What is a soldier pile retaining wall?
A soldier pile is a common retaining wall strategy in which H-shaped steel beams (“piles”) are drilled deep into the earth at regular intervals — usually 2 to 4 yards apart. Known as “lagging walls,” these horizontal supports are most often made from precast concrete panels, steel girders or pressure-treated timber.
How do you make a soldier pile?
Soldier Piles are steel H piles that are vertically driven or drilled into the earth at regular intervals prior to excavation. As excavation progresses in stages, horizontal lagging in the form of timber or precast concrete is added behind the flanges to create the Soldier Pile and Lagging Wall.
What is the pile type that mostly used to act as retaining wall?
The primary elements (tubular piles) act as retaining elements against the earth and water pressures and may act as bearing piles for vertical loads. The secondary elements (U sheet piles) only act as a barrier and transmit the loads resulting from earth and water pressures to the primary elements.
Why do soldiers pile?
Soldier piling is a retaining wall solution that is effective in ground conditions which range from stiff clay to rock where it is not practical to drive lightweight sheet piling. Soldier Piles can be used as either temporary shoring or permanent walls and may also be designed to carry building loads.
What are soldier piles and lagging?
Soldier piles (beams) and lagging is an excavation support technique where vertical piles (most commonly steel piles either driven or lowered into a drilled excavation and grouted) are at regular intervals along the proposed wall location.
What is a cantilever soldier pile?
Cantilever soldier pile walls are commonly used when excavation depths are limited to 5m or less (15ft). With soldier pile walls, we can account for 3-dimensional pile spacing effects by adjusting lateral soil pressures with the flange or drilled pile diameter size below the excavation.
How are soldier piles used in retaining walls?
The latter is placed horizontally after excavation is completed and supported by soldier pile flanges at its ends. Soldier piles are cantilevered, but tie-backs can be used to decrease embedment depth and size of the beams in cases where the height of the wall is greater than 4.5 m and enough space is available for using the ties.
What are H piles used for in construction?
H-piles are commonly used as bearing piles in deep foundation applications and are driven into the ground to support bridges, buildings, factories, stadiums, and nearly every other type of structure. H-piles are also used in other applications as bracing systems for cofferdams, and in beam and lagging walls.
How are H piles different from standard beams?
H-piles are as wide as they are deep, and have the same thickness in the flange and web. When compared to standard beams, the ‘H’ design of H-pile beams provides better weight distribution over a wider area, resulting in the ability to support heavier and larger structures.
What should the stress be on a retaining wall?
Choose lagging which must be treated wood and conservative fiber stress is 6.2 MPa. Lateral earth pressure is decreased over the wall height from the base to the top. Therefore, different lagging thickness can be used at various depths.