Excavation support systems are temporary earth retaining structures that allow the sides of excavation to be cut vertical or near vertical. They are used to minimize the excavation area, to keep the sides of deep excavations stable, and to ensure that movements will not cause damage to neighboring structures or to utilities in the surrounding ground.
In many construction jobs that have deep excavations, excavation support system must be made before the structure can be built. When excavations have the potential to endanger lives or adjacent properties bracing to support the soil must be designed.
Excavation is any human-made cut, depression in earth surface formed by earth removal.
Several excavation support systems are used worldwide like:
- Sheet pile.
- Soldier pile and lagging wall.
- Retaining wall.
- Gabions.
- Cofferdam.
- Slurry wall.
- Big boulder.
- Soil nailing.
- Freezing.
Locally, in Nablus, types of excavation support systems are limited to open cut, retaining wall, bored cast in-situ piles and big boulder.