads have to be found in order to get the Q. The Q value is got from
the loads applied to the parking basement level

The loads coming from the parking lot are vertical and they go down to the ground. This means
that its a traditional way of calculating the reinforcement in the bottom concrete plate. Indeed
the reinforcement between the supports will be placed in the lower bed and correspond to
steel meshes. The reinforcement of the upper bed will be steel bars and be placed at the
supports.
The swelling will be considered after the end of the construction, when the groundwater
lowering will be stopped and the groundwater table will return to its normal level meaning 5.3
meters above the bottom of the excavation tries to push up the building. This case which bring
Q = 53 kN/m2, is the one which will actually dimensioned the bottom concrete plate. The
problem is that the building will be erected with a lower ground water so the reinforcement
due to the parking lot loads will be necessary for, at least, all the duration of the buildings
construction.
To size the reinforcement due to the swelling, its the same principle as for the loads coming
from the parking except that it will be done the other way around. Indeed the section of the
slab will be turned upside to place the reinforcement. This means that on the contrary to the
parking lots load, the steel meshes will be placed between the supports but in the upper bed.
The steel bars will be placed still at the supports but in the lower bed.
So to conclude, both calculations of the reinforcement in the bottom concrete plate (forces
coming from the parking lot and from the swelling) will be done the same way except that in
the first case the slab will be taken in the correct way and in the second case the slab will be
turn upside down.
Once G and Q are determined, the calculation starts by calculating the loads with the correct
coefficient for the ultimate limit state:

After that it must be checked in which way does the slab carry the loads.

75 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

Efficient span:

The isostatic moment is calculated with:

The values of x and y are determined by the table above. Its a linear approximation
between the two last values.

Figure 33 Bending moments

Support (0.15)
Continuity (0.5)

Support (0.15)
Moi
0.925 Moi

Continuity (0.5)
0.925 Moi
0.75 Moi

76 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

The moments at the supports, in continuity and in the middle of the bay are calculated
according to table above:

Moment at the support (at both ends):

Moment in continuity (in the middle):

Bay moment (1):

Bay moment (2):

In the end, after find out the values of the moments everywhere, the goal is to determine the
section of steel by using the values of the moments found above:

Finally after obtaining the steel area, this section has to be found in a table to get the size of the
mesh or the number of bars and their diameters also.
The final step is to draw the view of the lower bed (See Appendix no.19 and no.15), the upper
bed (See Appendix no.18 and no.15) and a section view (See Appendix no.20) to explain the
principle of implementation.

77 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

11. Conclusion
The aim of the project was to design and calculate the structure below the ground. The geology
in the area has been studied with the geological and geotechnical description as well as the
different layers. Mostly there are two types of layers which are more or less clay and sand. The
soil was originally formed by moraine landscape. The risk assessment shows the dangers and
problems that can be faced regarding the geology of the soil. For example, the implementation
of the retaining walls can damage the surrounding building. The volume of the soil which is
going to be excavated was done in two levels, and an excavation phase plan is carried out to
show the activities done per day. These 2 levels made approximately 4.8 meters of excavation
from the ground surface. The depth of the excavation was big enough to be considered as a
deep excavation, therefore retaining walls such as steel sheet- and secant pile walls will be
placed in order to resist the lateral pressure of soil. Several design methods were made, and in
the end for both types of walls the one with two anchors gave the most cost reductive solution.
The secant pile walls are made of concrete, so they needed to be reinforced, thats because the
concrete cant stand loads in tension. The bearing capacity was calculated in order to find the
dimension of the footings for different values of loads. These loads were estimated by the
lowering of loads, because of the lack of the information. To calculate the bottom concrete
plate the imposed load from the parking and the swelling have been determined to find the
section of steel in the upper and lower bed.
In another hand this project was really helpful to go deeper in calculating the structure below
the ground. These calculations were done by using knowledge earned by the students from
their own universities, and also by a lot of useful information and new methods learnt in VIA
University College. Earning new information and using them in practice without any experience
drove in some cases to an incorrect solution. Therefore these calculations took more time than
they were supposed to be, but in the end was a positive time investment. The disadvantage of
an almost unknown domain is that a lot of time can be lost looking for information.
The project work was a great experience to share and compare the results obtained for the
same calculations depending on different situations. Also the international feeling in the group
helped the students to get more knowledge about another countries regulations and
calculation methods and last but not least to improve the language skills.
In the end participating in this project had a positive influence on the students and their ability
to work and learn on their own. The work was maybe simplified comparing to the real life, but
still gave the impression of doing a complex project.

78 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

Bibliography
Books
Chang-Yu, O. (2006). Deep excavation : theory and practice. Leiden : Taylor & Francis/Balkema.
Coduto, D. P. (1999). Geotechnical engineering : principles and practices. Upper Saddle River,
NJ. : Printice Hall.
Handy, R. L. (2008). Geotechnical engineering : soil and foundation principles and practice.
California: Palo Alto.
Hillerborg, P. A. (1996). Strip method design handbook.
Jensen, B. C. (2011). Teknisk stbi . Kbenhavn: Nyt Teknisk Forlag.
Johansen, K. (1972). Yield-line formulae for slabs. London: Cement and Concrete Association.
McCarthy, D. F. (2007). Essentials of soil mechanics and foundations : basic geotechnics. Upper
Saddle River, N.J. : Pearson.
Puller, M. (1998). Deep excavations : a practice manual. London: Telford.
Turner, J. M. (2009). Excavation systems : planning, design, and safety. New York, N.Y.:
McGraw-Hill.

VIA Resources
GEO BS0 course
DEX BS1 course
Bearing capacity of footings
Online resources
www.wikipedia.com
http://kort.arealinfo.dk/
www.kulturarv.dk
www.geus.dk
www.deepexcavation.com

79 | P a g e

Scandic Hotel in Aarhus

2011

http://www.enggpedia.com/
www.cat.com
www.lecoinduprojetteur.com
www.BA-cortex.com
Eurocodes
Eurocode 1
Eurocode 2
Eurocode 3
Eurocode 7
Danish National Annexes
Other resources
Per smed maps
Pre quaternary surface map
Companies: Moe & Brdsgaard A/S and Aarsleff

80 | P a g e

You might also like