QUEENSLAND ROADS Edition No 3 March 2007

50
ARCHIMEDES LAW OF BUOYANCY AND THE
BACKFILLING OF DRAINAGE STRUCTURES
Abstract
The application of Archimedes Law of Buoyancy and
some associated hydrostatic forces in civil engineering
is discussed. The method for backlling of drainage
structures using a owable ll is examined.
Introduction
Engineering projects may vary in size and complexity
but certain things are common to all projects. Every
aspect of a project must obey the fundamental laws of
physics. An application of one of these laws is that of
hydrostatic pressure and in particular - Archimedes Law
of Buoyancy.
Archimedes was born about 287BC in Syracuse,
Sicily. The history of Archimedes law relates to
when Archimedes was set the task by Hiero II, King of
Syracuse, to determine if a newly made crown was in
fact made fully of gold. By fully immersing the crown
in water, measuring the volume of water displaced and
measuring the weight of the crown before and after
immersion, Archimedes was able to calculate the specic
gravity of the crown. Gold has a specic gravity of 19.3,
lead 11.3 and silver 10.5. Archimedes proved that the
crown was not 100% gold and the King had been short-
changed. Without fully knowing all the details it would
be reasonable to assume the crown was lighter than it
should have been - perhaps a life threatening mistake on
behalf of the manufacturer. The solution to this task set
by the King gave birth to Archimedes Law of Buoyancy.
Alan R Jones
BEng (Civil), RPEQ
John Spathonis
BEng(Mech), RPEQ
QUEENSLAND ROADS Edition No 3 March 2007
51
Archimedes Law of Buoyancy is a specic case of the
more general laws relating to hydrostatic pressure
1
. In
more complex cases there may be a need to revert to
fundamental hydrostatic pressure calculations. For
hydrostatic forces to act on a body the quantity or
thickness of the uid exerting pressure on the body is not
relevant as long as the uid is unrestricted and allowed
to equalise in pressure. For example, pressurised water
entering a crack in a structure may exert large forces on
the faces of the crack.
This article looks at the practical application of
Archimedes Law of Buoyancy on civil projects and in
particular the back-lling of drainage structures.
Engineering applications
Daily practical applications of Archimedes Law of
Buoyancy are common. Some engineering applications
are detailed below.
1. Service stations - After heavy rain and/or with poor
subsoil drainage conditions, the ground may become
saturated. When this saturated condition is combined
with a large empty below-ground fuel tank, large
vertically uplift forces exist. This can cause the tank
to rise to the surface, like a surfacing submarine,
lifting concrete slabs in its way. An example of this
is an empty 50,000 litre fuel tank which may have a
50 tonne uplift/buoyancy force.
2. Designers of tunnels both on land and under
watercourses must consider the effects of hydrostatic
pressure. An example of the destructive effects of
hydrostatic pressure was during the construction of
the Burnley Tunnel in Melbourne 1999. The trafc
tunnel is about 3.5km long and passes at a depth
of 60m beneath the Yarra River (1). Groundwater
1 One of these laws is Pascals law or Pascals principle which states that the uid pressure at all points in a connected body of uid at rest, which are at
the same absolute height, are the same, even if additional pressure is applied on the uid at some place. The difference of pressure between two different
heights h
1
and h
2
is given by p
2
p
1
= g(h
2
-h
1
)
pressures vary but can potentially reach approx.
600kPa. The tunnel oor was comprised of thick,
12m long unreinforced concrete slabs with a slightly
arched underside. There is a longitudinal key joint
near the centreline and transverse joints at 12m
intervals along the oor. The large hydrostatic uplift
forces on the oor threatened to fail the tunnel.
Remedial works involved anchoring the tunnel
oor to the surrounding rock by installing approx.
5,200 anchors with a 100t nominal working load to
counteract the uplift forces.
3. Swimming pools that are not designed to resist
buoyancy uplift forces must be provided with a
hydrostatic relief valve. The hydrostatic relief valve
will allow any outside water to enter the pool if the
external pressure exceeds the pressure inside the
pool. This will sometimes allow dirty water to enter
the pool however this situation is considered to be
better than developing structural cracks in oors and
walls.
An air lift pump is used on bridge construction
projects to remove excavated materials from pile
liners. These are easy to manufacture from pipe.
They are lifted in place with the aid of a crane
and require a compressor to supply compressed
air. A compressed air line is welded or strapped
to the outside of the main pipe. The outlet jet of
compressed air is directed upward at the base of
the air lift. The buoyant action of the air causes a
strong inrush of water into the pipe carrying rocks
and gravel with it. The inlet is generally restricted in
area to prevent large rocks from being caught at pipe
bends.
4.
Archimedes Law of Buoyancy A body, wholly or partially immersed in a fluid, is
acted upon by an upthrust which is equal to the weight of the fluid displaced.
QUEENSLAND ROADS Edition No 3 March 2007
52
Figure 1. Air lift pump
Compressed air
Compressed air outlet
Area reduction ring
Water, air and excavated
materials
Liner
5. Voids in pre-cast concrete products such as girders
must be restrained. During manufacture, problems
have occurred as the anchorages for voids within
girders have not had sufcient strength to withstand
the large buoyancy forces. As the specic gravity of
concrete is approx 2.5, vertical forces on the voids
(usually polystyrene blocks or cardboard tubes) are
signicant. Additionally problems have occurred
by not restraining the voids from moving vertically
downward. It has been found that lack of adequate
vibration and/or in combination with low slump
concrete mix designs can hinder the ow of concrete
beneath voids. When this occurs the hydrostatic
uplift forces cannot be developed fully and the
pressure of the concrete above the void can force the
void downward if not fully restrained
2
. Hence voids
should be rmly anchored in all directions.
6. Restraining formwork The characteristic
hydrostatic horizontal forces associated with
concrete on vertical faces of forms is well known and
understood. However, where the formwork creates
a horizontal or inclined soft, consideration must be
given to uplift forces. These hydrostatic uplift forces
are directly proportional to the height of concrete
above the point under consideration.
7. If bridges are submersed by oodwater or subject
to heavy wave action they must be capable of
resisting buoyancy and dynamic forces. To reduce
uplift forces on bridges when submerged, girders
are provided with air vent holes to bleed air trapped
between girders and diaphragms. This is important
especially where the end diaphragms are the full
depth of the girders. However, these air vent holes
do not work effectively if the bridge is subjected
to a ash ood or wave action. The air cannot
escape at a fast enough rate thereby creating large
buoyancy forces. Main Roads bridges are restrained
horizontally and where bridges are subject to ooding
they are bolted down. Girders on bridge overpasses
are also bolted down for a different reason - to
prevent dislodgement by vehicle impacts.
On 29 August 2005, Hurricane Katrina severely
damaged the Bay Saint Louis Bridge, Mississippi
USA as a result of a storm surge (Figure 2). A
number of other bridges in the region were severely
damaged. The forces created by the storm surge
were sufcient to dislodge the bridge decks from the
headstocks. The bridge decks were obviously not
adequately restrained vertically.
2 Displacement of voids occurred in this manner during the casting of girders for Cattle Creek in Queensland.
QUEENSLAND ROADS Edition No 3 March 2007
53
Figure 2. Bay Saint Louis Bridge on US Highway 90
damaged by Hurricane Katrina
Figure 3. The Falkirk Wheel
8. The Falkirk Wheel in Scotland (Figure 3) is a
mechanised lock system designed to connect the
Forth and Clyde Canal and the Union Canal. This
remarkable engineering accomplishment is the only
rotating boatlift in the world. The Falkirk Wheel can
carry a number of boats at a time with a single trip
taking about 60 minutes. There are two locks full
of water which rotate between the levels of the two
canals. The locks remain horizontal similar to the
cars in a Ferris Wheel. Through the application of
Archimedes Law of Buoyancy, the weight of each
rotating lock remains the same (and coincidently
maintains balance) regardless of the number of boats
each lock may be carrying.
QUEENSLAND ROADS Edition No 3 March 2007
54
Figure 4. Cross section
showing rst layer of
owable ll
Backlling pipes and culverts
Another focus of this article is to revisit a successful
method of backlling pipes and culverts. When
backlling against drainage structures various issues need
consideration:
Is the ll compacted adequately to prevent bank
settlement and washout
The work space beside the drainage structure requires
additional ll material
Stability of the trench is a safety consideration
Possible distortion and damage to the drainage
structure during backlling
Cost and time
One option which has been successfully used on Main
Roads projects has been to backll with a owable ll
manufactured from y-ash cement. The design strength
of the ll need only be low - in the order of 5-10MPa.
The following examples of the application of this method
of backlling occurred in the early 1990s in South
Coast Hinterland District. No subsequent problems of
subsidence or washout have been experienced.
1. Duplication of Smith Street, Southport (eastbound)
- the application was the backlling of mainly 450 &
600mm reinforced concrete pipes.
2. Jimboomba Creek, Mt Lindsay Highway - The
application was the backlling of an Armco super-
span corrugated steel plate pipe. It would have been
difcult to successfully backll this pipe/tunnel by
conventional means without areas of low compaction
or causing excessive distortion to the pipe.
3. Palen Creek #7, Mt Lindsay Highway - The
application was the backlling of multi-cell 3.6m
x 3.6m reinforced concrete culverts.
Features of this system are (refer Figure 4):
1. Where weather conditions and the embankment
height permits, the road embankment may be
fully constructed and the position for the drainage
structure cut through lastly with a dozer or
excavator. Risk and weather need to be assessed.
Temporary diversion drains can be used which are
later lled.
2. Side clearance is minimal.
3. Pipes must be rmly wedged in position to stop
lateral displacement or pipe rolling during lling
operations.
4. Fill up gaps at ends with formwork - sandbags have
been used successfully as long as the ll height of
each pour is not excessive.
5. Both sides must be lled evenly and slowly up to a
calculated depth to maintain lateral stability and to
prevent oating.
6. Backlling must be staged as the pipe will oat
due to buoyancy forces. After an initial set, the
lling may continue. Calculate the ll heights of
the various stages and provide height markers as a
guide. Allow a suitable safety margin.
Bouyancy force
Flowable fill
P
i
p
e

d
i
a
m
e
t
e
r
F
i
l
l

d
e
p
t
h
Wedges for
lateral stability
QUEENSLAND ROADS Edition No 3 March 2007
55
Figure 5.
Fill layer 1
Take into consideration the outside diameter of the pipe,
the density of the owable ll and a suitable safety
margin. The maximum submerged depth may then be
calculated. It has been found that these depths of ll
calculations are best done in conjunction with a CAD
package as the area calculations are made much simpler.
For large thin shell structures, the determining factor may
not be the buoyancy forces alone but possible distortion
of the structure - these need to be considered.
Fill layer 2
Once layer 1 of owable ll has undertaken an initial set,
layer 2 may be poured. The application of Archimedes
Law of Buoyancy now becomes more involved - refer to
Figure 5.
As long as the owable ll cannot travel between layer
1 and the bottom of the pipe to exert a hydrostatic uplift
force, the layer 2 ll can only exert a hydrostatic uplift
force on the outer sections as indicated by the area B.
Hence if layer 1 worked satisfactorily without the pipe
oating, then layer 2 can be added such that the total
projected area B should be area A.
Successive layers
The previous layer must have taken an initial set before
proceeding to pour successive layers. Repeat the
calculation used for the other layers to determine the safe
ll height.
If the top of a previous set layer is at, or above the
mid point of the pipe, the next layer may completely
cover the pipe as the hydrostatic force would be in a
downward direction. As mentioned above, the possibility
of distortion of large thin shell structures should be
considered.
Conclusion
Archimedes Law of Buoyancy is as applicable today as it
was over 2000 years ago and will remain so for eternity.
Its application in construction projects is broad and
ignoring its effects can lead to disastrous results.
The use of owable ll in the backlling of drainage
structures is a tool that can lead to reduced whole of life
costs as well as ensuring the quality of backll.
References
Pells P. Remedial works for the Burnley Tunnel,
Melbourne. Pells Sullivan Meynink Pty Ltd (http://
www.psmsyd.com.au/projects.htm) October 2005.
1.
Area A
Area B
Layer 1
Layer 2