Sheet piling and its applications

What is sheet piling?

The term sheet piling in general is used for a wall that resists horizontal loads, as opposed tobearing piles, which are isolated and take loads, which are normally vertical or along the axis ofthe piles. However, under certain circumstances, sheet piling can also carry some vertical loading.Timber, steel, and reinforced concrete used to be the traditional materials for sheet piling untilabout 1520 years ago, with the advent of vinyl sheet piling, and then later, composite sheet piles.Overall costs frequently dictate the material used. Sheet piling dominate the market, and asignificant proportion employed in temporary work is extracted and reused one or more times.

Sheet piling applications

The purposes of sheet piling vary widely. They may be used as a seepage barrier or a cut-offwall, where the sheet piling would be mostly inside the ground and may be subjected to minimumside or horizontal loads. For a retaining wall or bulkhead, the lowerportion of the sheet piling is buried, and the length above the burial point is subjected to horizontalground load. In bulkhead applications, sheet piling is used to stabilize the waterfront or shorelineby preventing erosion and undercutting of soil by tide and wave action. These piles are installedby driving or jetting them into the soil, and they are typically backfilled either by native soils orselect backfill. While one side of these sheet piling may be subjected to ground pressure, the otherside may have the hydraulic load. In some bulkhead and flood control applications.

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