Sheet Pile Walls.

Simplified section of typical sheet pile

Sheet piles are:

1. Interlocking steel sections that come in a variety of shapes.
2. Driven by impact or vibratory hammers.
3. Generally steel but can use timber or concrete.
4. Common for temporary works as they are reusable and they
are often used for permanent waterside works (quays etc.)
5. Lengths up to 10 to 15m.
Sheet piled walls can be either:

a. Cantilever

or

b. Propped / anchored
 Active

Passive A

Active Passive

Sheet pile

Assumed deformed shape

Cantilever Wall – assumed action, uniform soil profile.

 To analyse wall, cut wall off at A and
replace forces below A with force R.
Take moments about A and find depth
Active of embedment, d, to ensure moment
Passive A equilibrium.
R

Sheet pile

Cantilever Wall – assumed action, uniform soil profile.

•Design approaches:
A.Permissable Stress Method/Lumped Factor of Safety.

•This is the previous method used in the UK before the introduction of limit state design and still used in
many parts of the world.

•In this method the structure is analysed with:

1. the actual dead loads

2. the most unfavourable combinations of live loads

3. actual soil parameters (best representative estimate).

• The design is assumed safe if the permissible stress/resistance/moment is not exceeded. The
factor of safety is the ratio between the resisting/driving components.

• The uncertainties of the analysis (soil parameters, reliability of the method of analysis etc.) are
taken into account by a global factor of safety, typically 1.5 to 3 applied to the failure condition to
determine the allowable condition.
• B. Limit State Design (Eurocode design)

• This was first applied to structures and was intended to harmonise European practice, to reflect
changes in design practise and to apply a logical uniform process to design.

• It was recognised that this would be difficult to apply to geotechnical engineering due the wide
variation of geology in Europe, varying construction practices and methods and the production of
Eurocode 7 – Geotechnical Design – General Rules takes this into account.

• Eurocode 7 has now been adopted and is the basis for all geotechnical design in Europe. Similar
limit state design methods are being adopted worldwide.
• The basis of limit state design is that is that a structure should not fail to satisfy design
performance requirements due to exceeding various limit states.

• Ultimate Limit State: structure fails – either collapses or otherwise endangers people. This is
avoided by applying factors to the applied loading (actions) and the ground /geotechnical
(material factors) and resistance thus ensuring ultimate limit state is not reached (or that reaching
it is highly unlikely).

• Serviceability Limit State: the structure suffers such deformation or movement that the structure
is damaged (in appearance, reduction of useful life, or other way).
 • C. Geotechnical Design to Eurocode 7 in the UK.

• ULS: Use Design Approach 1 and combinations 1 and 2

• Combination 1 A1 + M1 + R1
• Combination 2 A2 + M2 + R1
 EQU __________GEO/STR______
A1 A2 M1 M2 R1
• Permanent action, G γG;dst 1.1 1.35 1.0
γ G;stb 0.9 1.0 1.0
• Variable action, Q γQ;dst 1.5 1.5 1.3
γQ;stb No values
• Accidental action, A γA;dst 1.0 1.0 1.0
γA;stb No values
• Coeff of shearing resistance, tan ′ γ′ 1.25 1.0 1.25
• Effective cohesion, c′ γc′ 1.25 1.0 1.25
• Undrained shear strength, cu γcu 1.4 1.0 1.4
• Weight density, γ γγ 1.0 1.0 1.0
• Earth Resistance, Re γRe 1.0
• Analysis of cantilever wall by global factor of safety method:

1.Take moments about A.

2.Use a passive factor of safety of 1.5
3.Find depth of embedment, d.
4.Multiply d by 1.2 to allow for mobilisation of forces below A.
5.Check that the difference between the passive and active forces
below A is greater than the difference between the passive and active
forces above A.
• Analysis of cantilever wall by EC7 method (simplified version):

1.Use combination 1.
2.Find design parameters from characteristic values.
3.Take moments about A.
4.Apply factors to actions and resistances
5.Find depth of embedment, d.
6.Multiply d by 1.2 to allow for mobilisation of forces below A.
7.Check that the difference between the passive and active forces
below A is greater than the difference between the passive and
active forces above A.
8. Repeat with combination 2.
9. Select critical value.
• Anchored or Propped Sheet Pile Wall.

A
Tie – force T

Active

d
Passive
• Analysis – rotation about A, assumed fixed point.

A
Tie – force T

Active

d
Passive
• Analysis of anchored sheet pile wall:

1. Take moments about A.

2. Solve the resulting cubic equation in d by trial
and error.
3. Resolve horizontally to find T.
4. Might increase d by 1.2 in situations where
scour might occur, for example, but it is not
required for equilibrium.

• If using global factor of safety approach use factor of 1.5 on passive

force, for EC7 method use design approach 1, combinations 1 and 2 as
before.
 Measured stress
distribution

• The actual stress distribution

• on walls is more
• complex:
• The distribution above is an example of “soil-structure interaction”
where the stresses are altered by “arching”.

• The above analysis assumes the sheet piling is rigid. If the sheet piling
is flexible the analysis is more complicated but the structure is more
efficient.
Deformed shape

Fixed earth support – flexible

sheet piling

Point of
contraflexure
• Anchors:
Spacing of anchors.

• Props: Effects on access, buckling.

• Loading:
Water effects, seepage, pore water pressures.
Surface loading.