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Secant Pile Wall Construction

Secant pile walls are formed by constructing

intersecting reinforced concrete piles. The secant piles
are reinforced with either steel rebar or with steel
beams and are constructed by either drilling under
mud or augering. Primary piles are installed first with
secondary (male) piles constructed in between primary
(female) piles once the latter gain sufficient strength.
Pile overlap is typically in the order of 3 inches (8 cm).
In a tangent pile wall, there is no pile overlap as the
piles are constructed flush to each other.

The main advantages of Secant Pile Walls are:

a. Increased construction alignment flexibility.

b. Increased wall stiffness compared to sheet piles.
c. Can be installed in difficult ground
(cobbles/boulders).
d. Less noisy construction.

The main disadvantages of secant pile walls are:

a. Verticality tolerances may be hard to achieve for

deep piles.
b. Total waterproofing is very difficult to obtain in
joints.
c. Increased cost compared to sheet pile walls.

Secant pile wall design when steel beams are used

involves the use of weaker than normal concrete. The
pile that is lagging the wall between two main beams
has to be examined for shear and compression arching.

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Tangent Pile Wall

Tangent pile walls are a variation of secant pile walls

and soldier pile walls. However, tangent pile walls are
constructed with no overlap and ideally one pile
touches the other. Compared to secant pile walls,
tangent pile walls offer the following advantages:

a. Increased construction alignment flexibility.

b. Easier and quicker construction.

The main disadvantage of tangent pile walls is:

They are can not be used in high groundwater tables

without dewatering.

Secant Pile Wall – Hard/Soft or Hard/Firm

Where short term water retention is required this

system offers the most cost-effective and rapid
solution. The wall consists of interlocking bored piles.
Primary piles are constructed first using a ‘soft’
cement-bentonite mix (commonly 1N/mm2) or ‘firm’
concrete (commonly 10N/mm2). Secondary piles,
formed in structural reinforced concrete, are then
installed between the primary piles with a typical
interlock of 150mm. These walls may need a reinforced
concrete lining for permanent works applications,
depending on the particular requirements of the
project.

Secant Wall – Hard/Hard

Hard/hard wall construction is very similar to a

hard/firm wall but in this case the primary piles are
constructed in higher strength concrete and may be
reinforced. Heavy duty rotary piling rigs, using tools
fitted with specially designed cutting heads, are
necessary to cut the secondary piles. Since structural
concrete is used throughout there may be no need to
provide a lining wall. The end product provides a fully
concreted face and can be an effective alternative to
diaphragm wall construction.

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Construction of Secant pipe wall

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Videos:

Secant Pile Wall Construction M…

M…

Secant Pile Wall, Metro Station

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Secant Piles at Hume Dam

Sources: deepexcavation.com, skanska.co.uk; pilingcontractors.com.au

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