Responses of the strata and supporting system to dewatering in deep excavations

In order to prevent the inrushing caused by deep excavations, dewatering measure has to be adopted to decrease the confined water level. In this study, the responses of the strata and supporting system to dewatering in deep excavations are investigated through numerical simulations and case studies. Coupled fluid-mechanical analyses are performed by the use of the numerical software, FLAC3D. The responses of the ground settlement, base heave and interior columns to the excavation and dewatering are analyzed. Numerical results indicate that the dewatering measure can effectively reduce the uplift of the subsurface soil in the excavation, and decrease the vertical displacement of the supporting system. In addition, field data of two case histories show the similar responses and confirm the validation of the numerical results. Based on the analyses, dewatering in the confined aquifer is recommended as a construction method for controlling the vertical displacement of the strata and supporting system in deep excavations.