What Is Sheet Pile?

Sheet pile is one of type of piling, one of the difference between normal pile and sheet pile is sheet pile used as temporary while normal pile used as permanent. Sheet pile can be made from many types of materials such as steel, plastic, wood, vinyl, recast concrete, and fiberglass. While the most common material to be used for sheet pile is steel sheet pile.

Sheet pile is act as a temporary supportive wall that been driven into a slope or excavation to support the soft soils collapse from higher ground to lower ground.

Sheet Pile Applications
Sheet piling can be applied in many common environmental applications, sheet piles are wisely used in the following fields of application :

* Retaining walls
* Bridge abutments
* Tunnels
* Pumping station
* Water treatment plants
* Basements
* Underground car parks
* Port facilities
* Locks and dams
* Waterfront structures
* Piled foundations
* Excavations and trenches
* Landfill
* Cofferdams
* Ground Water Diversion/Control
* Barrier for Ground Water Treatment Systems
* Containment Walls
* Flood Protection
* Coastal Protection
* Tunnel Cut and Cover
* Bulkheads and Seawalls
* Weir Walls
* Slope Stabilization
* Baffle Walls

Driving Method
There is few driving method for sheet pile driving such as pitch and drive, panel driving and staggered driving.

1) Pitch and Drive
Pitch and drive is the simplest method for sheet pile driving, it involves driving each sheet pile to full depth before pitching the next one. However it is only suitable for loose soils and short piles.

2) Panel Driving
The purpose of using panel driving is to ensure that the sheet piles are driven with good alignment and verticality. The risks of driving difficulties and problems of de- clutching also can be minimised.

Because a whole panel of piles has been pitched there is no need to drive all piles fully to maintain piling operations. If obstructions are encountered, individual piles can be left high without fear of disruption to the overall efficiency.

Panel driving is suitable for dense sands and stiff cohesive soils or in the case of potential obstructions.

3) Staggered Driving
In difficult soil conditions, panel installation combined with staggered driving is more suitable in driving process.

The piles are installed between guide frames and then driven in short steps as follows: piles 1, 3 and 5 first; then piles 2 and 4.

If the soil is very dense sand, gravel or rock, piles 1, 3 and 5 can be reinforced at the toe. In this case, these piles are always driven first and piles 2 and 4 in the second stage.

This article comes from pile driving edit released