Papers by Ruben Dominguez Alfaro
17th Pan-American Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering . ISSMGE, 2024
The case of a contiguous piles wall, designed as part of the project to rescue a collapsed diaphr... more The case of a contiguous piles wall, designed as part of the project to rescue a collapsed diaphragm wall, is presented. The pile wall is built in the soft soils of Mexico City; the rescue process process involved the pile wall, excavation with two levels of struts, berms and slopes. The analysis and design were carried out through numerical modeling, using the finite element method, and includes the effect of soil arching between piles. The advantages and disadvantages of modeling the piles as volume elements or beams are shown. Some aspects observed during construction are highlighted, which demonstrate the correct functioning of the wall. Measurements of displacements on the wall are shown, as well as a comparison with the ones estimated with numerical modeling
17th Pan-American Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. ISSMGE, 2024
The case of the construction, failure and rescue project of a diaphragm wall, built in the very s... more The case of the construction, failure and rescue project of a diaphragm wall, built in the very soft clays of Mexico City is presented. The wall is part of the foundation in a top-down excavation process. During the construction of the caisson structure, the failure of 6 panels was reported, thus requiring forensic work to find the root cause of the failure mechanism, which was due to the lack of embedment, induced by the excavation of nearby ditch, which was not foreseen at the design stage. To provide a safe area for rehabilitation work, an adjacent support pile wall was designed. The general retrofit construction procedure is described, as well as general geotechnical design considerations. This case history highlights the importance of constant communication between geotechnical designers and contractors, as well as geotechnical monitoring in the process
6to Simposio Internacional de Cimentaciones Profundas y Mejoramiento de Suelos. SMIG-DFI-GEO Institute, 2023
Se presenta el caso de un muro de pilas contiguas, coladas en sitio, diseñado como una obra auxil... more Se presenta el caso de un muro de pilas contiguas, coladas en sitio, diseñado como una obra auxiliar para el rescate de seis paneles colapsados de un muro pantalla. El muro se construyó en los suelos blandos de la ciudad de México; además, cuenta con dos niveles de troquelamiento, bermas y taludes. Se describe el análisis y diseño, mediante modelado numérico del muro de pilas, que incluye el efecto del arqueo del suelo en la magnitud de la presión del suelo. Se resaltan algunos aspectos observados durante la construcción, los cuales muestran el correcto funcionamiento del muro. Se presenta el historial de desplazamientos medidos en el muro, así como una comparación con los desplazamientos estimados con el modelado numérico.
XXXI Reunión Nacional de Ingeniería Geotécnica. SMIG, 2022
Se expone el caso de la construcción, falla y proyecto de rescate de un muro diafragma definitivo... more Se expone el caso de la construcción, falla y proyecto de rescate de un muro diafragma definitivo ubicado en la zona geotécnica III de la Ciudad de México. Este muro forma parte de la solución de excavación en una secuencia tipo top-down. Durante la construcción de la estructura del cajón, se reportó la falla de 6 paneles; requiriendo un trabajo especializado para detectar que el mecanismo de falla fue por falta de empotramiento debido a una zanja no prevista en la etapa de diseño. Para proporcionar una zona segura para los trabajos de rehabilitación, se diseñó una excavación auxiliar por medio de un muro de pilas. Como lecciones aprendidas, este caso muestra la importancia de una constante comunicación entre las partes interesadas del proyecto, así como un servicio de acompañamiento geotécnico para prevenir dicho tipo de fallas
XXX Reunión Nacional de Ingeniería Geotécnica. SMIG, 2020
The case of an excavation for the deep foundation of a housing building located in the area of hi... more The case of an excavation for the deep foundation of a housing building located in the area of hills of Mexico City is presented, the excavation is solved based on a retaining system of shotcrete, complemented by a system of tension anchors. During internal audits carried out on the work site, multiple reiterative deficiencies in the quality of the construction procedure were detected. It is worth mentioning that the system lacked preventive drains that allowed the pore pressure to be reduced in the event of saturation of the medium. This case shows that the poor quality of the construction procedure and the lack of necessary drains in the rainy season were the most likely factors that caused the structural failure of the earth retaining system. Finally, comments are included on the lessons learned from all those aspects of relevance detected to contribute to the reflection of a better professional practice.
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Papers by Ruben Dominguez Alfaro