Diaphragm Walls Extreme â€“ Contrast Between Going Deep and Getting Small-PPT Presentation

PPT Presentation

Pdf Summary

The presentation “D-Wall Extreme – Contrast Between Going Deep and Getting Small” examines diaphragm-wall construction at two extremes: exceptionally deep excavations and height-restricted sites.<br /><br />At Shanghai’s Yunlingxi Deep Shaft project, diaphragm walls were installed at depths of 80–105 m, with three test panels reaching 150 m. The work involved demanding trench-alignment requirements and varied soil conditions, and included continuous installation of a 149 m reinforcement cage.<br /><br />At Rio Tinto’s FalCon mining exploration project in Canada, BAUER’s cutter system reached a record depth of 251.1 m. The project collected and carefully documented more than 8,000 wet tonnes of diamond-bearing material in geological intervals for sampling and analysis.<br /><br />The “getting small” example is Hung Hom Station in Hong Kong, where diaphragm walls were built under restricted headroom of approximately 5.8–6.5 m. The 55 m-deep, 1.2 m-wide panels had to penetrate hard Grade III granite amid challenging site logistics.<br /><br />The presentation also introduces the Cube System, a compact cutter designed for confined construction conditions. Testing included trenches up to 42 m deep and simulated rock embedment. Results showed primary cutting rates of 15–25 cm per minute; rock embedment was slower, at 1–5 cm per minute. The tests also assessed equipment connections, reinforcement installation, and concreting, demonstrating the system’s potential while identifying depth and setup constraints.

Keywords

diaphragm wall

deep excavation

restricted headroom

Shanghai

Hong Kong

Canada

cutter system

reinforcement cage

rock embedment

geological sampling