Benefits of the Cold Formed Sheet Piles

Steel sheet pilings are long structural structures with interlocking systems that are mainly used to retain soil and water. They are driven into the ground to create a continuous wall that can either remain in the ground permanently or can be temporarily used until construction is safely completed. There are two ways in which sheet pilings can be manufactured: cold formed or hot rolled.

Since its creation in Japan in 1955, cold formed sheet piles have been a popular choice in the construction field and manufacturing industry based on the overall quality, dependability and versatility of the steel product. There is no evidence identifying a more popular choice of steel during this period of time.

Cold formed, or cold rolled, is a metal-working process that produces a material that is harder, stronger and more lightweight than steel that is hot rolled. The cold forming process involves shaping the metal by passing it through contoured rollers that steadily form the steel into the desired shape. For every project that the steel is made, the desired shape can be altered accordingly. The process is completed at room temperature, as opposed to the process for hotrolled steel. Hot rolled sheet piles are formed by heating the metal to an extremely high temperature before passing it through rollers that squeeze and press the metal into the shape of a sheet pile. In regards to hot rolled sheet piles, sizing the steel to exact measurements is much more difficult when compared to sizing cold formed steel.

Defects are introduced into the steel’s crystal structure which result in it being a harder and stronger sheet pile because the process is completed at room temperature, before the products reaches its recrystallization temperature. For these reasons, and because they are lightweight, cold formed sheet piles are much easier and more economical for companies to produce, as well as transport and install. It is also widely available because of the high cost and equipment associated with hot rolled sheet piles.

Cold formed sheet piles can be used in both temporary and/or permanent structures. The cold formed sheet pilings also have the possibility of being used for many more applications because of the innovations associated with the process that make the piles wider, deeper or thicker than possible with hot rolled pilings. Production of cold formed sheet pilings is extremely flexible, allowing clients to customize sheet pilings to their exact length and thickness.

One debate over cold formed sheet piling is whether or not the interlocking on the sheet piles are more superior.The interlocks on hot rolled sheet pilings usually fall under two descriptions, Larssen or Ball and Socket and the interlocking on cold formed sheet pilings are Hook and Grip. Since the interlocks vary between the two processes and some people think that the interlocks on hot rolled sheet piles are tighter than their counterparts.

Over the years, improvements and modifications have been made to the cold formed sheet piles’ design and new designs have been made so the type of steel sheet can be applied to even more uses. They are usually applied to structurally protect banks from eroding and collapsing but they have many other uses as well, including being employed as retainment, confinement and/or anchor walls. Cold formed sheet piles have also been used to create noise barriers and garbage dumps and have been applied in the construction of docks, ports, dams, locks, underpasses, ramps, tunnels, and underground parking.

Cold formed sheet pilings prove to be the superior choice when deciding which type of sheet pilings to use for a construction project. Benefits of the cold formed sheet piles include how simple and efficient the production process is, along with the flexibility of the products design, and overall affordability.