SHEET PILES

INTRODUCTION
Sheet piles are sections of sheet materials with interlocking edges that are driven into
the ground to provide earth retention and excavation support. Sheet piles are most commonly
made of steel, but can also be formed of timber or reinforced concrete.
• Water front structures, i.e. in building wharfs, quays and piers.
• Building diversion dams, such as cofferdams
• River bank protection
• Retaining the sides of cuts made in earth.

The selection of sheet piling depends on factors such as :

• The type of work, for example. whether it is permanent or temporary.
• Site conditions.
• The required depth of piles.
• The bending moments involved.
• The nature of the structure.
• The type of protection required.

Type of sheet piles :

1. Steel sheet piles
2. Timber sheet piles
3. Reinforced concrete sheet piles
4. Straight sheet pile
5. Shallow arch web sheet pile
6. Arch web sheet pile
7. Z shaped sheet pile
STEEL SHEET PILES :
Steel sheet piles are most commonly used. Steel sheet piles possess
several advantages over other piles. They are:
• Steel sheet piles are resistant to high driving stresses
• They are lighter in section
• They can be used several times
• They can be used either below or above water and have long life
span
• Suitable joints can be provided to have a continuous wall
• The pile length can be increased either by welding or bolting.

REINFORCED CONCRETE SHEET PILES :

• Reinforced concrete sheet piles are precast concrete members,
usually with a tongue and groove joints.
• These piles are relatively heavy and bulky.
• They displace large volumes of solid during driving. This large
volume displacement of soil tends to increase the driving
resistance. Due to this reason, suitable reinforcement is provided
considering large driving stresses
TIMBER SHEET PILES :
• Timber sheet piles are generally used for short spans and to
resist light lateral loads.
• They are mostly used for temporary structures such as braced
sheeting in cuts.
• When timber sheet piles are used in permanent structures
above water level, they require preservative treatment and
even, but still their life span is relatively short.
• Timber sheet piles are joined to each other by tongue and
grove joints. Timber sheet piles are not suitable for soils
consisting of stones, as the stone would dislodge the joints.
SOME OTHER TYPES :
The arch and Z-piles are used to resist large bending
moments. For less bending moments, shallow arch piles
with smaller section modulus are used. Straight web-piles
are used where the web will be subjected to tension, as in
cellular cofferdams.

STRAIGHT WEB PILES U TYPE SHEET PILES Z TYPE PILES

SHEET CONNECTION PROCESS : VIBRO HAMMER
There are three methods which are often use to connect
the sheets : SHEET PILE WALL

• Vibration: this is the most common method. The first

sheet pile of the wall is installed into the ground. A
vibratory hammer with clamp is attached to the top of the
second sheet pile, which is then interlocked with the first
sheet pile, and the sheet pile is vibrated into the ground.

• Pressing: sheet piles can also be pressed into the ground

when noise hindrance and vibration would otherwise cause
problems. This, however, takes longer and is expensive.
The sheet piles are pressed into the ground by a hydraulic
machine.

• Excavation: sheet piles can also be excavated into the

soil. A long trench is excavated which is then filled with
cement bentonite (a thin concrete slurry) to prevent the
walls from collapsing. The sheet piles are then installed in
the trench and the cement bentonite is allowed to set
ADVANTAGES OF SHEET PILES :
There are several advantages of sheet piling
• Provides high resistance to driving stresses.
• Light weight
• Can be reused on several projects.
• Long service life above or below water with modest protection.
• Easy to adapt the pile length by either welding or bolting
• Joints are less apt to deform during driving.

DISADVANTAGES OF SHEET PILES :

• Sections can rarely be used as part of the permanent structure.
• Installation of sheet piles is difficult in soils with boulders or
cobbles. In such cases, the desired wall depths may not be
reached.
• Excavation shapes are dictated by the sheet pile section and
interlocking elements.
• Sheet pile driving may cause neighborhood distrurbace
• Settlements in adjacent properties may take place due to
installation vibrations