UNDERGROUND CONSTRUCTION

GROUND SETTLEMENT
Use of Sheetpiling Walls

A sheetpiling wall consists of a series of sheet piles driven side by side into the ground thus
forming a continuous vertical wall for the purpose of retaining an earth bank. It is also
known as a single sheetpiling wall as opposed to the double walls and cellular cofferdams.
Sheetpiling walls are commonly used for:

1. Water front construction where other types of retaining walls would require
dewatering the site. Sheet-pile walls are widely used for both large and small waterfront
structures, ranging from small pleasure-boat launching facilities to large dock structures
where ocean-going ships can take on or unload cargo. A pier jutting into the harbor,
consisting of two rows of sheetpiling to create a space between that is filled with earth
and paved, is a common construction. Sheetpiling walls are employed as bulkheads in
piers, docks and wharves, and in see walls, breakwaters and other shore protection
construction. They are also used for constructing jetties.

2. Sheetpiling is also used for beach erosion protection; for stabilizing ground slopes,
particularly for roads for shoring walls of trenches and other excavations, and for
cofferdams. When the wall is under about 3 m in height it is often cantilevered however,
for larger wall heights it is usually anchored using one or more anchors. The resulting
wall is termed an anchored sheet-pile wall or anchored bulkhead.

3. Temporary construction because of the high salvage value of the sheet piles.

4 Light weight construction at locations where the upper layer or layers of subsoil are
inadequate for supporting retaining walls.

However, sheetpiling walls are not suitable for the following cases:

1. Very high walls which require disproportionately high flexural strength of the pile
section.

2. Inadequate depth of penetration due to boulders in the subsoil or high bedrock which
prevents pile penetration.

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 UNDERGROUND CONSTRUCTION
GROUND SETTLEMENT
TYPES AND MATERIALS USED FOR SHEETPILING
Sheetpiling materials may be of timber, reinforced concrete, or steel.
i. Timber Sheetpiling
Timber piling is sometimes used for free-standing walls of H < 3 m. It is more
often used for temporarily braced sheeting to prevent trench cave-ins during
installation of deep water and sewer lines. If timber sheeting is used in permanent
structures above water level, preservative treatment is necessary, and even so the
useful life is seldom over 10 to 15 years. At present timber is little used except in
temporary retaining structures owing to both the scarcity of timber – particularly of
large cross section – and cost.

Several timber piling shapes are available, of which the Wakefield and V groove
piling are the most used.

If wood sheetpiling is being considered, the soil type is a major factor. Almost any
driving requires interfacing the pile hammer with a driving cap over the timber to
minimize top damage. Driving in hard or gravelly soil tends to damage or even split
the pile tip.

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GROUND SETTLEMENT
ii. Reinforced Concrete Sheetpiling
These sheet piles are precast concrete members, usually with a tongue-and-groove
joint. Even though their cross section is considerably thick, this form is still used.
They are designed for service stresses, but because of their mass, both handling and
driving stresses must also be taken into account.

During driving they will displace a large volume of soil for an increase in driving
resistance. The relatively large sizes, coupled with the high unit weight (γ c = 23.6
kN/M3) of concrete, mean that the piles are quite heavy and may not be competitive
with other pile types unless they are produced near the job site.
iii. Steel Sheetpiling
Steel Sheetpiling is the most common type used for walls because of several
advantages over other materials:
A. It is resistant to the high driving stresses developed in hard or rocky material.
B. It is relatively lightweight.
C. It may be reused several times.

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GROUND SETTLEMENT
D. It has a long service life either above or below water if it is provided with
modest protection.
E. It is easy to increase the pile length by either welding or bolting. If the full
design length cannot be driven, it is easy to cut the excess length using a
cutting torch.
F. Joints are less apt to deform when wedged full with soil and small stones
during driving.
G. A nearly impervious wall can be constructed by driving the sheeting with a
removable plug in the open thumb-and-finger joint.

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GROUND SETTLEMENT
The straight-web sections are used in situations where the web is in tension; the Z sections
are used where large bending moments require a substantial moment of inertia or section
modules.
Cantilever sheet-pile walls are analyzed similarly to anchored walls, except the soil pressure
profiles were slightly different and moments are usually taken about the base since there is
no anchor rod.

Design Principles

When the wall is under about 3 m in height it is often cantilevered; however, for larger wall
heights it is usually anchored using one or more anchors. The resulting wall is termed an
anchored sheet-pile wall or anchored bulkhead.

Cantilever Sheet Pile Walls

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 UNDERGROUND CONSTRUCTION
GROUND SETTLEMENT
When sheet piles are driven to sufficient depth, the soil in the embedded portion below the
dredge line provides some fixity to the sheet pile making it capable of acting as a vertical
cantilever. Being a cantilever, it is free and is expected to undergo a large lateral deflection
when the lateral earth pressure of the retained soil acts on it. Because of this and sensitivity
to variations in height, loading and soil properties, it is usually used for temporary use and is
seldom used for retaining soil of more than 4.5m height.

Generally from all consideration an anchored sheet pile is preferred when suitable
anchorages can be placed.

The lateral earth pressure of the retained soil pushes the sheet pile to the left due to which it
moves away from the retained soil and because of its embedment it pushes the soil lying
below the dredge line to its left. This causes passive earth pressure to be mobilized in the
soil in front of it while that on the right side of the pile continues to expand and exerts active
earth pressure on the sheet pile. At some depth the intensity of earth pressure on both
sides of the sheet pile becomes same. Now as the pile is rotating about point O, the earth
pressure on the sheet pile at that point is the earth pressure at rest and is equal in both
directions. This means the net pressure is also zero at O, the sheet pile experiences active
earth pressure from the left side and passive earth pressure from the right as the soil on the
right is pushed by the sheet pile. Ultimately at some depth D, the total forces on both
sides balance and the sum of their moments also becomes zero. At this depth, the sheet
pile attains equilibrium and this depth is the minimum depth of penetration for a cantilever
sheet pile.

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GROUND SETTLEMENT
KA= Rankine active earth pressure co-efficient

KP= Rankine passive earth pressure co-efficient

K= KP - KA

P a= Effective active earth pressure acting against the sheet pile at the dredge line level

= γH KA

P p= Effective passive earth pressure at the base of the pile wall and acting towards the
backfill = γ DKp – γ (H+D) Ka = γ DK – γ HKA
1
P P = Effective passive earth pressure at the base of the pile wall acting against the backfill
side of the wall.

= γ (H+D) KP - γD KA = γD K + γHKP

Expression for yo
At the point O, the passive pressure acting towards the right should be equal to the active
pressure acting towards the left.
γyo KP = γ (H+yo) kA
HK A HK A
yo = =
 (KP − K A ) (KP − K A )

Expression for h
∑H = 0,

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 UNDERGROUND CONSTRUCTION
GROUND SETTLEMENT
1 1
Pa − P P ( D − y 0 ) + ( P P + P P )h = 0
1

2 2
P P ( D − y 0 ) − 2 Pa
∴h =
PP + PP
1

Taking moments of all the forces about the bottom of pile, and equating to zero,

( 1
2
) D
3
1
2
h
(
Pa D O + y − PP D O × O + PP + PP1 h × = 0
3
)
( ) (
or 6Pa D O + y − PP D o2 + PP + PP1 h 2 = 0)
Now
PP = DK P −  ( H + D) K A
=  ( D0 + Y0 ) K P −  ( H + D0 + Y0 ) K A
= KD0 + K P Y0 − K A ( H + Y0 )
= KD0 + K P Y0 − K P Y0
= KD0

P P = DK + HK p Pp = Y0 K + HK p

1 11

= Pp + KD0
11

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 UNDERGROUND CONSTRUCTION
GROUND SETTLEMENT
1
Substituting is equ (1) the values of PP , P P & h ,
D0 + C1 D0 + C 2 D0 + C 3 D0 + C 4 = 0
4 3 2

11
Pp  6Pa 11 
Where C1 = C3 = − ( 2 YγK + P )
γK γ 2 p
 ( K ) 

8Pa  6Pa YPp 11 + 4Pa 2 

C2 = − C 4 = − 
γK  ( γK ) 2 

The solution of equ (2) gives the depth D0. The method of trial and error is generally
adopted to solve this equation.

This fourth power equation is generally solved by trial and error as the numerical value of
the co-efficient are all known from the geometry and the characteristics of soil deposits. In
the above discussion, no consideration of existence of water table within the depth D has
been made. When water is present, the hydrostatic pressure should be considered. But if the
water table on the right side is at the same level as on the left, the water presence will not
have any effect on the stability but the proper γ value should be used, if the differences in
water levels between the two sides is 1m or more, the pressure due to water on the sheet pile
should be found from the flow net. Usually the recommended depth Drec is obtained by
increasing the value of D by 20 to 40%, A known factor of safety can be used by dividing
the passive presence co-efficient kP by the desired factor of safety (1.5 to 2).

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GROUND SETTLEMENT
Depth of Embedment of Cantilever Walls in Cohesive Soils

The discussion on sheet pile in cohesion less soil is valid for the case of cohesive soil
provided that proper value of ka and KP are used.

The active pressure pa at any depth Z may be expressed as

pa =σv kA – 2c KA

σv = Vertical pressure = γ Z
Z = Depth from surface of backfill
The passive pressure PP at any depth y below the dredge line may be expressed as
PP = σv KP + 2c K P
The soil is supposed to be in tension upto a depth Z0 and the pressure on the wall is zero in
this zone. The net pressure distribution on the wall is as shown by the shaded triangle.
At level of dredge line (at point A)
The active pressure Pa acting towards the left
Pa = γ HKA- 2c K A

When φ = 0, Pa = γ H- 2c = γH –qu

Where qu = unconfined compressive strength of clay soil = 2c

The passive pressure acting towards the right at the dredge level

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 UNDERGROUND CONSTRUCTION
GROUND SETTLEMENT
PP = σv KP + 2c K P φ =0, KP = 1

= 2c = qu σv = 0

The resultant of passive and active pressures at the dredge level

PP − Pa = qu – (γH – qu)

= 2qu - γH -----------------------------(1)

The resultant of passive and active pressures at any depth y below the dredge line is

Passive pressure, PP= γy + qu

Active pressure, Pa = γ (H + y) - qu

The resultant pressure is

PP – Pa = (  y + qu) – [  (H + y) – qu]

= 2qu - γH ----------------------------- (2)

The equations (1) & (2) indicate the resultant pressure remains constant at (2qu - γ H) at all
depths.

If passive pressure is developed on the backfill side at the bottom of the pile, at point B,
then PP= γ (H+D)+ qu acting towards the left

Pa = γD- qu acting towards the right

The resultant is PP-Pa = γ (H+D) + qu- γD- qu

= γ H + 2qu

For statical equilibrium, the sum of all the horizontal forces should be equal to zero.

1
Pa –(2qu-γH)D+ (2qu+2qu)h = 0
2

Simplifying Pa+2qu h - 2quD + γHD= 0

D(2qu − H ) − Pa
h=
2q u

Also for equilibrium, the sum of the moments at any point should be zero. Taking moments
about the base, we have
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 UNDERGROUND CONSTRUCTION
GROUND SETTLEMENT
h² (2qu − H ) D ²
Pa ( Y +D)+ (2qu ) − =0
3 2

Substituting for h and simplifying, we have

C1D² + C2D+C3 = 0

Where C1= (2qu - γH)

C2= – 2Pa
−
P (6q y + Pa )
C3 = a u
(qu + H )

The depth computed should be increased by 20 to 40% so that a factor of safety of 1.5 to 2.0
may be obtained. Alternatively the unconfined compressive strength qu may be divided by a
factor of safety.

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GROUND SETTLEMENT

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