Rigid diaphragm wall with a relief shelf to mitigate the deformations of soil and shallow foundations subjected to normal faulting

Abstract Previous studies developed several types of weak and soft walls to deviate reverse fault ruptures and to absorb the compressional soil deformation. However, different strategies are required to address the extensional soil deformation caused by normal faulting. This study proposes a rigid diaphragm wall with a relief shelf (RDWRS) to mitigate soil and shallow foundation deformations in normal fault. The relief shelf is applied to keep the stability of the diaphragm wall and to protect the shallow foundation on the ground surface. Numerical modeling is performed to investigate the diaphragm wall-normal fault interaction mechanisms and the effects of RDWRS on deformation mitigation of shallow foundations. The RDWRS shows promising effects concerning the mitigation of soil and shallow foundation deformations. The protection effects depend on soil depth, foundation width, foundation location, surcharge pressure, wall depth relative to the rupture, the width of the relief shelf, and the distance between the wall and the foundation. As this paper presents the results of numerical modeling, experimental studies are suggested for future studies. Besides, the economy of the RDWRS should be comprehensively considered when applying this method.