Evaluation of negative skin friction on sheet pile walls at the Rio Grande dry dock, Brazil

The Rio Grande dry dock aimed at the construction and repair of vessels of PETROBRAS, the Brazilian State Oil Company. Situated in the city of Rio Grande, in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, the construction of the dry dock required an excavation about 350 m long, 133 m wide and 17 m deep. Sheet pile walls were used in most of the project, although diaphragm walls were also used. Four levels of prestressed anchors were used. Figure 1 shows the dry dock after the construction of the bottom slab.