Effects of dewatering methods on seepage and deformation of foundation pits

A usual approach for foundation pits is to decrease water level. It is necessary to evaluate the seepage and induced deformation in the soil base. The numerical simulation software, Visual MODFLOW, is used to analyze the seepage field of a foundation pit in Wuhan. The deformation of the soil base is accordingly derived using the layer-wise summation method. The analysis results show that the water level increases and the settlement of the soil base decreases as the distance from the foundation pit increases. The water level exhibits a significant loss near the curtain. The settlement decreases rapidly near the curtain, and the decrease rate becomes small when the distance is fairly large. The dewatering effect will increase and the settlement of the soil base decreases if the curtain depth increases.