SS Pile and also known as Super Strength Pile has higher strength to carry higher loads of building with lesser pile point, it saves the cost and more economic. Contractor like to use this piling method on those high building and large structure. There is few steps to install or drive the SS piles, it’s economic piling method but it takes time to install as well. Every types of piles have their own pile driving procedure, so the pile driving method is slight different compare with the piling driving procedure for normal spun pile or bored pile. Piling machine used is different as well.

How To Install Super Strength Pile or SS Pile

1) Driving of Piles
Place the cushion, helmet and gammer on the pile head with adequate alignment. Check verticality of the pile to BS 8004 requirements. After several blows, check pile location and alignment again. Concentricity of driving equipment and pile shall be maintained at all times.

When driving to soft ground, adjust the hammer drop so as not to induce excessive tensile stress in the pile. Driving should proceed without interruption until the pile reaches the expected depth or blow count (ie. penetration mm/10 blows).

2) Joint Welding
When a pile has been driven close to the ground level and an extension is required, the driving must be immediately stopped. Joint plates are to be cleaned thoroughly from mud, dust, oil and other residues detrimental to the welding. Cleaning can be done by using wire brush and some solvents in between runs of weld.

Three guide plates at 120 angle to each other are set up on the driven pile before the extension pile is being lowered to sit concentrically over it. The two piles will be alligned automatically. Welders should be qualified to BS 4872 welding test.

Welding is performed by means of either manual or semi-automatic arc welding. For manual welding, electrodes should be selected carefully and conform to type E41 of BS 5135 as a minimum or higher if deemed necessary. Semi-automatic welding should be non-gas shield arc welding.

Throat depth should be filled with more than two layers of welding materials and slag removed in between layers. Metal oxide paint can be applied as an anticorrosion measure. The welding must be checked before driving proceeds.

3) Driving Equipment
SS Piles are usually installed by percussion method. In certain cases where underground obstructions such as large boulders are encountered, special shoes (i.e. conical, oslo point or pipe shoe) or pre-augering may be necessary. The driving hammer type (hydraulic or diesel) and size must be carefully selected to install the piles successfully without any damage to the pile itself (BS 8004). Two plumb guides at right angles to each other are normally used to ensure verticality of the pile during driving. Spirit levels and theodolites have also been proven useful.

4) Helmet and Cushioning
Correct helmet dimensions is critical in curbing the vibration and/or movement of the pile head hence maintaining fixity and eccentricity of hammer to pile.

The inner diameter of the helmet should have a small but not larger than 30mm clearance over the outside diameter of the pile which needs to be wedged tight. The hammer ram must be kept concentric with the pile head to minimize secondary stresses arising from the piling activity.

Adequate timber cushioning is also very significant as it ensures uniform transmission of driving energy. Thickness of cushion is a minimum of 100mm for hard wood for 300mm Ø to 400mm Ø piles and a minimum of 150mm for larger sizes. Since stiffness of the cushioning material increases with repeated compaction.

5) Set Criterion
A pile is considered set when the calculated set criterion is met (penetration mm/10blows) or the required penetration depth reached. Bearing capacity of the pile can then be further checked with a load test after
the pore water pressure has dissipated. PDA and driving formulae checks are also useful.

6) Pile Head Preparation

Piles should be cut using a diamond cutter. Hacking is not recommended as it will generate micro cracks in the concrete. Pile Anchorage Details show suggested anchorage reinforcement. However, reinforcement may be redesigned to cater for individual project specifications.

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Super Strength Pile or SS pile is another type of piling which has higher strength and able to carry more loads from any structure with fewer number of points. Most probably SS piles are made of prestressed or spun concrete. SS piles are constructed in round and hollow in cross section and have the lengths up to 12 metres. SS Piles have a nominal bearing capacity in the range 1690 kN to 3500 kN. Of course, SS Pile has its’ own piling machine and it’s slightly different compare to other piling machine.

Features Of Super Strength Pile

1) Economical
Being economical is the basic consideration of every piling contractor. With the wide variety of sizes to choose from, SS Piles allow for optimum selection of sizes, wall thicknesses and lengths to meet contractor’s requirement. In additional to that, the higher strength also means that contract will need fewer number of points to cater for a designed column load.

2) High Concrete Strength
Owing to the Autoclave curing technology and high compaction induced by the centrifugal process, SS Piles are able to achieve concrete compressive strength of more than 78.48Mpa within a time frame of 24 hours. Coupled with SS Piles’ hollow circular cross-sections and prestressing, contractor will have piles with high resistance to bending. Higher concrete compressive strengths also allow SS Piles to be driven hard into rigid bearing strata to attain higher bearing capacity per pile point.

3) Durability
The carefully monitored spinning process which gradually induces a force equivalent to 35 times that of gravity will lower the water to cement ratio further thus increasing the concrete density greatly.

Though the high temperature and pressure of the Autoclave curing technology, the calcium silicate hydrate in the high-density concrete will stabilize and form crystals of tobermorite. Permeability is then reduced. Low permeability also means high resistance to internal steel reinforcement, making the concrete exceedingly durable.

Utilizing SS Piles in extremely corrosive marine condition can also be considered as the low permeability will prevent sulfate and also hinder the more vigorous chloride attack.

4) Consistent High Quality
The quality control team rigorously inspects in-coming raw materials to ensure their compliance with governing standards. An exemplary quality control program including periodical samplings and testings, is conducted constantly to guarantee optimum performance of the SS Piles.

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Pile driving is the process which the piling machine drives the piles into the ground, the purpose is to strengthen the soft soil so that the soil able to support the weights or load of the buildings. Besides of building, piling also been using in bridges and wharf. Piles can be made of structural steel, pressure treated timber, hollow steel casing, reinforced concrete, or prestressed concrete. Types of piles used is depending on the condition of soil and surround environment, it may affect the total cost of piling works.

Sketch For Pile Driving

In the process of pile driving, it requires few piling equipment such as piles, piling machine, pile hammer, cushions and etc. Here is the sketch and rough definitions for pile driving :

1) Crane
Crane or piling machine is used to drive the piles into the ground.

2) Hammer
Hammer normally made from steel. It’s used to knock on the top of pile and drive the pile into the ground.

3) Cushion
Cushion is used to put at the top of pile which the place that hammer will hit on. The purpose is to reduce the friction between pile and hammer, so that the pile will not be crack easily.

4) Leads
Leads is used to support the hammer and handle the pile vertically. Leads will be handled by crane or piling machine.

5) Pile
Pile is the structure that will be driven into the earth to strength the soft soil and carry the load of buildings.

6) Template
Template is like a framework that used to carry the pile, so that the pile can be driven in the right pile point.

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Contractors use sheet pile as a temporary supportive wall which is used to support the soft soil collapsed from higher ground to lower ground. Sheet pile is commonly used in the construction and has variety types of material for sheet pile. The price for variety types of material for sheet pile is different, the driving method can be in variety ways as well. Contractors might need to determine the condition of soil then only can decide which type of sheet pile can be used.

Simple Guide On How To Install Sheet Pile

Sheet pile installation can’t be done by piling contractor while there is specialist contractor for sheet pile to do the installation. Here is a rough installation procedure for sheet pile :

1) Pile Driving Equipment
Before starting driving sheet pile, a few equipments have to be prepared such as driving hammers and jetting equipment. The driving energy for hammers shall be recommended by the manufacturer so that it’s applicable to relevant sheet pile. While jetting equipment shall have a minimum of two removable or fixed jets of the water or be a combination of air a water type.

2) Placing and Driving
After preparing all the sheet pile driving equipments, sheet piles can be started to place on the location that shown in the construction drawings. Temporary wales, templates, or guide structures have to be carried on to ensure the sheet pilings are placed and driven to the correct alignment.

After the sheet piles is set on place, jetting machine will be starting to driving the sheet piles. Sheet piles have to be driven with the proper size of hammer and by approved methods to ensure no damage to the sheet piles and proper interlocking throughout their lengths. A protecting cap shall be employed on the tops of sheet pile to prevent damage during driving with hammer.

3) Cutting-Off and Splicing
After driving the sheet piles into the ground, if contractor find that they need additional penetration, splicing or jointing works will be carried on. Driving works will be done again for the sheet piles until it reaches its’ limit on the ground. After this, excessive of sheet pile will be cutting-off and removed from the site. All cutting-off work must be done in a neat and workmanlike manner for safety purpose.

4) Inspection of Driven Piling
The contractor shall inspect the interlocked joints of driven sheet piles extending above ground. If contractor find out that the sheet piles are out of interlock, then the sheet piles have to be removed and replaced with a new sheet pile.

5) Pulling and Redriving
After the inspection of driven piling, another similar process has to be carried on which is called pulling and redriving. The contractor shall pull selected sheet piles to determine the condition of the underground portions of sheet piles. If contractor found any damages to the extent that its usefulness in the structure is impaired, then the sheet piles have to be removed and replaced with a new sheet pile.

Thanks the following website for providing useful information.
Source : Sheet Pile

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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.

Thanks the following website for providing useful information.
Source : Napier | Sheet Pile

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