Sheet Pile Usage in Flood Protection

The number of floods has been increasing throughout the world lately. In 1997 there was the Century Flood in Europe. Poland, the Czech Republic, Germany and other countries suffered great material losses. Then in 2002 and 2005 flooding in Europe caused damages once again. The 2007 flood of Africa is considered to be one of the worst floods in recorded history. In 2008 the Indian floods and even this year the overflows in Central Europe proved that there are great investments needed within the range of the flood protection.

In order to establish an efficient anti-flood system, apart from creating a polder system: flood plains, land reclaimed or marshes; it is necessary to take some integrated activities within the range of the environmental development and construction strategy. It is essential to build a relationship between modern technology solutions and the potential of the natural environment itself.

The implementation of steel sheet pile jagged walls is the safest and the most cost-effective solution. The sheet piles are the best answer for building and reinforcing flood dikes, ditches, etc. Their high tightness coefficient is well-known and tested in practice. The ArcelorMittal sheet piles, either hot or cold rolled, are an appropriate and optimal solution for the problem. Self-propelled high frequency vibrators and hydraulic machines are used for the sheet pile caving. This way there is no environmental damage.

A short installation time allows the use the sheet piles just before the flood arrives. It is possible to use them in many ways, taking into consideration the evaluated and real loads.

The benefits of using the sheet piles are as follows:

1. Sheet piles can seal and stabilize both existing and new flood dikes. They prevent tides and stabilize the structure of flood dikes. The combined wall is an impassable barrier for animals and tree roots and prevents landslides. The part of the wall seated into the ground is corrosion-resistant — under normal conditions it is assumed that the wall thickness decrement reaches 0.03 mm per year, 1.5 mm per 50 years (source: Eurocode 3. Design of steel structure. Part. 5 Piling).

2. Another benefit of using sheet piles within the range of flood protection is the material as itself: Steel is homogenous, flexible, plastic and safe for the environment. The material meets the requirements of well-known standards (EN). Steel is 100% recyclable — it is 100% "ecological" material.

3. Steel jagged walls are provided as ready-to-use products for immediate application. Some construction transformations like replacement, caving depth increase, sheet piles joining, may be operated at any time. It is possible to use various sheet pile types within the scope of the given project and to join them in order to make the structure unbroken and optimize the investment costs.

4. Sheet piles are one of the solutions for ditch (flood dike) tides. Whereas other construction materials yield easily, it is impossible to break a sheet pile structure. 

This article comes from ArcelorMittal edit released