Diaphragm walls

and barrettes

Diaphragm walls to stabilise

deep excavations and as
deep foundation elements.

Brochure 26-01E
 Diaphragm walls and barrettes

Stabilisation of deep excavations

and deep foundations Construction steps
Diaphragm walls are supporting walls, which
are concreted as so-called “lamellae” in
narrow, deep trenches.
Diaphragm-wall lamellae are excavated
with rope grabs or trench cutters with
special shovels adapted to the in-situ soil.
A supporting slurry with special thixotropic
properties stabilises the lamella during
the excavation work. Then the pre-
assembled reinforcement cage is installed
using a suitable lifting device. The lamella is
concreted with tremie pipes. In the course
Excavation of diaphragm-wall
of concreting, the slurry is pumped out and
regenerated.
The reinforced-concrete wall thus built
fulfils two functions: It acts as a permanent,
watertight supporting wall and as a deep
foundation element for the building to be
erected.
The diaphragm wall can be constructed as a
self-supporting wall, or it may require single
or multiple bracing or anchoring. Individual
diaphragm-wall lamellae, known as barrettes,
or a combination of lamellae can be used
in large-scale deep foundations designed to Installation of reinforcement cage
support very high loads.
Other applications of diaphragm walls include
shielding walls and cut-off walls.

Advantages of diaphragm walls:

• diaphragm walls can be constructed
in a very wide range of soil types,
• fast execution,
• optimised construction costs, since the same
element can be used as a supporting wall, a
cut-off wall and a deep foundation element,
Concreting of diaphragm-wall
• construction is possible close to existing
buildings (a clearance of about 30 cm
Diaphragm wall secured with from the outer walls of buildings must be
partial cover around perimeter
observed),
• low environmental impact during the works
– only moderate noise, no vibration during
construction,
• able to take very high vertical and horizontal
loads and bending moments,
• can be used as top-down method in order
to optimize the sequence of operations to
Braced diaphragm wall be performed in inner-city areas. Preparation of the joint elements
 3 4 5

1 Construction of the guide walls Rope grab

Guide walls are built of reinforced concrete and fulfil the following functions:
• they stabilise the upper part of the diaphragm-wall,
• they reflect the geometry of the diaphragm walls and they ensure
their verticality (they guide the grab during excavation),
• they function as a bearing for extraction forces when recoverable joints are used,
• they enable the required level of supporting slurry to be maintained
to stabilise the open trench.

2 Preparation of the supporting slurry

Diaphragm walls are stabilised by the hydrostatic pressure exerted by the supporting
slurry on the trench walls, and by the ingress of the slurry into the soil (filter cake).
The materials used in the slurry are usually based on bentonites or specific polymers.

3 Excavation of diaphragm-wall lamellae

In plan view, diaphragm walls are divided into primary and secondary lamellae.
The design length of the lamellae is generally between 3 and 6 m; under certain
circumstances, however, it can be up to 10 m.

4 Installation of reinforcement cages

The reinforcement of a single lamella can consist of several reinforcement cages.
Care is taken that the reinforcement of the lamellae at any single point is not
excessively dense, in order to ensure the necessary flow of concrete through the
reinforcement. The reinforcement cages are positioned using special cranes, or on
small building sites with the excavator.

5 Concreting of lamellae
The lamella is concreted immediately after the reinforcement cage is inserted. The
concreting is performed without interruption. The displaced supporting slurry is
pumped into a special storage facility where it is regenerated for further use. To
ensure a watertight seal between adjacent lamellae, specially designed seals are used
for the joints between the lamellae.
Application examples

Construction site Patio Verde in Chambéry (France)

Keller Group plc

Ground Engineering Contractors
www.keller.co.uk

Keller Holding GmbH

www.kellerholding.com

Europe
Keller Grundbau GmbH
Kaiserleistrasse 8
63067 Offenbach
Germany
www.kellergrundbau.de

„„ Inner-city excavation, turnkey project (diaphragm wall, injection Keller Fondations Spéciales
works, excavation, struts) 2 rue Denis Papin - CS 69224 Duttlenheim
67129 Molsheim Cedex
France
Tunnel under the Vistula, Danzig (Poland) www.keller-france.com
Keller Grundbau Ges.mbH
Mariahilfer Strasse 127a
1150 Vienna
Austria
www.kellergrundbau.at
Keller UK
Oxford Road · Ryton-on-Dunsmore
Coventry CV8 3EG
United Kingdom
www.keller-uk.com
Keller Polska Sp. z o.o.
ul. Poznańska 172
05-850 Ożarów Mazowiecki (Warsaw)
Poland
www.keller.com.pl
Keller Cimentaciones, S.L.U.
Miguel Yuste 45, bis
„„ 20.5 m-deep inner-city excavation as target shaft for tunnel-boring E28037 Madrid
machine and as a seal block, realised by jet-grouting Spain
www.keller-cimentaciones.com
Residential complex in Moscow (Russia)
Middle East
Keller Grundbau GmbH
Dubai Branch
Office No. 408
Al Mansour Building
Damascus Street, Al Qusais
Dubai, UAE
www.kellerme.com

Africa
Franki Africa
674 Pretoria Main Road,
Wynberg, 2090 Sandton
P.O. Box 39075, Bramley, 2018
South Africa
www.franki.co.za

„„ 20 m-deep diaphragm wall, wall area 16,800 m2 , for the construction

of the real-estate project "Donskoy Olymp" in Moscow
0615 · 26-01E

w w w. Ke l l er H o l d ing.co m A company of Keller Group plc