Etude expérimentale d'une paroi à contreforts

ABSTRACT New tank for testing ships models is a 545 m long, 15 m wide and 8 m deep canal called B600. It is composed of two cantilever diaphragm walls between which ground has been excavated. Cantilever diaphragm walls are buttressed walls (T section), for which design remains questionable. As a consequence, their behaviour during excavation was monitored, in order to ensure the safety of excavation works and to get some new information on the behaviour of such structures. Monitoring program included inclinometers, surveying plots of ground and wall movements, gages and vibrating wire extensometers set in the concrete. It proved a correct behaviour of the structure and provided new information on the behaviour of such buttressed cantilever walls. In particular, temperature takes a great part in the behaviour of the structure.