MSCEM-207:

ADVANCED
CONSTRUCTION
METHODS &
TECHNIQUES

School of Graduate Studies

Civil Engineering Department, COEA,
Cagayan State University-Carig Campus

Emer T. Quezon, Ph.D, C.Eng,

M.ASCE
Associate Professor
Emails: [email protected] ||
[email protected]
Telegram: 09451631743
 Cofferdam Construction

Lecture 4
COFFERDAMS CONSTRUCTION
METHODS & TECHNIQUES
 Cofferdam Construction

Lesson Objectives:

By the end of this lesson you will be able to:

 describe cofferdams and when they are used
on construction projects.
 describe the forces on cofferdams.
 explain design considerations.
 explain the construction sequence.
 Tips for installing Sheet piles for cofferdams.
 Cofferdam Construction

What is Cofferdam?
 Temporary structure
 Built within or in pairs across a
body of water.
 Allows the enclosed space to be
pumped out, creating a dry work
environment.

 Enclosed coffers are commonly used for construction

and repair of oil platforms, bridge piers and other
support structures built within or over water.
 A cofferdam involves the interaction of the structure,
soil, and water(e.g., loads imposed include the
hydrostatic forces of the water, as well as the dynamic
forces due to currents and waves).
 Cofferdam Construction

Continuation…
 Because cofferdams are typically constructed
under adverse conditions, significant
deformations of elements may occur at various
stages of construction, it is difficult to maintain
close tolerances.
 So, ample 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:
1. during installation of the cofferdam.
2. during construction of the structure itself.
 Cofferdam Construction

How the removal of the cofferdam

be performed?
 Removal of the cofferdam must be planned
and executed with the same degree of
care as its installation (e.g. on a stage-by-
stage basis).
 The effect of the removal on the permanent
structure must also be considered (pull-
out).
 Sheet piles extending below the permanent
structure are often cut-off and left in place.
 Removal may damage the foundation soils
adjacent to the structure.
 Cofferdam Construction

Safety requirements:
1. Good Design (by: Geotechnical Engineer)
2. Proper construction (qualified & well experienced
contractor).
3. Verification that the structure is being constructed
as planned (quality assurance).
4. Monitoring the behavior of the cofferdam and
surrounding area (24/7).
5. Provision of adequate access (in & out).
6. Light and ventilation (24/7), and
7. Attention to safe practices on the part of all workers
and supervisors (const. safety engineer).
8. In cofferdam construction, safety is a paramount
concern, since workers will be exposed to the
hazard of flooding and collapse.
 Cofferdam Construction

Types of cofferdam
1. Braced
2. Earth-Type
3. Timber Crib
4. Double-Walled Sheet Pile
5. Cellular
 Circular
 Diaphragm
 Cofferdam Construction

What is Braced Cofferdams?

 Formed from a single wall of
sheet piling.
 Driven into the ground to form
a box around the excavation
site.
 The "box" is then braced on
the inside .
 Interior is dewatered.
 Primarily used for bridge piers
in shallow water (9-11 m
depth)
 Cofferdam Construction

What is Earth-type Cofferdams?

 It is the simplest type of

cofferdam.
 It consists of an earth
bank with a clay core or
vertical sheet piling
enclosing the excavation.
 It is used for low-level
waters with low velocity
and easily scoured by
water rising over the top.
 Cofferdam Construction

What is Timber Crib Cofferdams?

 Constructed on land and floated
into place.
 Lower portion of each cell is
matched with contour of river
bed.
 It uses rock ballast and soil to
decrease seepage and sink into
place, also known as “Gravity
Dam”.
 It usually consists of 12’x12’ cells
and is used in rapid currents or
on rocky river beds.
 It must be properly designed to
resist lateral forces such as
tipping / overturning and sliding.
 Cofferdam Construction

What is Double-Walled Cofferdam?

 They are double wall
cofferdams comprising
two(2) parallel rows of
sheet piles driven into the
ground and connected
together by a system of
tie rods at one (1) or
more levels.
 The space between the
walls is generally filled
with granular material
such as sand, gravel or
broken rock.
 Cofferdam Construction

What is Cellular Cofferdam?

 Cellular cofferdams
are used only in those
circumstances where
the excavation size
precludes the use of
cross-excavation
bracing.
 In this case, the
cofferdam must be
stable by virtue of its
own resistance to
lateral forces.
 Cofferdam Construction
Cofferdams on Bridge Piers

Installed
Cofferdam
 Cofferdam Construction

Cofferdam Design Considerations

 Scouring 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:
 Wave, Water, Active Earth and Passive
Earth Pressures.
 Cofferdam Construction

Advantages of Cofferdam
 Allow excavation and
construction of structures in
safe & manageable
environment.
 Contractors typically have
design responsibility.
 Steel sheet piles are easily
installed and removed.
 Materials can typically be
reused on other projects.
 Cofferdam Construction

Items needed for installation of

Cofferdam
1. Pile driving hammer.
 Vibratory is a specialty hammer
used to drive sheet piles in
or out of the ground(fast installation
& quiet).
 Impact hammers use a large weight to strike the pile
(e.g. Diesel hammer).
2. Crane of sufficient size.
3. Steel sheet piles are typically used.
4. H-piles and/or wide-flange beams
for wales and stringers.
1. Barges may be required.
 Cofferdam Construction

Sheet Piling
 Cofferdam Construction

Types of imposed loads

1. 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 as shown below:
 Cofferdam Construction

2. 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.
 Cofferdam Construction

3. Current Forces on Structure

 With a typical cofferdam, the current force consists
not only the force acting on the normal projection of
the cofferdam, but also on the drag force acting
along the outer sides.
 With flat sheet piles, the latter may be relatively small,
whereas with z-piles it may be substantial, since the
current will be forming eddies behind each
indentation of profile, as shown below.

Eddies

Outer side
 Cofferdam Construction

4. 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.
 Cofferdam Construction

5. 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.
 Cofferdam Construction

6. Accidental loads

 These are the loads usually caused by:

1. construction equipment working
alongside the cofferdam
2. impacting on it under the action of
waves.
 Cofferdam Construction

7. Scour
 Scour of the river bottom or sea floor along the
cofferdam may take place owing to river
currents, tidal currents, or wave-induced
currents.
 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.
 Cofferdam Construction

Steel Cofferdam Components

1. Sheet piling - are sections of sheet steel with interlocking
edges (or clutches) that are driven into the ground to
provide earth retention and excavation support.
2. Bracing frame - are made by vertically driving a single
wall of sheet pile around the work area. This type of
cofferdam is typically driven into the shape of a box.
Struts, or beams, then brace the walls to keep them from
collapsing inward.
3. Concrete seal-The seal course is a concrete slab placed
underwater by the tremie placement method and is
constructed thick enough so that its weight is sufficient to
resist uplift from hydrostatic forces.
4. Bearing piles-In construction: Foundations. A bearing pile
is a device to transmit the load of the structure through a
layer of soil too weak to take the load to a stronger layer
of soil some distance underground.
 Cofferdam Construction

Different Traditional Sheet Pile

Shapes
 Cofferdam Construction

Typical types of interlocks

 Cofferdam Construction

Foundations
 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 underwater concrete seal
course is the fastest and most common
method.
 Cofferdam Construction

Cont. Foundations
 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.
 Cofferdam Construction

Installation of Cofferdams
The success of any piling
scheme requires satisfactory
completion of the following
stages:
1. Competent site investigation,
sampling and relevant testing
to build up an informed
picture of the task.
2. Adequate design of all the
stages of the construction.
3. Setting out and installation of
the piles.
 Cofferdam Construction

 As with all site operations the

relevant legislation and guidance
on matters pertaining to safety
must be strictly adhered to.
ITEMS NEEDED FOR INSTALLATION
SUCH AS:
1. Pile driving hammer (vibratory or
impact).
2. Crane of sufficient size.
3. Steel sheet piles are typically
used, H-piles and/or wide flange
beams for wales and stringers.
4. In many cases barges may be
required for efficient installation
of cofferdams.
 Cofferdam Construction

Cofferdam Construction Sequence

 For a typical cofferdam, such
as for a bridge pier, the
construction procedure
follow the hereunder listed
pattern.
1. Pre-dredge to remove soil
or soft sediments and level
the area of the cofferdam
(fig-a).
2. Drive temporary support
piles (fig-b)
3. Temporarily erect bracing
Figures (a) & (b)
frame on the support piles
(fig-b).
 Cofferdam Construction

4. Set steel sheet piles,

starting at all four(4)
corners and meeting at the
center of each side (fig-c).
5. Drive sheet piles to grade.
6. Block between bracing
frame and sheets, and
provide ties for sheet piles Figures (c)

at the top as
necessary(fig-c).
7. Excavate inside the grade
or slightly below grade,
while leaving the
cofferdam full of water.
 Cofferdam Construction

8. Drive bearing piles (fig-2a).

9. Place rock fill as a leveling and support
course(fig.-2b).
10. Place tremie concrete seal.

Bearing Bearing
piles piles

Figure(2a) Figure (2b)

 Cofferdam Construction

Figures: Tremie
 Cofferdam Construction

Laitance is the weak, milky or powdery layer of

cement dust, lime and sand fines that appear on the
surface of concrete.
 Cofferdam Construction

11. Check blocking; dewater; construct footing block; block

between footing and sheet piles (fig- a).
12. Remove lower bracing; construct pier pedestal; construct
pier shaft (fig- b).
13. Flood cofferdam; pull sheets; remove bracing; backfill (fig-
c) .
 Cofferdam Construction

Braced Cofferdam Construction

 Install Wale and Strut System for Framework
/Template
 Cofferdam Construction

 Install Wale and Strut System for Framework

/Template, then continue the process.
 Cofferdam Construction

Sample Stages of Pier Construction

 Cofferdam Construction

Tips for installing Sheet piles

1. Always set-up a template system.
2. Rule of thumb: Crane Boom length should be
twice that of the sheets.
3. Drive the Sheets with the "male" interlock
leading in order to avoid soil plugs.
4. If the "female" interlock must lead, place a bolt
or other object at the bottom to avoid debris
filling the slot.
5. Align and plumb the first two sheets and drive
carefully and accurately.
6. Drive sheets in pairs when possible placing the
hammer in the center of the pair.
 Cofferdam Construction

7. Some contractors recommend not driving a

sheet more than 1/3 its length before driving
the adjacent pile.

8. Letting the sheets "freefall" and drop in order

to aid in penetration will generally cause the
sheets to fall "out of plumb.“

9. Cellular cofferdams require that all sheets are

set and "closed" before any driving is done.

10. Finally… never rush the Pile Foreman!!

 Cofferdam Construction

Advantages of Cofferdam
 The key to performing marine construction work
efficiently is to minimize work over water, and
perform as much of the work as possible on land.
ADVANTAGES OF COFFERDAMS:
1. Allow excavation and construction of structures
in otherwise poor environment.
2. Provides safe environment to work.
3. Contractors typically have design responsibility.
4. Steel sheet piles are easily installed and
removed.
5. Materials can typically be reused on other
projects.
ANY QUESTIONS
PLEASE ??