Slurry (diaphragm) wall with bentonite
Muro pantalla de hormigón con lodo bentonítico
- Date
- c. 1950 · confidence low
- Place
- Milan, Lombardy, Italy
- Credited to
- Carlo Veder (ICOS company)
- Field
- Tools
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A deep trench is dug filled with bentonite slurry that holds the sides, then concreted from the bottom up, displacing the slurry. It creates continuous retaining and foundation walls below the water table without shoring.
The first diaphragm walls are credited to the Italian firm ICOS in the 1950s; dates and first works vary between sources.
What it led to
- deep basements and urban metros dug inside cities
- dams with cut-off walls
- diaphragm walls as skyscraper foundations