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2. By casting bars with couplers into the wall.

The couplers can then


be exposed on the face of the wall and connecting bars screwed into
them.
3. By drilling into the wall after it has been exposed and fixing bars in
position by grouting.

The latter method is preferable to the two previous methods because it


does not require transverse bars to be cast into the wall, and the
projecting bars can be located with greater accuracy. It is the only
method which can be used if bars are required at tremie pipe positions.
However, consideration will need to be given to the risks associated
with hand/arm vibrations.
Projecting bars cannot be provided between the reinforcement cages
at panel joint positions by casting bars into the wall, and drilling into
the wall too close to the joints may cause leakage. Gaps must therefore
be left in the slab connecting reinforcement at these locations.
Perforations through diaphragm walls for anchors or services
should preferably be formed with tubes not exceeding 300 mm in
diameter, with sufficient space between the tubes to allow the concrete
to flow freely around them. Larger diameter tubes may impede the
flow of the concrete and should be used with caution. Rectangular
perforations will almost certainly trap supporting fluid within the
concrete, and should not be used.

CB.4.4 Reinforcement It is important to ensure that each panel is excavated within the
specified tolerances so that the reinforcement cage can be inserted with
sufficient concrete cover on the front and rear faces and also at the
ends. It is particularly important when excavating tee panels, corner
panels and the like to ensure that the excavation is carried out as
accurately as possible. It is also important that additional concrete
cover should be allowed to the reinforcement in such panels to
ensure that the cage will fit into the excavation after taking into
account allowable tolerances. Taking a 20 m deep tee panel, for
example, the leg of the tee and the top of the tee could be 250 mm
from their true positions at the base of the excavation and still be
within the specified tolerance. One or both of them could also be
twisted. A reinforcement cage with only the minimum allowable
cover would not fit into this excavation.
Congested reinforcement and box-outs for recesses in diaphragm
wall panels can lead to defective concrete. The concrete must be
able to flow easily around the bars and the box-outs, and rise
uniformly over the entire area of the panel. Typical details are
shown in Fig. C8.1.
When deciding on the diameter and spacing of the vertical bars, it is
important to remember that in the case of wall panels, the reinforce-
ment will not extend to the ends of the panel, because space has to
be allowed between adjacent cages for the panel joint (see Fig.
C8.2), end cover to the reinforcement cage and allowable construction
tolerances. The reinforcement should not extend into the shoulders of
the panel joints since this will obstruct concrete flow at a particularly
critical location. The unreinforced section may represent about 10%
of a typical panel length but could be up to 25% of the length of a
single bite panel. The final clear distance between the bars will there-
fore be less than it would otherwise be if the bars could be spaced
uniformly along the length of the wall.
The final clear horizontal distance between vertical bars in a single
layer of reinforcement should be at least 100 mm. This figure can be

Specification for piling and embedded retaining walls. Thomas Telford, London, 2007 181
Fig. CB.l Typical diaphragm Qj
>
I"all reinjl)J"('emenl delails: 0
u
Tremie position
( a) Jlot panel; (b) lee panel; L()

(c) corner panel, ( i) two separate . \ I'-

cages. ( ii) continuous I I

reinjorcement 0 b
t (a)

~
o
u
L()
125 cover C\J

Qj
>
o
~
o
u u
L() L()
C\J C\J

~
8
L()
Tremie position
I'-

(b)

Tremie position Tremie position Qj


o>
u
L()
75 cover I'-

o
L()

L() L()
I'- C\J

Tremie position
Tremie position

75 cover 125 cover


75 cover
(c)
(i) (ii)

reduced to 80 mm over lap lengths. Where two layers of reinforcement


are required on a wall face, the bars in the inner layer should be
aligned behind those in the outer layer in order to allow the concrete
to flow easily between them.
Fig. C8.2 Typical diaphragm Typically 600 mm Typically 400 mm Typically 600 mm
wall joint details: ( a) tubular between cages between cages between cages
stop-end: ( b ) tubular lVithf[ange:
(c) proprietary stop-ends
H H f--l

~)L ~;L J)C


(a) (b) (c)

182 Specification for piling and embedded retaining walls. Thomas Telford, London, 2007
The clear vertical distance between horizontal bars should be a
minimum of 150 mm provided a maximum aggregate size of 20 mm
is used. Otherwise the minimum clear distance should be 200 mm.
Links are used between the front and rear faces of a reinforcement
cage to hold the bars in their correct positions and to provide shear
resistance. rn vertically spanning panels the links should enclose the
vertical bars to satisfy design requirements and to provide lateral
restraint to the vertical bars when the cage is being lifted. The clear
horizontal distance between the legs of links should be at least
150 mm, with at least 500 mm at tremie pipe positions (see Fig. CS.I).
The same clear distances are required between transverse bars at connec-
tions between floor slabs and the diaphragm wall.
Joints in steel reinforcement can be made either by lapping the bars
or by using couplers. Cages should be made in one length where
possible in order to minimize the delay between completion of panel
excavation and commencement of concreting. If a cage is too long
to be lifted in one piece, it must be made in two or more pieces
which are then joined together as they are lowered into the panel
excavation. Joining the sections of cage together over the excavation
will be facilitated if the cage is fabricated in one piece on the ground
then split into sections before being lifted. This is of particular
advantage when couplers are used.
Diagonal bracing bars are normally provided in each section of cage
to ensure that it will not distort when being lifted. Specially designed
lifting bars are provided at the top of each section, to which lifting
shackles can be attached, and specially designed hanging bars are
provided at the top of the upper section to enable the cage to be
suspended at the correct level in the excavation.
If there is insufficient space available on site to fabricate the cages, it
may be possible to make them at a separate location and transport
them to site by road. In these circumstances the width of the cages
has to be restricted to the maximum that can be transported, therefore
two or three separate cages may be required in each panel. Multiple
cages may also be necessary in the case of panels founded on hard
rock where a varying founding level is required. The minimum
clear distance between adjacent cages in the same panel should be
200mm.

CB.4.5 Concrete casting There will be some intermixing of the concrete and the support fluid at
level their interface, and there may also be a layer of thick contaminated sup-
port fluid on top of the concrete. It is important to ensure that all this
material is lifted up above the cut-off level and that all the concrete
below the cut-off level is sound. In order to achieve this, the concrete
should be brought up to I m above the cut-off level. Where the cut-off
level is less than 1 m below the top of the guide walls, it will be necessary
to flush some of the contaminated concrete over the top of the guide
walls to ensure that the concrete below the cut-off level is sound.

CB.4.6 Dimensions of Panels can be constructed in various shapes on plan, but the most
panels common are straight panels, tee panels, and corner panels. Standard
panel wid ths are 600, SOO, 1000, 1200 and 1500 mm. Panel lengths
depend on several factors including the dimensions of the excavation
tool, the type of stop-end equipment (if required), the excavation
sequence, the ability of the support fluid to maintain trench stability
and the proximity of adjacent structures. The volume of concrete
required to fill the panel and the weight of the reinforcement cage
are also important considerations.

Specification for piling and embedded retaining walls. Thomas Telford, London, 2007 183

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