Experimental study on soil deformation due to penetration of impervious wall considering overburden pressure

A new experimental apparatus is professionally developed to investigate the behaviors of the interface between diaphragm wall end and soil considering overburden pressure. The results indicate that: (1) the wall end resistance with penetration-induced deformation appears large difference under different overburden pressures; (2) the wall end resistance increases with the increasing overburden pressure under the same penetration-induced soil deformation; (3) the wall end resistance increases with the increasing penetration-induced soil deformation under the certain overburden pressure, but it has a limit value; (4) the wall end resistance has a small influence on the surrounding soil. The wall end resistance and the penetration-induced soil deformation increase the vertical deformation of soil. The soil below the wall end appears vertical compressive deformation, and the soil above the level of wall end has downward movement trend. On the basis of the tests, mathematical expressions for the wall end resistance and the penetration-induced soil deformation considering overburden pressure are proposed.