Second National Symposium
and Exposition on Dam Safety
with International Participation
May 13-15, 2009
CONSTRUCTION OF THE FIRST CUT-OFF WALL BY A LOW
HEADROOM CUTTER INSIDE A DAM TUNNEL IN CHINA
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Wolfgang G. BRUNNER1, Arthur BI2, William CHANG3, Dunfeng ZONG ,
ABSTRACT
In the South of Sichuan province a 240 MW Yeleh hydroelectric plant was under construction by
Sichuan Nanya River Basin Hydraulic Power Development Company Limited, a state-owned
enterprise, and China Gezhou Ba Water & Power Group Company Limited. This project sets out to
develop the mountain cascade of the Nanya river, a tributary of the Dadu river, provide superior
electricity and adjust flood peak & frequency. The specialist contractor Foundation Engineering
Company of China Water Resource and Hydropower (FEC) was awarded the contract YL/C I,
foundation treatment at right bank, which included the construction of 75 m deep concrete Cut-Off
Wall (COW) inside a 6.0m x 6.5m tunnel. The requirement for 19,317 m3 COW to be constructed in
permeable and very dense gravel/cobble formations and a demanding project programme led FEC to
adopt Bauer Low Headroom Cutter CBC25/MBC30 in conjunction with Overlap Cutter Joint (OCJ).
Keywords: Dam, dam tunnel, cut-off wall, trench cutter.
GENERAL
Earth dams must be safe against overtopping, their slopes must be stable under all conditions, their
foundations must not be overstressed, and they must be safe against internal erosion and water forces
and pressures. A large percentage of earth dam failures reported by Justin (1936) and Sherard et al.
(1963) likewise were seepage failures. As such the formation of an effective water barrier beneath
dams is one of the most important tasks in building dams.
The oldest method of making a barrier beneath dams still commonly and widely used even today is the
grouted cut-off technique. A complete positive grouted cut-off is often difficult and costly to attain,
requiring a pattern of holes staggered in rows with carefully planned injection sequence and pressure
control. As a result of this problem, alternative processes have been developed during which soil is
excavated and the resulting voids backfilled by a barrier material of well defined properties, e.g.
concrete or cement-bentonite mix. The most important method for making a positive cut-off wall is the
use of slurry trench, diaphragm wall technology. A case history of a 75 m deep concrete cut-off wall
(Figure 1) for a big earth-fill dam in Sichuan illustrates the possibilities for constructing cut-off walls
1
Marketing Director, BAUER Maschinen GmbH, Schrobenhausen, Germany,
e-mail: [email protected]
2
Deputy General Manager, Bauer Technologies Limited, Taipei, Taiwan,
3
Project Engineer, Bauer Technologies Limited, Taipei, Taiwan,
4
Director General, Department of Civil Engineering, China Water Group, Beijing, China,
inside an extremely limited working space, a 6.0m x 6.5m tunnel, with the latest technologies Bauer
low headroom cutter CBC25/MBC30.
Figure 1. Cut-Off System at Yeleh Hydropower Plant
1. Right bank COW upper portion 6. Left bank COW
2. Tunnel for construction of right bank COW 7. Left bank curtain grouting
at lower portion 8. Tunnel for construction of
3. Right bank COW lower portion left bank curtain grouting
4. Right bank curtain grouting 9. Compacted asphalt concrete
5. River bed COW
PROJECT BRIEFING
Scope of works – construction of right bank cut-off wall inside a 6.0 m x 6.5 m tunnel
Perimeters: 302 m (0+308~0+610)
Thickness: 1000 mm
Depth: 60.95 m ~ 77.95 m, top of guide wall at approximate E.L. 2,561.5 m
Panel Numbers: 68 Nos.
Joint type: Overlap Cutter Joint (OCJ)
Excavated volume: Total 19,317 m3 (m2)
6,284 m3 (32.5%) by Wu-Ka-S (local percussion rig)
13,033 m3 (67.5%) by Bauer low headroom cutter CBC25/MBC30
Wall strength: Concrete C35 (f’c = 35 MPa)
Vertical requirement: 1:200
Site geology
At the location of Yeleh hydropower station project, the valley is wide and asymmetric with exposed
rock face on left bank and more than 200 m thick alluvium and lake deposit on right bank (Figure 2).
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Figure 2. Typical Alluviums and Lake Deposit
Soil Type Estimated %
Boulder (200 mm above) 5
Cobble (60~200 mm) 35
Gravel (2~60 mm) 20
Sand & Silt (< 2 mm) 40
MAIN EQUIPMENT FOR THE CONCRETE CUT-OFF WALL
For constructing diaphragm walls, several systems and types of equipment are available. The selection
of an appropriate equipment setup for constructing diaphragm wall project is a key decision in the
planning phase that will significantly govern the technical and economical success of the works.
Specific characteristics of excavation equipment and the main reasons for selecting them for the use on
Yeleh hydropower station are described.
Local percussion rig Wu-Ka-S
The local made Wu-Ka-S rigs, due to their good mobility but slow performance, ventilation, noise and
excessive concrete over-break problems, were used at beginning stage but thoroughly moved out after
cutter starts cutting work on site.
Custom Made Bauer Low Headroom Cutter CBC25/MBC30
The trench cutter is a hydraulic operated machine, which works on the principle of reverse circulation.
During the cutting process, soil and rock directly beneath the diaphragm walling is continuously
loosened by two powerful cutter wheels rotating in opposite direction, broken down into smaller
fragments, mixed with the stabilizing slurry in the trench and moved towards the suction intake. A
centrifugal pump mounted on the top of the suction box pumps the spoil enriched slurry to the
regenerating plant, where the soil fractions and rock cuttings are removed from the bentonite slurry by
a system of vibrating screens and cyclones. The regenerated clean slurry is returned to the trench. Built
into the cutter is an electronic inclinometer, which measures the cutter’s verticality deviation in two
directions. The deviation is continuously displayed both in degrees and in centimetres on the monitor
inside the operator’s cabin. If the cutter deviates from its vertical axis, its position can be adjusted with
the help of the hydraulic operated steering plates.
For Yeleh hydropower station a custom made Bauer low headroom cutter CBC25/MBC30 was
selected. It has a weight of about 25 ton, working height 5.3 m and is mounted on a specially designed
hydraulic base carrier BS 100B and directly powered from the 420 kW engine installed in the base
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machine (Figures 3). The main reasons for selecting low headroom trench cutter were that the 75 m
deep COW has to be constructed inside a 6.0 m wide x 6.5 m high tunnel, dense gravel and cobble
layer encountered, almost vibration free during cutting process, demanding project programme and
requirement of strict verticality with water tight wall joint.
Figures 3. Bauer Low Headroom Trench Cutter
CBC25/MBC30
Mud plant
The bentonite slurry is continuously recycled and passed through desanding units BE 500 (Figure 4),
where it is cleaned, regenerated and then returned into the trench. The units comprise coarse vibrating
screens, hydrocyclones and fine dewatering screens. After the cutter itself the mud plant is the second
most important component in the cutter technology. Throughput and desanding capacity have to be
closely matched with the soil and the cutter performance.
Figure 4. Desanding Station BE 500
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CONSTRUCTION OF CONCRETE CUT-OFF WALL
Excavation sequence
The cut-off wall is constructed as a series of primary and secondary panels (Figures 5 & 6).
Figure 6. Typical Secondary Panel Layout
Wall joints - overlap cutter joint (OCJ)
The use of cutter is also essential for the formation of the joints between panels. A secondary panel is
formed between two previously completed primary panels, usually as single or three cuts. As the
cutter descends it encroaches on the adjacent primary panels and thereby cuts back a fillet from each
end of the previously concreted primary panels. The cut-back or overlap between primary and
secondary panel is 300 mm required by the specifications (Figure 7). Joints produced in this manner
are watertight, because they consist of a serrated surface resulting from the formation of grooves cut
into the concrete of the primary panels by cutter wheels. The advantages offered by the cutter over the
other available systems include a consistently high output, an extremely high degree of verticality
control as it is equipped with electronic inclinometers and its position adjusted with the help of
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hydraulically operated steering plates (Figure 8), watertight joints and the ability to cut through even
the hardest boulders and also key into bedrock if required.
Figure 7. Overlap Cutter Joint (OCJ) Figure 8. Display during Cutting
CONCLUSION
The construction of the concrete cut-off wall at the Yeleh hydropower station is a very recent and
impressive case that proves the technical and economic feasibility of the diaphragm walling
technology for making a watertight cut-off wall more than 75 m deep even in very limited space; a 6.0
m x 6.5 m tunnel. It also shows quite clearly that such a task can only be performed when utilizing not
only advanced technologies and when planning the works on the basis of selecting the feasible
excavation equipment.
This paper is presented to offer a case experience related to a deep concrete cut-off walling in dense
gravel/cobble layer using a custom made low headroom trench cutter CBC25/MBC30 in conjunction
with cutter overlap joint and believe it will serve as an important reference, and be helpful for the
future projects in similar circumstances.
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