DIGITAL ASSIGNMENT -II

ADVANCED FOUNDATION DESIGN

Soil Nailing and Anchoring, Design Aspects and Case studies.

Introduction
The basic concept of soil nailing is to reinforce and strengthen the existing ground b installing
closely-spaced steel bars, called "nails", into a slope or excavation as construction proceeds
from the top down. This process creates a reinforced section that is internally stable and able
to retain the ground mass. As with mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls, the
reinforcements are passive and develop their reinforcing action through nail-ground
interactions as the ground deforms during and following construction. Nails work
predominantly in tension but may develop bending/shear in certain circumstances. The effect
of the nail reinforcement is to improve stability by (a) increasing the normal force and hence
the soil shear resistance along potential slip surfaces in frictional soils; and (b) reducing the
driving force along potential slip surfaces in both frictional and cohesive soils. A construction
facing is also usually required and is typically shotcrete reinforced by welded wire mesh. The
steel nail bars are typically 20 to 35 mm in diameter, with a yield strength in the range of 420
to 500 N/mm2, and are typically installed into drill holes having diameters in the range of 100
mm to 300 mm and at a spacing between 1 and 2 meters. The nail lengths are typically 70 to
100 percent of the wall height. Nail inclinations are generally on the order of 15 degrees below
horizontal to facilitate grouting.
Soil nails typically consist of steel reinforcement inclusions and may be categorized on the
basis of their method of installation and degree of corrosion protection. For conventional drill
and grout nail installations, the nail grout consists typically of a neat cement grout with a water
cement ratio of about 0.4 to 0.5. Where a stiffer consistency grout is required (e.g., to centralize
the nail when no centralizers are used in a hollow stem auger installation or to control leakage
of grout into the ground such as in highly permeable granular soils or highly fractured rock), a
lower slump sand-cement grout may be used. Sand-cement grout may also be used in
conjunction with large nail holes for economic reasons.

HISTORY OF SOIL NAILING

Soil nailing has been used in a variety of civil engineering projects in the last two decades. The
technique originated as an extension of rock bolting and of the "New Austrian Tunnelling
Method" (NATM) which combines reinforced shotcrete and rock bolting to provide a flexible
support system for the construction of underground excavations. In North America, the first
recorded application of the system was in Vancouver, B.C. in the early 1970's for temporary
excavation support. In Europe, the earliest reported works were retaining wall construction in
France (1972), and Germany (1976), in connection with highway or railroad cut slope
construction or temporary building excavation support. The French contractor Bouygues, in
joint venture with the specialist contractor Soletanche, is credited with the first recorded
application of soil nailing in Europe (1972/73) for an 18-m-high 70 degree cut slope in
Fontainebleau Sand, as part of a railway widening project near Versailles. A total of 12,000
m2 of face was stabilized by over 25,000 steel bars grouted into pre-drilled holes up to 6 m
long. The first major research program (Bodenvernagelung) on soil nailing was undertaken in
Germany by the University of Karlsruhe and the contractor Bauer (1975-1981). This program
involved full-scale testing of a variety of experimental wall configurations.
Within the 20 years since the introduction of soil nailing to Europe and the subsequent conduct
of the two-major national experimental programs, soil nailing has been and is now used very
extensively in both France and Germany. The major attractions of the method are its economy,
construction flexibility, ability to make use of small construction equipment that is particularly
suited for use in urban environments, and its overall adaptability for special applications.
Within France, it is reported that over 100,000 m2 per year of soil nail walls are presently being
constructed for public works alone, with perhaps hundreds of smaller undocumented walls
constructed for private owners. To date, the great majority of these walls have been temporary
in nature and have used shotcrete for the structural facing. The highest vertical soil nail wall in
France is 22 meters high (at Montpelier). The highest battered soil nail wall (73 degree face
angle) is almost 30 meters high (Dombes tunnel portal, near Lyon). In Germany, over 500 walls
are estimated to have been constructed to date, with the majority being temporary basement
walls using structural shotcrete facings.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF SOIL NAILING

Advantages:
1. Allow in-situ strengthening on existing slope surface with minimum excavation and
backfilling, particularly very suitable for uphill widening, thus environmental friendly,
2. Allow excellent working space in front of the excavation face,
3. Sub-vertical cut surface reducing loss of space,
4. Avoid unnecessary temporary works,
5. Only requires light machinery and equipment,
6. Flexible at constraint site and excavation shape,
7. Can be used for strengthening of either natural slope, natural or man-made cut slopes,
8. Robust and higher system redundancy,
9. Thinner facing requirement.
Disadvantages:
1. Nail encroachment to retained ground rendering unusable underground space,
2. Generally larger lateral soil strain during removal of lateral support and ground surface
cracking may appear,
3. Tendency of high ground loss due to drilling technique, particularly at course grained
soil,
4. Less suitable for course grained soil and soft clayey soil, which have short self support
time, and soils prone to creeping,
5. Lower mobilised nail strength at lower rows of nailing,
6. Suitable only for excavation above groundwater.
Elements of a Soil Nail Wall
The components of soil nail walls used in the practice are identified in below Figure and are
briefly described below.
Soil Nails
Tendons Tendons are the ground reinforcing elements behind a soil nail wall and equivalent
to (steel) bars. These terms will be used interchangeably in this manual.
Tensile stress in each tendon mobilizes in response to lateral movement and deformation of the
retained soil. Soil movement can occur during excavation, after excavation in the absence of
external loads (as a result of time-dependent deformations), or after excavation when external
loads such as surcharge or traffic loads are applied. The tendons can be solid or hollow bars.
Solid bars are placed in stable drill holes and grouted in place. Hollow bars are fitted with a
sacrificial drill bit and are used to drill the hole to then remain in place as the permanent soil
nail reinforcement; they are described in detail in Chapter 10. Both solid and hollow bars are
typically fully threaded.
Grout Grout used for soil nails usually consists of Portland cement and water. The grout
functions to: (i) transfer shear stresses between the deforming ground and the tendons; (ii)
transfer tensile stresses from the tendons to the surrounding stable soil; and (iii) provide some
level of corrosion protection to the tendons. Grout is placed in the drill holes under gravity
using the tremie method.
Corrosion Protection Soil nails used in permanent applications require chemical and/or
physical protection against corrosion. The required level of corrosion protection is greater for
soils with higher corrosion potential and for projects with lower risk tolerance.

The lowest level of corrosion protection in U.S. practice is provided by the grout alone.
Encapsulation of the bar provides the highest level of corrosion protection and is achieved by
adding a protective sheath and grouting the bars in a phased process. Corrosion protection of
the soil nail tendon can also be provided by application of a fusion-bonded, epoxy coating,
galvanization, or sacrificial steel. Chapter 7 contains detailed descriptions of the corrosion
protection techniques available for soil nails.

Facing
Shotcrete Facing consists of an initial and a final component. Soon after excavation, the
initial facing is applied on the exposed soil at each excavation lift before or after nail installation
to provide temporary stability and protection. The initial facing also receives the bearing plate
of the soil nail. The final facing is constructed over the initial facing and provides structural
continuity throughout the design life. The final facing may also include an aesthetic finish. The
initial facing most commonly consists of reinforced shotcrete. The final facing generally
consists of CIP reinforced concrete, reinforced shotcrete, or precast concrete panels.
Figure: Typical cross-section of a soil nail wall.
Reinforcement used in the shotcrete of the initial facing includes the following items: (i)
welded-wire mesh (WWM) installed over the entire excavation lift, and effectively over the
entire wall using appropriate lap splices; (ii) horizontal bars (referred to as waler bars) placed
around nail heads to add bending resistance in the horizontal direction; and (iii) vertical bearing
bars placed at nail heads to add bending resistance in the vertical direction (see Figure 2.1).
Other reinforcement options include the use of steel or synthetic fiber particularly for
temporary facing in soft or weathered rock. If the final facing consists of shotcrete, the
reinforcement in the final facing is similar to that described for shotcrete in the initial facing.
If the final facing consists of CIP or precast concrete, rebar mesh is typical.
Other Components
Connection Components The soil nail is connected to the facing through a number of
components including: nuts, washers, bearing plates, and headed-studs. The headed studs are
attached to the bearing plate and become embedded within the final facing as depicted in
Figure.
Drainage System A drainage system is installed behind soil nail walls to: (i) collect perched
groundwater or infiltrated surface water that is present behind the facing; and (ii) direct the
collected groundwater away from the wall. The drainage system commonly consists of
composite, geosynthetic drainage strips, also referred to as geocomposite strip drains. The
drainage system does not provide full coverage of the wall area, but rather covers commonly
10-20%, or more, of the excavation face, depending on the selected strip drain spacing and
commercial widths that are available.

Construction Sequence
The typical sequence of construction of a soil nail wall is described below and shown
schematically in Figure.
Step 1. Excavation. The depth of the initial excavation lift (unsupported cut) may range
between 2.5 and 7 ft, but is typically 3 to 5 ft and reaches slightly below the elevation
where the first row of nails will be installed. The feasibility of this step is critical
because the excavation face must have the ability to remain unsupported, until the nails
and initial face are installed, typically one to two days. The type of soil that is excavated
may limit the depth of the excavation lift. The excavated platform must be of sufficient
width to provide safe access for the soil nail installation equipment.

Step 2. Drilling of Nail Holes. Drill holes are advanced using specialized drilling
equipment operated from the excavated platform. The drill holes typically remain
unsupported.

Step 3. A) Nail Installation and Grouting. Tendons are placed in the drilled hole. A
tremie grout pipe is inserted in the drill hole along with the tendon; and the hole is filled
with grout, placed under gravity or a nominal, low pressure (less than 5 to 10 psi). If
hollow bars are used, the drilling and grouting take place in one operation.

B) Installation of Strip Drains. Strip drains are installed on the excavation face,
continuously from the top of the excavation to slightly below the bottom of the
 excavation. The strip drains are placed between adjacent nails and are unrolled down
to the next excavation lift.
Step 4. Construction of Initial Shotcrete Facing. Before the next lift of soil is
excavated, an initial facing is applied to the unsupported cut. The initial facing typically
consists of a lightly reinforced 4-in. thick shotcrete layer. The reinforcement includes
welded-wire mesh (WWM), which is placed in the middle of the facing thickness
(Figure 2.1). Horizontal and vertical bars are also placed around the nail heads for
bending resistance. As the shotcrete starts to cure, a steel bearing plate is placed over
the tendon that is protruding from the drill hole. The bearing plate is lightly pressed into
the fresh shotcrete. Hex nuts and washers are then installed to engage the nail head
against the bearing plate. The hex nut is wrench-tightened within 24 hours of the
placement of the initial shotcrete. Testing of some of the installed nails to proof-load
their capacity or to verify the load-specified criterion may be performed before
proceeding with the next
excavation lift. The shotcrete should attain its minimum specified 3-day compressive
strength before proceeding with subsequent excavation lifts. For planning purposes, the
curing period of the shotcrete should be considered 72 hours.

Step 5. Construction of Subsequent Levels. Steps 1 through 4 are repeated for the
remaining excavation lifts. At each excavation lift, the strip drain is unrolled downward
to the subsequent lift. A new panel of WWM is then placed overlapping at least one
full mesh cell with the WWM panel above. The temporary shotcrete is continued with
the previous shotcrete lift.

Step 6. Construction of Final Facing. After the bottom of the excavation is reached
and nails are installed and tested, the final facing is constructed. Final facing may
consist of CIP reinforced concrete, reinforced shotcrete, or prefabricated panels.
Weepholes, a foot drain, and drainage ditches are then installed to discharge water that
may collect in the continuous strip drain.

Variations of the steps described above may be necessary to accommodate specific project
conditions. For example, shotcrete may be applied at each lift immediately after excavation
and before drilling of the holes and nail installation, particularly where stability of
theexcavation face is a concern. Another variation may be grouting the drill hole before
placement of the tendon in the wet grout.
Figure: Illustration. Typical soil nail wall construction sequence.
Applications of Soil Nail Walls
Overview
Soil nail walls can be used in the following roadway applications:
Roadway cuts
Road widening under existing bridge abutments
Tunnel portals
Repair and reconstruction of existing retaining structures
Hybrid soil nail systems
Shored Mechanically Stabilized Earth (SMSE) walls

The below figure shows the construction of a soil nail wall for a large cut face.

Figure: Photo. Construction of soil nail wall. Photo courtesy of Schnabel Engineering.

Roadway Cuts
Soil nailing is attractive in roadway cuts because a limited excavation and reasonable right-of-
way (ROW) and clearing limits are required (See below Figure). These factors help to reduce
the environmental impacts along the transportation corridor. The impact to traffic may also be
reduced because the equipment for installing soil nails is relatively small.
Variations in the details shown schematically in Figure 2.4 may exist, particularly to those
details related to runoff control. Some of these variations will be discussed in Drainage and
Details.

Figure: Illustration. Roadway cut supported with soil nails.

Repair and Reconstruction of Existing Retaining Structures

Soil nails can be used to stabilize and/or strengthen failing or distressed retaining structures.
For example, some mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls may exhibit excessive
deformation due to poor design, poor construction, or both. Soil nails can be installed directly
through the face of an MSE wall if the existing face is sufficiently stable to resist drilling. As
the MSE wall continues to deform, the backfill of the MSE wall and its facing would transfer
loads to the installed soil nails, and these would transfer loads to stable soils lying behind the
MSE-reinforced block of soil.
Of particular concern in these cases is the use of appropriate drilling and grouting procedures.
These procedures should not be detrimental to the stability of the existing MSE wall, and
should create a stable drill hole through the wall backfill and through any drainage material
placed at the back of the MSE wall. In some cases, it may be necessary to stabilize the MSE
wall face before the start of drilling to prevent partial or total collapse. Similar considerations
apply to the use of soil nails in the stabilization of crib walls, gabion, and masonry walls.
The selection of an appropriate bearing plate to support soil nails stabilizing MSE and masonry
walls is very important. The bearing plate must be able to fully transfer loads without damage
to the existing facing. In some cases, consideration of the maximum load at the bearing plate
may control the design.
Hybrid Soil Nail Walls
Soil nail walls can be used with other types of wall systems such as ground anchor walls and
MSE walls to combine the advantage of each method. This situation may arise for walls with
a complex layout or when the costs associated with other earth-retaining systems are too high.
The combination of MSE and soil nail walls may provide a more economical design in cut/fill
situations than the traditionally used full-height MSE walls or drilled shaft retaining walls
(Wood et al. 2009). Figure shows an example of a hybrid soil nail/MSE wall.
Another example of a hybrid soil nail wall is the combination of soil nails with ground anchors.
This application may be used in areas where utilities or other underground obstructions exist
and do not allow soil nails to be installed in the upper sections. In such a case, the wall facing
can be designed to work in cantilever in the upper 8 to 10 ft, with one or two rows of ground
anchors providing horizontal restraint at the bottom of the cantilever. Soil nails are used in the
rows below.
Soil nails are not generally well suited to address instability along deep-seated slip surfaces.
Where there is potential for deep-seated instability of a proposed roadway cut, ground anchors
can be introduced in combination with soil nails. Soil nails may also be used for tiered walls to
support the top of the slope, where one or two rows of relatively long ground anchors would
intersect the slip plane and provide global stability.

Figure: Illustration. Hybrid soil nail/MSE wall.

Limitations
The main limitations associated with soil nailing are:
In projects where, strict wall movement criteria exist, additional measures to limit
deflections may be required. These requirements would add cost. If very strict movement
criteria exist, soil nails may not be a feasible option for the project.
The existence of utilities behind the wall will likely create restrictions to the location,
inclination, and length of soil nails, particularly in the upper rows.
Soil nail walls are not well-suited where large amounts of groundwater seep into the
excavation. Soil nail walls require maintaining a temporary unsupported excavation face
during construction.
Permanent soil nail walls require permanent underground easements.
Soil nail tendons may interfere with certain types of communication lines (e.g., optic
fiber) running immediately adjacent to soil nail walls.

Favorable Ground Conditions for Soil Nailing

Soil nailing has proven economically attractive and technically feasible in the following
conditions:
The excavated soil can stand unsupported in a 4- to 6-ft high vertical or nearly vertical
cut for one to two days.
Soil nails, when installed in a relatively permeable formation, are located above the
groundwater table.
Ground conditions allow drill holes to remain stable without using casing until the
tendons are installed and the drill hole is grouted.
As mentioned, soil conditions are presumed to be favorable for the construction of soil nail
walls when field tests indicate that competent soils are present above the groundwater table.
It is possible to construct a soil nail wall under the groundwater table, as long as nails are
installed in fine-grained soils that exhibit low permeability and produce little seepage.
However, this scenario might not be necessarily technically feasible for other reasons, or
might not be cost effective. The design engineer must consider the long-term evolution of
pore pressures, and effects on the internal and global stability of the wall. The design engineer
must evaluate the potential for developing excessively large wall deflections in these
conditions. Soil nail wall deflections tend to be larger in saturated, fine-grained soils with
low permeability (and likely some plasticity) when compared to deflections in granular soils.
The Contractor must use suitable drilling procedures in these soils that would not cause the
ground to deteriorate.
The following ground types are examples of conditions generally considered well-suited for
soil nailing applications:
Dense to very dense granular soils with apparent cohesion. These soils include dense to
very dense sand, gravel, or a combination thereof, with some fines (typically less than 10
to 15 percent) or with weak, natural cementation providing cohesion, and with SPT N60-
values (see definition in Chapter 4) greater than 30 blows per foot (bpf) .
Capillary forces can also produce apparent cohesion in fine sands, as long as these soils
remain unsaturated: neither dry nor saturated. Because there are currently no widely accepted
 criteria to assess the minimum amount of apparent cohesion required for soil nailing in
granular soils, local experience will play a significant role when assessing the suitability of
soil nail walls in these soils. Also, the standup ability of the ground can be established during
the geotechnical site investigation through excavation of test pits or face cuts. A minimum
apparent cohesion of 200 to 300 psf is necessary for stability of 4-ft tall, unsupported
excavation faces. Some measures must be taken to avoid excessive breakage of capillary
forces and thereby significant reduction of the apparent cohesion. These measures may
include: (i) limiting the exposure of the cut excavation in dry weather to no more than a few
hours to avoid soil desiccation; (ii) preventing surface water from infiltrating into the ground
immediately behind the excavation; and (iii) preventing seepage toward the excavation face.
Weathered rock with adverse weakness planes. Weathered rock may be a suitable material
for installing soil nails as long as weakness planes, if present, occur with favorable
orientations. It is also desirable that the degree of weathering of the rock be approximately
uniform throughout so that only one drilling and installation method is required. If a highly
variable degree of rock weathering exists at a site, the Contractor must be prepared to drill
through a variety of ground conditions without retooling or changing equipment that may
increase soil nail installation costs with respect to those in formations that are more consistent
to drill.
Stiff to hard fine-grained soils. These soils include stiff to hard clays, clayey silts, silty clays,
sandy clays, and sandy silts. Fine-grained soils are classified as stiff if the measured SPT
N60-values are 9 bpf or greater. However, the characterization of the consistency of fine-
grained soils should be performed with caution when SPT N or N60-values are obtained with
non-automatic hammers or other antiquated methods. The consistency characterization
should be supplemented with another field and/or laboratory testing. The potential for
excessive long-term, creep-like, lateral displacements of soil nail walls is low in fine-grained
soils with a plasticity index (PI) of less than 15.
Engineered fill. Soil nails can be installed in existing engineered, structural fill if this material
is a mixture of well-graded granular material (approximately 90 percent of the mix or more)
and fine-grained soil with Liquid Limit (LL) and PI values of less than 40 and 20,
respectively; and if they were placed with acceptable compaction methods and acceptable
levels of compaction energy (at least 90 percent of Standard Proctor, ASTM D698 or
AASHTO T99). In addition, the age of engineered fills is critical for suitability and stability.
Young embankment fills may be problematic.
Residual soils. Some residual soils (i.e., those soils created from the in-place weathering
of the parent rock material) may be an acceptable material for soil nailing. Similarly,
lateritic soil (a highly weathered tropical soil) may be acceptable. For these types of soil,
specific consideration should be given to the soil spatial variability and its ability to drain.
Glacial till. Some glacial till soils are suitable for soil nailing applications because they
are often dense, well-graded granular materials, and have a relatively small fines content.
 Performance of soil nailed walls based on case studies

INTRODUCTION
Deep excavations and retaining structures are constructed in the city of Istanbul at different
locations of the city due to the recent demand for the construction of high-rise structures and
shopping malls having various basements. The main lithological unit of Trace Formation, i.e.
alternating layers of sandstone, siltstone and claystone are encountered during these
excavations. The lithological unit is extensively fractured. Consequently, stress relief in
horizontal direction as a result of excavations is the main potential hazard that has to be handled
with care. Istanbul is located at a very seismically active region and a major earthquake
magnitude of Mw>7.0 are expected to occur with a 65% probability within the next 30 years.
It is well known that flexible earth retaining structures in cuts as soil nailed walls offer a great
advantage under the described subsoil and seismic conditions. As a result many soil nailed
walls having various heights have been constructed recently in the city. The performances of
these walls are monitored by means of inclinometers. The displacement data for various
projects are evaluated in terms of various design parameters of the soil nailed walls and the
excavation depth. In the paper the basic guidelines for soil nailed walls in typical greywacke
formation of the city are developed for future applications.
The city of Istanbul due to its recent growth in economy caused a great attraction for the
construction of high-rise residential and office buildings. In order to obtain parking space, deep
excavations are employed to allow great number of basements below these tower structures.
The depths of the excavations commonly reach to 25-40 meters below the ground surface. The
city of Istanbul is potentially under the influence area of the Marmara Fault System, located at
the south, in the Marmara Sea, which is the western end of the North Anatolian Fault-NAF of
Turkey. After the 1999 Kocaeli and Dzce earthquakes occurred on NAF within the Marmara
Region in ap proximately 100-150 kilometers from the city of Istanbul, the structure of NAF
system in Marmara Sea attracted worldwide scientific attention. Recent studies conducted after
the 1999 Kocaeli (Mw=7.4) and Dzce (Mw=7.2) earthquakes indicated that about 65%
probability for the occurrence of a Mw>7.0 effecting Istanbul within the next 30 years due to
the existence of potential seismic gaps. (Parsons et al 2000). The encountered subsoil formation
is soft rock greywacke locally known as Trace Formation, which is lithologically alternating
sandstone, siltstone and claystones with various degree of weathering and fracturing.
Obviously, the extend of weathering and fracturing controls the mechanical properties and in
fact geological observations do well agree with the results of measurements reflecting
mechanical properties of the formation. The geotechnical modelling of formation, weathered
zones, extend of fracturing and compressibility modulus of formation are usually obtained by
means of integrated seismic survey and Menard pressuremeter testings performed within the
boreholes at various locations and depths. (Durgunoglu & Ylmaz 2007) Based on the previous
positive records of flexible earth retaining structures during earthquakes in Turkey by Mitchell
et al (2000) and Durgunoglu et al (2003), soil nailed walls in such excavations performed
within the city offer great advantage especially for the encountered subsoil and seismic
conditions. The results of the performance of walls with different heights in various sites having
the similar greywacke subsoil formation are compiled in this study. The performances of walls
are monitored by inclinometer recordings taken at certain time intervals in parallel to the
excavation at various locations. The displacement and normalized displacement (i.e.
performance ratio, Pr) data are presented together with some basic parameters of soil nailed
walls such as, height of wall (H), area per nail (S), average nail length (L), nail density (=L/S),
length ratio (Lr), bond ratio (Br) and strength ratio (Sr). As a result the values of performance
ratio for soil nailed walls together with nail density in typical greywacke formation of the city
of Istanbul are developed based on these extensive case studies as a guideline for future
applications.

Soil nailing is a very versatile excavation retaining system for deep excavations in urban areas
surrounded by major structures and infrastructures provided that limiting lateral displacements
are not exceeded. Using conventional methods of design, Federal Highway Administration
(2003) and previously developed charts for estimating lateral displacements or performance
ratio may be misleading in deep soil nailing applications Monitoring and modern numerical
analysis based design and application for such deep soil nailed walls are of primary importance.