Excavation designed with DeepEX
The Marena is a residential building developed by Embraed Empreendimentos in Balneário Camboriú, Brazil, designed to reach approximately 200 meters in height. According to the CTBUH, Balneário Camboriú is the city with the highest number of tall buildings in South America (57th in the world).
The tower's foundations were established through a single foundation raft supported by 181 bored piles, each with a diameter of 1 meter. An excavation of approximately 6.5 meters was required to accommodate the foundation raft and the necessary depressions for high-speed elevators.
Figure 1: The Marena buildings – Excavation project designed with DeepEX
Diaphragm walls were chosen for the excavation, stabilized with tiebacks and braces due to the excavation depth. A particular challenge was the proximity of an old neighboring building with four floors and shallow foundations. The footings of this building were set at approximately 1 meter deep, while the bottom of our excavation was 5.5 meters below. This difference in level caused the soil reaction, originally supporting the neighboring building, to be partially transferred to the diaphragm wall.
To minimize horizontal movements of the wall and reduce the impact on the neighboring structure, metallic braces were installed at the level of the capping beam. In the sections further away from the neighboring building, the retaining system was anchored with two rows of self-drilling anchors manufactured by Incotep.
The diaphragm wall design was accomplished using DeepEX software, which incorporates lateral earth analysis with both limit equilibrium and finite element methods to provide accurate wall deflection estimates and assess the impacts on adjacent structures.
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A site visit during the excavation process underscored the importance of considering overloads behind the wall. The image of the excavator positioned on the capping beam highlights this necessity. Besides the traffic of heavy equipment, such as the excavator, there was also the circulation of trucks loaded with rebar reinforcements for the foundation raft. Not accounting for these overloads could induce extra movements in the wall, cause additional cracking, and even trigger partial failures.
Figure 2: Marena project construction site and DeepEX model
The total excavation was successfully completed, keeping the neighboring building intact and without any observed pathologies in the adjacent buildings and lateral streets.
Using DeepEX software for the Marena project's diaphragm wall design was instrumental in ensuring the project's success. DeepEX provided precise wall deflection estimates and valuable insights into the impacts on adjacent structures, allowing us to complete the excavation safely and efficiently. We highly recommend DeepEX for any deep excavation projects, as its advanced analysis capabilities can significantly enhance project outcomes. Try DeepEX today and experience the benefits firsthand.
