Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 16 2001.

7786

Methods of resisting hydrostatic uplift in substructures

I.H. WongU
Mitic Associates, 95 Cashew Road 03-03, Singapore 679666, Singapore
Received 5 March 2001; received in revised form 8 May 2001; accepted 10 May 2001

Abstract
Many underground structures are constructed for use as car parks and shops in basements of buildings and as mass rapid
transit stations, depressed roadways and civil defense shelters in cities located in coastal areas where the ground is level and the
elevations are low, with an attendant high groundwater table. This paper discusses the various methods of resisting hydrostatic
uplift. These include the use of tension piles and the installation of a water pressure relief system under the base slab of the
basement. A case history in Singapore employing a pressure relief system below a three-level basement is presented. 2001
Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Deep excavation; Groundwater pressure; Uplift; Stiff; Soft soils

1. Introduction
A large amount of underground space is being constructed each year in Singapore and other cities. Basements in buildings mainly serve as car parks and shops.
In Singapore, government regulations require the developers of shopping malls, offices, apartment complexes and hotels to provide on-site vehicle parking.
The very high costs of land here have forced developers
to house the car parks within the buildings, mostly in
basements. Underground space is also used as mass
rapid transit stations, depressed roadways and civil
defense shelters.
Many cities are located in coastal areas where the
ground is level and the elevations are low, with an
attendant high groundwater table. The underground
structures in these cities thus have to be designed to
resist high hydrostatic uplift loads. Many jurisdictions
require that the design groundwater table for uplift be
taken at the ground level.
This paper discusses the various methods of resisting
U

Corresponding author. Tel.: q65-7664307; fax: q65-7626924.

E-mail address: inghwong@singnet.com.sg I.H. Wong..

hydrostatic uplift. These include the use of tension

piles and the installation of a water pressure relief
system below the base slab of the basement structure.
A case history in Singapore employing a pressure relief
system below a three-level basement is presented.

2. Mechanism of flotation caused by hydraulic uplift

The design of underground structures and basements
of buildings requires checking for the possibility of
flotation due to the forces of hydrostatic uplift. In the
permanent condition, the minimum ground water level
adjacent to the excavation is commonly assumed to be
at the highest recorded flood level, or the finished
ground level, whichever is higher.
The mechanism of flotation caused by hydrostatic
uplift is illustrated in Fig. 1 for the general cases of a
building with a basement and an underground structure.
The uplift force U acting on a structure of base width
B is given by:
Uplift force, Us w z B

0886-7798r01r$ - see front matter 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 8 8 6 - 7 7 9 8 0 1 . 0 0 0 3 7 - 2

I.H. Wong r Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 16 (2001) 7786

78

Where:
w s
z s
B s

unit weight of water

water table height outside the excavation.
relative to the base of structure
width of the structure at its base

The resisting force R is offered by the self-weight of

the structure W, weight of backfill or the wedge of soil
sticking to the basement wall Ws and the shear resistance S of the soil along the planes aa and bb. In
computing the weight of backfill or the soil wedge, the
saturated or the bulk unit weight of the soil is used
below and above the water table, respectively. For Case
A in Fig. 1, the submerged unit weight of the soil below
the water table should be used in computing the weight
of the soil wedges.
Total resisting force,
R s Wq Ws q S
Factor of safety against flotation s RrU.
For underground structures, the weight of soil back-

fill within the top 1.52.0 meters of the ground surface

is normally ignored if the structure width is less than 15
m. However, if the structure width is more than 15 m,
the backfill within the top 1.5 m is ignored for a
half-width of the structure. Where a building basement
is constructed using conventionally cast walls and
waterproofing membrane inside a temporary cofferdam, the shear resistance between the walls of the
structure and soil is generally ignored.

3. Conventional methods to resist uplift

For tall buildings with basements, the weight of the
completed structure is generally adequate to resist the
uplift at the base. However, measures to counteract
flotation are still provided to cater for the construction
stage of the structure, and also to reduce the bending
moments in the base slab.
One of the following methods can be used to counteract uplift forces on the substructure. The method
chosen depends on the subsurface conditions, the particulars of the project and the method of construction.
3.1. Toeing in of base slab into surrounding ground
When a substructure is constructed inside a temporary cofferdam or open excavation, permanent resistance to uplift can be provided by extending the base
slab beyond the perimeter wall. The weight of the
backfill above the toed-in base slab adds to the weight
of the structure in resisting uplift. This method is not
feasible where a diaphragm or secant pile wall is used
as a permanent retaining structure.
3.2. Increasing dead weight of structure
The self-weight of the structure can be increased by
thickening its structural members including the structural base slab. Increasing the base slab thickness is not
very economical because only the submerged weight of
the concrete gives additional resistance to uplift. This is
because the contribution from the weight of any additional thickness of concrete should take into account
the increased volume of water displaced. An increased
base slab thickness requires a deeper excavation, resulting in larger ground movements and requiring a
stronger temporary support system. In some projects,
the dead weight of the low rise podium in a high rise
complex is increased by incorporating a roof top garden
with a thick soil fill.
3.3. Ground anchors

Fig. 1. Basement and underground structure subjected to hydrostatic

uplift forces.

Prestressed anchors can be used as a temporary

measure to counteract flotation forces. In many juris-

I.H. Wong r Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 16 (2001) 7786

dictions, their application as a permanent measure to

resist uplift is limited by concerns about their long-term
performance with respect to corrosion.
3.4. Tension piles
This is the most commonly used method of resisting
uplift. The various types of tension piles include steel
tension piles, micropiles and bored piles.
Steel tension piles are discouraged in Singapore due
to concerns about their corrosion. However, studies by
Romanoff 1962, 1969. showed that corrosion of driven
steel piles in undisturbed natural soils is very small.
According to British Standards BS8004:1986 British
Standard Institution, 1986., for a steel pile driven into
undisturbed natural ground below the permanent water
table, the corrosion rate is negligible. Wong and Law
1999. reported a maximum corrosion rate of
0.0150.018 mmryear and an average corrosion rate of
0.01 mmryear for steel H-piles driven into completely
decomposed granite in Singapore.
Micropiles and bored piles are commonly used for
resisting uplift. The full-length reinforcement for these
tension piles is required to be corrosion protected by
epoxy coating or by hot dip galvanizing. Due to the
inability of concrete to carry tension, the use of bored
piles for resisting uplift is inefficient.
Bored piles are commonly installed before the excavation for the main basement structure is carried out.
Thus, the part of the bored piles through the basement
space is usually left empty or is backfilled with soil.
Such unproductive drilling increased the cost of bored
piles. The presence of the struts, king posts and decking system normally precludes the deployment of bored
piling machines at the base of the excavation. Micropiling machines require smaller headroom, and thus the
installation of micropiles can await the completion of
excavation of the basement. It is common for the base
slab to be cast with pipe sleeves to be left in the base
slab. Micropiles can then be installed through the pipe
sleeves in the slab. The time required for the drilling of
the bored piles or micropiles at the base of the excavation before the casting of the base slab could result in
larger ground movements.
If soft clay is present at the base of the excavation,
trafficability of the piling machine on the soft clay
could be difficult.

Various published tests have indicated that the skin

frictional resistance of short piles to uplift load is lower
than that mobilized in resistance to compression loading. Accordingly, higher factors of safety are generally
used in the design of uplift piles. Pullout tests are also
conducted for large projects to ensure that there is an
adequate factor of safety against the pile pulling out of
the ground.
When a large number of tension piles are arranged
in a closely spaced group below a substructure, the
uplift resistance of the group may not be equal to the
cumulative uplift resistance of all the piles in the
group. This is because, at limiting equilibrium, the
entire block of soil enclosed by the piles may be lifted.
The load transfer mechanism between the piles and
soil is complex and depends largely on the character of
the ground and the method of pile installation.
For tension pile groups in cohesionless soils, the
volume of soil that can be lifted by the pile group is
defined by a simplified spread of load from piles to soil
as shown in Fig. 2. Tomlinson 1994. suggests using an
empirical distribution of one horizontal to four vertical.
In this method, the total weight to be lifted includes
the combined weight of the piles and the surrounding
soil, plus the weight of the structure. For tension pile
groups in cohesive soils, the uplift resistance of the
block of soil in the undrained loading case will be
similar to that shown in Fig. 3. The total uplift resistance of the group Q u is given by:
Q u s 2 LH q 2 BH . c u q W
Where L and B are the overall length and width of the
pile group, respectively, H is the length of the pile, c u
is the average undrained shear strength of the soil
around the sides of the group and W is the combined
weight of the block of soil and piles enclosed by the
pile group plus the weight of the structure.
For the cases shown in Figs. 2 and 3, if the design
uplift force corresponds to that acting at the base of
the substructure, then only the submerged weights of
the part of the piles and the soil below the water table

4. Design of tension piles

In tension piles, the resistance to uplift is provided
by the friction or adhesion between the pile and the
surrounding soil. The uplift resistance can be increased
in the case of bored piles by under-reaming or belling
out of the bottom of the piles.

79

Fig. 2. Tension pile group in cohesionless soils.

80

I.H. Wong r Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 16 (2001) 7786

Fig. 3. Tension pile group in cohesive soils.

should be used in resisting the uplift. The allowable

uplift resistance of the group must not be greater than
the sum of the uplift resistance of the individual piles
in the group.

5. Methods to reduce or eliminate uplift

An attractive alternative to the use of tension piles
or other uplift resisting measures is to provide permanent dewatering using an under-drain system. This
technique has been successfully used on many projects.
Significant savings can be realized. Apart from significant up-front cost savings, this technique helps to keep
the basements dry.
Lowering the water table by pumping from an
under-drain system is one of the most effective methods of preventing water ingress into a basement and of
reducing the uplift pressure on the base slab Cedegren,
1967.. Cedegren lists many common applications of
dewatering for control of water ingress and for uplift
resistance for road bases, airport runways, dry docks,
dams and basements.
Dewatering by pumping from sumps connected to an
under-drain is widely practiced in a large number of
buildings with basements. In the United States, for
example, most single family or detached houses with
basements in areas where the water table is high, or
where it could rise during the wet weather, have pumps
installed in sumps connected to an under-drain. The
pumps would turn on automatically when the water
level in the sump reaches a certain pre-set level and
would switch off by themselves after the water level
falls to another pre-set level after pumping.
In Southeast Asia, permanent dewatering is employed or proposed on a number of buildings. In
Jakarta, permanent dewatering is reportedly employed
or planned for the proposed 62-story BDNI project
with a 22-m deep basement, and the proposed Menara
Jakarta with a height equivalent to a 74-story building
with a three-level basement. In Hong Kong permanent

dewatering is utilized at the Jockey Club headquarters

building at Happy Valley with a 16-story tower and a
4.5-m deep basement.
Most permanent pressure relief or dewatering systems involve passive dewatering where a drainage
blanket is installed under the raft or bottom slab of the
basement and water entering the drainage blanket flows
towards one or more sumps where it is removed by
pumping.
Active dewatering involves pumping from permanent
well points or deep wells to lower the water level.
Active dewatering is required where there is a relatively thin impervious soil zone below the base slab and
this impervious soil is in turn underlain by a pervious
deposit. In this case the base of the impervious zone is
subject to the full hydrostatic pressure corresponding
to the head difference between the original ground
water table and the base of the impervious zone.

6. Design of under-drain system

The first thing in the design of the under-drain is to
estimate the quantity of seepage expected. The estimation can be done by the flow net method assuming
two-dimensional condition or by numerical analysis
such as the finite element method. Since the underdrain operation is long-term, steady state seepage analysis is appropriate.
From an analysis of flow in an isotropic soil using a
flow net, the quantity of flow q per meter run is equal
to kHNfrNd where k is the permeability of the soil, H
is the head using the base of the drainage blanket as
datum, Nf is the number of flow channels and Nd is
the number of head drops. For an anisotropic soil, the
effective permeability is k h k v . 0.5 where k h and k v are
the horizontal and vertical permeability, respectively. It
is conservative to multiply the value of q from the 2-D
analysis by the total length of the perimeter of the
basement to obtain the total flow to be discharged by
the under-drain system.
Finite element and finite difference analysis programs are now readily available for the analysis of
seepage problems. Three-dimensional analyses are
complicated and time consuming to perform. It is common practice to treat the problem as 2-D or axi-symmetrical. As in the method using flow nets, the flow
obtained in the 2-D analysis can be multiplied by the
total perimeter length to arrive at the total discharge.
A substructure that is rectangular in plan can be replaced in the analysis by an equivalent circular structure with the same perimeter length and analyzed as an
axi-symmetric case.
The drainage blanket should be pervious and thick
enough to discharge the quantity of water seeping into
it from the underlying soil and also should be able to

I.H. Wong r Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 16 (2001) 7786

Table 1
Discharge capacities of pipes and aggregate drains
Drain type

152-mm Diameter
concrete pipe
2.8 m2 Aggregate
drain
12 m2 Aggregate
drain
370 m2 Aggregate
drain

Aggregate
size
mm.

Permeability
of aggregates
mrday.

Gradient

0.01
1925
619
Clean pea
gravel

36 500

0.01

9100

0.01

300

0.01

resist the migration of fines from the underlying soil.

Typically, sand or gravel is used. The thickness and the
permeability of the material in the drainage blanket
required depend on the quantity of the discharge.
It is common practice to embed perforated or slit
pipes in the drainage blanket to increase its discharge
capacity. Cedegren 1967. has compared the sizes of
different aggregate drains with the same discharge
capacity as 152-mm diameter concrete. This comparison is presented in Table 1, and it follows that drain
pipes would greatly increase the discharge capacities of
aggregate drains in which they are embedded.
For a certain project in Singapore involving the installation of an under-drain system, the expected seepage into the 100-m by 40-m blanket is 18.9 m3rh.
There are four sumps placed at even intervals along
the longitudinal axis of the blanket. The seepage toward each sump from each direction longitudinal. can
be taken to be approximately 18.9r8. s 2.36 m3rh.
From the results of laboratory tests, the permeability
of the granular material in the drainage blanket is
1 = 10y4 mrs. For a 0.3-m= 25-m strip, the discharge
at a hydraulic gradient of 0.01 is:
Q b s Akis 0.3= 25 = 1 = 10y4 = 0.01
s 7.5= 10y6 m3rs s 0.027 m3rh
Flow through a pipe can be computed as follows:
Q p s A prn . r 2r3 s 0.5

81

where A p is the area of the pipe and r is the hydraulic

radius of the pipe, s is the hydraulic gradient, and n is
Mannings coefficient.
The calculations in Table 2 show that, without the
pipes, the discharge capacity of the drainage blanket
will be inadequate. They also show that the discharge
capacity of the under-drain system is greatly increased
if pipes are embedded in the blanket.
In Singapore, drain pipes are embedded in the
drainage blankets in the permanent dewatering system
in use in the entire Raffles City Complex, and in the
reconstructed Fullerton Square building.
To resist the potential for piping or migration of
fines from the underlying soil, a filter should be placed
between the drainage blanket and the subgrade soil.
The filter should be designed based on criteria such as
the ones proposed by Terzaghi as shown below:
w D 15 of filter . rD 85 of soil .x - 4 to 5
- w D 15 of filter . rD 15 of soil .x
where D 15 and D8 5 are the sizes at which 15 or 85% by
weight of the material is finer.
Compliance with the criterion on the left side of the
inequality generally will prevent piping. The criterion
on the right side of the inequality will ensure sufficient
permeability to prevent the buildup of large seepage
forces and hydrostatic pressures in the filters.
Filters can consist of granular materials or geofabrics. Where perforated drainpipes are embedded in the
drainage blanket, it is prudent and a common practice
to wrap the drain pipes in geofabrics.
The pumps installed in the sumps should be able to
handle the maximum estimated flow. It is common
practice to have pumps that can discharge from five to
10 times the maximum estimated flow. Multiple sumps
should be used, sited strategically at different parts of
the substructure. There should be two pumps at each
sump, the second pump serving as standby. A standby
electricity generating set should be provided.
6.1. Operating costs
The operating costs for an under-drain system in-

Table 2
Discharge capacities of drain pipes of various sizes
Pipe
radius R
m.

Hydraulic
radius r
m.

Hydraulic
gradient i

Discharge
Qp
m3rs.

Discharge
Qp
m3rh.

0.05
0.075
0.10
0.15

0.025
0.0375
0.05
0.075

0.01
0.01
0.01
0.01

0.0048
0.0141
0.030
0.089

17.28
50.76
108.0
320.5

Ratio
Qp r Qb
640
1880
4000
11 870

I.H. Wong r Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 16 (2001) 7786

82

clude maintenance of the pumps and the electric and

water disposal charges. The power required in running
the pumps can be estimated from the following equation:
Ps gQHr 1000n .
where:
P s unit power capacity in kW
s mass density of water in kgrm3
g s acceleration due to gravity in mrs 2
Qs discharge in m3rs
Hs effective head in m
n s efficiency
For the example given here, with a discharge of
Qs 18.9 m3rh or 0.00525 m3rs and a head of 15 m,
and an efficiency n s 0.5, the power Ps 1000 = 9.81=
0.00525 = 15r1000 = 0.5. s 1.55 kW. The annual
power consumption is 1.55= 24 = 365 s 13578 kW h.
At a charge of Singapore $0.16 per kW h, the annual
electricity charge is S $2172.

7. Effects of dewatering on adjacent ground and

structures
Continual pumping of water from a drainage blanket
beneath a basement or underground structure may
cause settlement of adjacent ground and structures. A
proper knowledge of the soil and groundwater conditions is essential in deciding the provisions for permanent drainage beneath substructures. It is important to
obtain all the necessary information on the geohydrological regime of the ground during the site investigation stages of the project.
A perfectly watertight wall penetrating into an impermeable soil layer at the bottom of the excavation
would preclude flow of water from the surrounding soil
towards the drainage blanket. In practice however, this
situation rarely exists. When water flows into the

drainage blanket from the adjacent ground, a decrease

in ground water pressure will occur. This will cause an
increase in effective stress and settlement of the soil
surrounding the excavation. If a compressible clay layer
exists above or below the water bearing layer from
which pumping is being carried out, the increase in the
effective stress causes the soft soils to consolidate, with
accompanying settlements of the ground surface.
The effects of groundwater lowering will be more
severe in the case of clay and peat. The settlements
may be significant even in the case of loose sands and
silts when the water table fluctuates. Little or no settlements may occur in the case of dense sands, gravels
and very stiff to hard clays. Due consideration must be
given to settlements of piled foundations as the ground
settlements may impose significant down-drag forces on
the piles due to negative skin friction. Groundwater
table lowering may expose and cause untreated timber
piles to rot.
Four general cases of substructures with permanent
drainage provisions in different ground conditions are
considered here to illustrate the suitability of different
subsurface conditions for permanent under-drains.
Fig. 4 illustrates subsurface conditions where permanent under-drains as a means of uplift control are
suitable in Case A, the substructure is located in an
impervious soil of large thickness. In this case, the
seepage will be very small and the extent and effects of
the lowering of the groundwater level will be very
limited. In Case B, a cutoff wall penetrates past the
pervious layer into the impervious zone below. The
seepage amount will be small, as the cut-off wall would
prevent the flow of water from the pervious soil toward
the basement drainage system. The effects of the
groundwater lowering on adjacent structures and
ground will be very small.
Subsurface conditions shown in Fig. 5 are not suitable for the use of permanent under-drains as a means
of uplift control. In both cases shown in Fig. 5 a
pervious water-bearing layer exists below a soft clayey
soil. In Case A, the basement wall does not penetrate

Fig. 4. Two cases where a permanent under-drain system is feasible.

I.H. Wong r Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 16 (2001) 7786

83

Fig. 5. Two cases where a permanent under-drain system is not feasible.

into the impervious soil below the pervious layer. When

the pervious soil layer is thin, and as the water it
contains is depleted, the lowering of the piezometric
level could be large and wide. Consolidation settlement
of the soft clayey layer would be large and the effects
on adjacent structures and ground could be potentially
severe. In Case B, when the pervious soil layer is thick
and the cutoff wall does not penetrate fully and go past
the thick pervious layer, the quantity of seepage will be
very large and the cost of pumping may render a
permanent under-drain scheme uneconomical. The
ground settlements due to consolidation of the upper
soft clayey layer may also be large.
Permanent under-drain systems shown in Fig. 5 can
be made feasible by constructing cut-off walls and
socketting them into the underlying impervious layer.
In practice, if the underlying material is not fully impervious, piezometric level lowering and ground settlements will likely occur.
The consolidation settlement of a clay layer induced
by a lowering of the groundwater or piezometric level
can be calculated as follows:

S s w HCrr 1 q eo .x x log w pc . rpo x q w HCc

r 1 q eo .x x log w poq u . rpc x
for a soil that is lightly or moderately over-consolidated. The pre-consolidation pressure pc may be exceeded if the pore water pressure is lowered. A lowering of the groundwater or piezometric level will cause
large settlement if the pre-consolidation pressure is
exceeded. In the preceding three equations,
po
pc
u
H
Cr
Cc

is the existing effective overburden pressure.

is the pre-consolidation pressure.
is the decrease in pore water pressure.
is the thickness of the clay layer.
is the recompression index in the pressure range
below the pre-consolidation pressure.
is the compression index in the pressure range
beyond the pre-consolidation pressure.

for a soil that is heavily over-consolidated such that the

pre-consolidation pressure pc is not likely to be exceeded when the pore water pressure is lowered, p 0 <
pc . Settlements will generally be small .

In Singapore the maximum water draw down is generally limited to 3 m except for works in the vicinity of
mass rapid transit system while the limit is only 1 m
where soft clayey soils are present. Recharging of the
surrounding ground with recharge wells is often used to
reduce the ground and structure settlements caused by
dewatering. While recharging has often been utilized
for temporary excavation projects, its use in connection
with a permanent under-drain system is uncommon
and thus its effectiveness uncertain.

S s w HCcr 1 q eo .x x log w poq u . rpo x

8. Case history Raffles City

for a soil that is normally consolidated. That is a soil

that has not been subjected to a higher effective pressure than the present effective overburden pressure.
po s pc . A lowering of the groundwater or piezometric
level will generally cause large settlements.

A landmark project where permanent dewatering has

been employed for control of water ingress and uplift is
the Raffles City project Fig. 6. in downtown Singapore,
located on the Bouldery Clay formation. The project
comprises four high rise structures plus an eight-story

S s w HCrr 1 q eo .x x log w poq u . rpo x

I.H. Wong r Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 16 (2001) 7786

84

podium. The high rise structures are one 73-story tower,

one 42-story tower and two 28-story towers, all of which
are supported on rafts resting directly on the Bouldery
Clay. The eight-story podium is supported on individual
footings also resting on the Bouldery Clay.
An under-drain system has been installed under the
rafts of the towers and the base slab under the podium
connected to nine sumps. The thickness of the drainage
blanket is 600 mm. Pumping from the sumps keeps the
basement dry and relieves the hydrostatic pressure that
otherwise would build up under the rafts and the base
slab. No tension piles or soil anchors are used. The top
surface of the tower rafts is located 12.6 m below the
ground surface.
The settlements of the tower blocks and of the
podium structure were monitored at regular intervals
during the construction. The maximum settlements are
610 mm for the podium, 1621 mm for the two
28-story towers, 27 mm for the 42-story tower and 48
mm for the 73-story tower.
8.1. Site conditions
At the Raffles City site, the soil consists of fill and

Table 3
Index properties of clay matrix of bouldery clay at Raffles City
Complex
Index properties

Range of
values

Liquid limit %
Plasticity index %
Percent fines %
Percent clay %

3754
2136
64100
3854

the Bouldery Clay. The fill, a predominantly medium to

coarse-grained silty sand, was encountered over the
entire site and extended down to 14 m depth at the
corner of Bras Basah and Beach Roads.
The Bouldery Clay below the fill is very stiff to hard
and is composed of predominantly clay. Gravel, cobbles
and boulders are embedded in the Bouldery Clay. At
the site, the thickness of this layer varies from 50 to 80
m. The index properties of the stiff clay matrix are
given in Table 3. The properties of the Bouldery Clay
have been reported by others Shirlaw et al., 1990;
Wong et al., 1996.. The pressure meter modulus from
tests done without unloading and reloading. was 40150
MPa with an average value of 95 MPa.
Laboratory permeability tests using triaxial machines
on intact samples indicate that the permeability of the
clayey silt and silty clay matrix material is very low,
from approximately 5 = 10y1 0 to 8 = 10y1 1 mrs. Field
variable head permeability tests done in bored holes
indicate a higher permeability ranging from 2 = 10y6
to 2 = 10y8 mrs.
The boulders encountered within the clayey silt and
silty clay matrix are sandstone. In some of the boulders
the sandstone has been weathered. However, in most
boulders it is fresh with its unconfined compression
strength ranging from 24 to 108 MPa.
The bedrock beneath the Bouldery Clay consists of
shale, siltstone and fine-grained sandstone, which are
moderately to highly fractured and weathered.
8.2. Performance of under-drain system

Fig. 6. Raffles City complex.

The under-drain system in the three-level basement

has performed very well since the buildings were put
into service some 18 years ago. The flows into the
sumps have been very small. Table 4 presents the
quantity of flow into each of the sumps. No adverse
effects on neighboring buildings have been reported as
a result of the dewatering at Raffles City. Many of
these neighboring buildings are or were pre-war structures supported on either footings or short piles and
thus would be sensitive to settlements.
In Fig. 7, photograph A shows the flow being measured at one of the sumps while photograph B shows
another sump where the flow was also very small. As

I.H. Wong r Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 16 (2001) 7786

Table 4
Measured flow rates at sumps at Raffles City Complex

Sump 1
Sump 2
Sump 3
Sump 4
Sump 5
Sump 6
Sump 7
Sump 8
Sump 9
Total flow

Flow rate on
23 March 1995
lrmin.

Flow rate on
15 August 1996
lrmin.

Flow rate on
19 February 1997
lrmin.

Sunny day

Rainy day

Sunny day

0.165
0.097
0.143
0.106
0.085
nil
0.031
nil
0.025
0.652

0.515
0.113
0.355
0.269
0.097
0.061
0.098
0.016
0.075
1.599

0.151
0.068
0.145
0.089
0.046
Trickle
0.054
0.012
Trickle
0.565

noted in Table 4, on 2 of the 3 days when flow measurements were made, the weather was dry, and on the
third day, it was raining. The total flow ranged from 0.6
to 1.6 lrmin, which is very small.

9. Beneficial effects of pressure relief system for

waterproofing of basement
A pressure relief system installed below the base slab
of a basement has the added merit of helping to keep
the base slab dry. Wong 1997. discusses the wetness
problems of basement walls built of diaphragm walls. A
survey of deep basements in Singapore by the author
indicates that many of these basements have slabs that
have leakage problems. Such leaking base slabs are
unsightly, pose safety problems for tenants and members of the public, and generally downgrade the quality
of life and enjoyment for those using the basement.
By contrast Raffles City is very dry because of the
pressure relief system installed. There are no evidences
of any leaks through the base slabs. For the five-star

85

Fullerton Hotel, which was converted from the old

Fullerton Building, the ballroom is located in the onelevel basement where an under-drain system has been
installed to relieve the hydrostatic pressure.

10. Conclusions
Methods of resisting hydrostatic uplift loads at the
base of basements and other substructures include the
use of tension piles, shear keys and under-drains.
Tension piles that can be used to resist uplift loads
include steel H piles, micropiles and bored piles. Published literature strongly suggests that steel piles installed in undisturbed, native soil undergo very little
corrosion. Piles installed under a substructure would
invariably be in natural soil since the overlying fill will
mostly likely have been excavated. Micropiles similarly
are suitable for resisting uplift loads. Bored piles are
uneconomical structurally as tension piles because the
concrete in the bored piles cannot carry tension loads.
Installing shear keys into the soil beyond the perimeter of the basement is not practicable in situations
where diaphragm walls, secant pile walls, or contiguous
bored pile walls serve as permanent walls.
Where ground conditions are suitable, under-drains
are very effective for relieving the hydrostatic pressure
acting at the base of substructures, particularly if the
substructures are located in stiff and impermeable soils.
For very stiff or hard soils, the lowering of the
groundwater level induce little or no adverse effects on
surrounding ground or adjacent structures
For sites surrounded by soft soils or deep pervious
layers permanent dewatering is not feasible because of
the potential for large ground settlements and for the
influence zone of the groundwater lowering to spread
far from the substructure site.

Fig. 7. Photographs of sumps in under-drain system at Raffles City complex after Anand, 1997..

86

I.H. Wong r Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 16 (2001) 7786

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Cedegren, H.R., 1967. Seepage, Drainage and Flow Nets. John Wiley,
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Romanoff, M., 1962. Performance of steel pilings in soil. NBS Monograph 58, National Bureau of Standards. US Dept. of Commerce.
Romanoff, M., 1969. Performance of Steel Pilings in Soil. Proc. 25th
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