TABLE OF CONTENTS The simplest method of retaining the sides of an excavation in soil is to permit the soil to form a natural slope that will be stable even in the presence of water. When there is insufficient space for this inside the excavation or when the excavation sides must be vertical, construction such as that described in the following must be used.
Load-bearing enclosures known as caissons are formed in the ground, usually to protect excavation for a foundation, aid construction of the substructure, and serve as part of the permanent structure. Sometimes, a caisson is used to enclose a subsurface space to be used for such purposes as a pump well, machinery pit, or access to a deeper shaft or tunnel. Several caissons may be aligned to form a bridge pier, bulkhead, seawall, foundation wall for a building, or impervious core wall for an earth dam.
For foundations, caissons are used to facilitate construction of shafts or piers extending from near the surface of land or water to a bearing stratum. This type of construction can carry heavy loads to great depths. Built of common structural materials, they may have any shape in cross section. They range in size from about that of a pile to over 100 ft in length and width. Some small ones are considered drilled shafts. Previously described construction methods for drilled shafts are employed based on subsurface conditions and drilled shaft depth and diameter.
Caissons often are installed by...
