Unit 4
Cofferdams
Dr. Jitendra Singh Yadav
Assistant Professor-I
Dept of Civil Engineering
NIT Kurukshetra, Kurukshetra Haryana
1
• Introduction,
• Types of cofferdams,
• Design and lateral stability of braced cofferdams,
• Design data for cellular cofferdams,
• Stability analysis of cellular cofferdams on soil and rock,
• Inter-locking stresses.
• A cofferdam is a temporary structure designed to keep water and/or soil out of the excavation in which a
bridge pier or other structure is built.
• Cofferdams are temporary enclosures to keep out water and soil so as to permit dewatering and construction of
the permanent facility (structure) in the dry.
• A cofferdam involves the interaction of the structure, soil, and water. The loads imposed include the
hydrostatic forces of the water, as well as the dynamic forces due to currents and waves.
• Because cofferdams are typically constructed under adverse conditions in a marine environment, and because
significant deformations of elements may occur at various stages of construction,
• It is difficult to maintain close tolerances.
• Sufficient provisions must be made for deviations in dimensions so that the finished structure may be
constructed according to plan.
◼ The loads imposed on the cofferdam structure by construction equipment and operations must be considered,
both during installation of the cofferdam and during construction of the structure itself.
◼ Removal of the cofferdam must be planned and executed with the same degree of care as its installation,
on a stage-by-stage basis.
◼ The effect of the removal on the permanent structure must also be considered.
◼ For this reason, sheet piles extending below the permanent structure are often cut off and left in place, since their
removal may damage the foundation soils adjacent to the structure.
❖Requirement of a cofferdam :-
•The cofferdam should be reasonably watertight.
•It should be generally constructed at site of work.
•The design and layout of a cofferdam should be such that the total cost of construction, maintenance and
pumping is minimum.
•It should be stable against bursting, overturning and sliding, under the floods and waves.
•The water to be excluded by a coffer dam may be either ground water of water lying above ground level
it may be deep or shallow and still or running.
•The materials used in construction of a cofferdam are earth, timber, steel and concrete.
Necessity of cofferdam :-
➢The coffer dams are required in the following situation:
When it is required to construct a structure in the river bad.
When structure is to be constructed on a sea shore.
When it is required to construct a structure one a bank of the lake or inside the lake.
When deep excavation are carried out in a course grained soil.
When excavation is carried out below ground water table.
During deep excavation, when sides of the trenches are likely to collapse.
❖Use of cofferdam
• To facilitate pile driving operation
• To place grillage and raft foundation
• To construct foundations for piers and abutments of bridge, dams, locks, etc.;
• To enclose a space for the removal of sunken vessels
• To provide a working platform for the foundation of building when water is met with; and
• To provide space for carrying out the foundation work without disturbing or damaging the
adjoining structure such as buildings, pipelines, sewers, etc.
◼ Advantages of Cofferdam
◼ Allow excavation and construction of structures in otherwise poor environment
◼ Provides safe environment to work
◼ Contractors typically have design responsibility
◼ Steel sheet piles are easily installed and removed
◼ Materials can typically be reused on other projects
◼ In cofferdam construction, safety is a paramount concern, since workers will
be exposed to the hazard of flooding and collapse.
◼ Safety requires:
◼ good design
◼ proper construction
◼ verification that the structure is being constructed as planned
◼ monitoring the behavior of the cofferdam and surrounding area
◼ provision of adequate access
◼ light and ventilation, and
◼ attention to safe practices on the part of all workers and supervisors.
Steel sheet piles may conveniently be used in several civil engineering works. They may be used as:
1. Cantilever sheet piles
2. Anchored bulkheads
3. Braced sheeting in cuts
4. Single cell cofferdams
5. Cellular cofferdams, circular type
6. Cellular cofferdams (diaphragm)
❖Types of cofferdam :-
• Earthen cofferdam
• Rock-filled cofferdams
• Sand bags cofferdam
• Single wall cofferdams
• Double wall cofferdams
• Cellular cofferdam
• Crib cofferdam
• Concrete cofferdam
• Suspended or floating cofferdam
❖Earthen cofferdam :-
• This is the simplest form of cofferdam. It essentially consist of an earthen embankment built around the area to be
enclosed.
• Suitable for low, 1.2 to 1.5 m and moderate head of water.
• The top of embankment should be 1m above the water level.
❖Rock-filled cofferdams :-
• Suitable for turbulent flow and up to 3m depth of water.
• Stone or rubble is used for the embankment.
• It construction is adopted only the stone is easily available in the nearby areas.
❖Sand bags cofferdam :-
• The method of using laminated
sand bags to build cofferdam
are easy to construct, cost-
efficient and economic friendly
❖Single wall cofferdams
• This type of cofferdam is used in
places where the area to be enclosed
is very small and the depth of water is
more, say 4.5 to 6 m.
• It can be used for up to 25m depth of
water.
Double wall cofferdam: The double wall cofferdam consists of two lines of
sheeting tied to each other.
The space between the walls being filled with soil.
The sheeting in coffer dam may be of steel with proper interlocking
arrangement or timber suitably joined.
❖ Double wall cofferdams :-
▪Two-parallel rows of steel sheet piles
driven into the ground
▪Tied together with anchors and wales, then
filled with soil
▪There are two types of this type of
cofferdams:
1. ohio river type wood sheeting cofferdam
2. Wood or steel sheeting cofferdam with
wales and tie rods
❖Cellular cofferdams :-
Circular cells are connected by
diaphragms
Deep excavations
Used when the construction area is very
large
Also used when internal bracing is
impractical
There are two types of this type of
cofferdams:
1. Circular
2. Diaphragm
❖Crib cofferdam
•In deep water where it is difficult to penetrate the guide piles or sheet
Piles into the hard bed below ,crib cofferdam is used.
•In these type of construction ,the sheet piles are supported by a series of wooden cribs.
❖Concrete cofferdam
• when construction must take place below the water level, a cofferdam is built to give works
a day work environment.
•sheet piling is driven around the work site, seal concrete is placed into the bottom to prevent
water from seeping in from underneath the sheet piling, and the water is pumped out.
❖Suspended Cofferdam
•Cofferdam which is freely suspended and has a characteristics of floating.
•it is a box type cofferdam.
❖Factor affecting selection of cofferdam
➢The selection of a type of cofferdam depends upon the following factors:
• The size of area which is protect by cofferdam
• Depth of water
• Flow of water
• velocity of flowing water.
• The nature of bed on which the cofferdam is to rest.
• Availability of materials at the site
• The Possibility of overtopping by floods, tides etc.
• Transportation facility of machine equipment and materials
❖Forces acting on cofferdam :-
• Self weight of cofferdam
• Water pressure
• Earth pressure from out side soil
• Uplift pressure
• Scouring action
• Ice pressure
• Other action
◼ Cofferdam Design Considerations
◼ Scouring (cleaning/rubbing) or undermining by rapidly
flowing water
◼ Stability against overturning or tilting
◼ Upward forces on outside edge due to tilting
◼ Stability against vertical shear
◼ Effects of forces resulting from:
◼ Ice, Wave, Water, Active Earth and Passive Earth Pressures
❖Economical height of cofferdam
•The maximum height of cofferdam for which its total cost is minimum is known as the most economic
height of cofferdam.
•When cofferdam is constructed in a river. It is necessary to determine the height that will most satisfactory.
Usually the height of cofferdam is determined based on the height of the average normal flood during every
year.
◼ Items needed for installation
◼ Pile driving hammer
◼ Vibratory or Impact
◼ Crane of sufficient size
◼ Steel sheet piles are typically used
◼ H-piles and/or wide-flange beams for wales and stringers
◼ Barges may be required
Cofferdams
◼ Cofferdam Components
◼ Sheet piling
◼ Bracing frame
◼ Concrete seal
◼ Bearing piles
Cofferdams
◼ The typical cofferdam, such as a bridge pier, consists of sheet piles set around a bracing frame and driven
into the soil sufficiently far to develop vertical and lateral support and to cut off the flow of soil and, in
some cases the flow of water.
◼ The structure inside may be founded directly on rock
or firm soil or may require pile foundations. In the
latter case, these generally extend well below the
cofferdam.
In order to dewater the cofferdam, the bottom must be
stable and able to resist hydrostatic uplift.
Placement of an under water concrete seal, the fastest and
most common method.
◼ An underwater concrete seal course may then be placed prior to dewatering in order to
seal off the water, resist its pressure, and also to act as a slab to brace against the inward
movement of the sheet piles in order to mobilize their resistance to uplift under the
hydrostatic pressure.
Cofferdams Construction Sequence
◼ For a typical cofferdam, such as for a bridge pier, the construction
procedure follow the listed pattern.
1. Pre-dredge to remove soil or soft sediments and level the area of the
cofferdam.
2. Drive temporary support piles
3. Temporarily erect bracing frame on the support piles.
■ Braced Cofferdam Construction
■ Install Wale and Strut System for Framework /Template
■ Braced Cofferdam Construction
■ Install Wale and Strut System for Framework /Template (Cont'd)
[Link] steel sheet piles, starting at all four corners and meeting at the
center of each side
5. Drive sheet piles to grade.
6. Block between bracing frame and sheets, and provide ties for
sheet piles at the top as necessary.
7. Excavate inside the grade or slightly below grade, while leaving the
cofferdam full of water.
8. Drive bearing piles.
9. Place rock fill as a leveling and support course.
10. Place tremie concrete seal.
Tremie concrete seal.
11. Check blocking between bracing and sheets.
12. Dewater.
13. Construct new structure.
Cofferdam for Bridge
13. Construct new structure.
14. Flood cofferdam.
15. Remove sheet piles.
16. Remove bracing.
17. Backfill.
Cofferdams
◼ Typical types of interlocks
Ball & Socket (BS) Single Jaw (SJ) Double Jaw (DJ)
Hook & Grip (HG) Thumb & Finger
one point contact (TFX)
Double Hook (DH) Thumb & Finger
three point contact (TF)
Cofferdams
■ Tips for installing Sheet piles:
■ Always set-up a template system
■ Rule of thumb: Crane Boom length should be twice that of the sheets
■ Drive the Sheets with the "male" interlock leading in order to avoid soil plugs
■ If the "female" interlock must lead, place a bolt or other object at the bottom to avoid
debris filling the slot
■ Align and plumb the first two sheets and drive carefully and accurately
■ Drive sheets in pairs when possible placing the hammer in the center of the pair.
■ Some contractors recommend not driving a sheet more than 1/3 its length before driving
the adjacent pile
■ Letting the sheets "freefall" and drop in order to aid in penetration will generally
cause the sheets to fall "out of plumb"
■ Cellular cofferdams require that all sheets are set and "closed" before any driving is
done
TYPES OF IMPOSED LOADS
■ Hydrostatic pressure
■ The maximum probable height outside the cofferdam during construction and
the water height inside the cofferdam during various stages of construction
need to be considered.
■ These result in the net design pressure shown below:
Hydrostatic forces on
partially dewatered cofferdam
■ Forces due to Soil Loads
■ The soils impose forces, both locally on the wall of the cofferdam and globally upon
the structure as a whole. These forces are additive to the hydrostatic forces.
■ Local forces are a major component of the lateral force on sheet-pile walls, causing
bending in the sheets, bending in the wales, and axial compression in the struts
■ Wave forces
■ Waves acting on a cofferdam are usually the result of local winds acting over a restricted
fetch and hence are of short wavelength and limited to height.
■ Waves can also be produced by passing boats and ships, especially in a restricted
waterway.
■ Ice forces
■ These are of two types:
■ the force exerted by the expansion of a closed- in solidly frozen-over area of water
surface (static ice force) and
■ the forces exerted by the moving ice on breakup (dynamic ice force).
■ As an example, for static ice force, a value of 4000 lb/ft2 has been used on cofferdams
and structures on the great Lakes, whereas the value due to dynamic ice force on a
cofferdam-type structure are often taken at 12,000 to 14,000 lb/ft2 of contact area.
■ Seismic Loads
■ These have not been normally considered in design of temporary structures in the
past. For very large, important, and deep cofferdams in highly seismically active
areas, seismic evaluation should be performed.
■ Accidental loads
■ These are the loads usually caused by construction equipment working alongside
the cofferdam and impacting on it under the action of waves.
■ Scour
■ Scour of the river bottom or seafloor along the cofferdam may take place owing to river
currents, tidal currents, or wave-induced currents. Some of the most serious and disastrous
cases have occurred when these currents have acted concurrently.
■ A very practical method of preventing scour is to deposit a blanket of crushed rock or
heavy gravel around the cofferdam, either before or immediately after the cofferdam sheet
piles are set.
■ A more sophisticated method is to lay a mattress of filter fabric, covering it with rock to
hold it in place.
Thank You!!!