ArcelorMittal Sheet Piling

Foundation Solutions for Projects

Harbour Construction
Innovative steel sheet pile solutions for modern ports
Harbour Construction
Innovative steel sheet pile solutions for modern ports
Contents

Introduction 5
Project locations 6- 7
Canada Voisey’s Bay, Labrador 8
Canada Shippagan, New Brunswick 12
USA Seattle, Washington 15
USA Elizabeth, New Jersey 17
USA Norfolk, Virginia 21
Cuba Havana 25
Chile Mejillones 30
Portugal Aveiro 36
Spain Cadiz 42
France Calais 45
Belgium Antwerp 52
Denmark Aarhus 54
Denmark Prøvestenen, Copenhagen 61
Germany Hamburg (Altenwerder) 66
Germany Hamburg (Predöhlkai) 70
Italy La Spezia 78
Turkey Mersin 86
Senegal Ziguinchor 92
India Visakhapatnam 96
Russia Nakhodka 102
Philippines General Santos 104
Taiwan Kaohsiung 110
Taiwan Anping 114
Taiwan Taipei 118
New Zealand Marsden Point 124

3
ArcelorMittal has over one-hundred-year tradition in the development and production of steel
sheet piles. Through innovation since 1911, the U- and Z-shaped piles today form one of the most
advanced solutions for constructing and deepening quay walls.
Global traffic continues to increase steadily and so does the size of the container vessels.
This expansion places a considerable strain on the infrastructure of the ports they call,
and the ports need to invest massively to meet the requirements of the new ship generations.
Steel sheet piles offer a sustainable and cost-effective solution for modern ports, be it for
increasing the dredging depth by simply installing a sheet pile wall in front of an existing
structure, or to build a brand-new quay wall. The straightforward and fast installation allow the
new structure to be operational within a short period of time. Additionally, the installation works
only require a reduced workforce and equipment.
ArcelorMittal’s research team develops new sheet piles and accessories so that we can continue
offering the best products on the market and meet the ever-changing requirements of the
dynamic shipping and logistics industry. The latest developments include the AZ-800 range,
the 750 mm wide U-piles and the unmatched HZ-M king piles with a section depth of up
to 1 100 mm designed specifically for quay walls with draughts of 20 m and more.
Today the construction industry needs to be more resilient and sustainable. New projects must be
designed with a low environmental impact over its whole life cycle if we want to achieve carbon
neutrality by 2050, the target imposed by the governments in 2015. Steel is a perfect material to
illustrate “circular economy”: it can be recovered at 100%, and reused several times before being
100% recycled.
This brochure gives an overview of waterfront projects using different types of steel sheet pile
solutions. Owing to numerous advantages such as its intrinsic quality, sustainability, execution
speed,… sheet piling structures have become increasingly popular all over the world.

5
 Prøvestenen

Aarhus
Hamburg
Voisey’s Bay

Antwerp
Calais
Seattle La Spezia
Shippagan
Port Elizabeth Aveiro
Norfolk
Cadiz

Havana

Ziguinchor

Mejillones
 Nakhodka

Mersin

Taipei
Kaohsiung
Anping
General Santos
Visakhapatnam

Marsden
Point
 Voisey’s Bay | Labrador | Canada
> Construction of permanent port facilities

Voisey’s Bay is situated in a remote area on the north-east coast

of Labrador, in the Canadian Arctic. One of the richest nickel-
copper-cobalt finds in the world, the Voisey’s Bay deposit was
discovered in 1993, some 350 km north of Happy Valley-Goose
Bay.
The Voisey’s Bay Nickel Company (VBNC) built an integrated
mine at the site which is now in operation. A harbour was
required in order to import mine consumables and export
the nickel concentrate. Construction of the wharf in nearby
Anaktalak Bay began in summer 2004, and the main structure
was completed in December 2004, with some ancillary work
completed in late spring 2005. The new deep-sea wharf
received its first ship on schedule in November 2005.

Supply ship docking at the sheet pile wharf in Voisey’s Bay.

The design of the sheet pile cells had to take account of ice loads.

8
The wharf consists of four cells and six connecting arcs.

Cross-section of the AS 500 sheet pile cell. The junction piles were produced by one of ArcelorMittal’s subcontractors.

The dock has an approximately 100-metre berthing face with curved precast concrete ice impact panels with a reinforced cope
a minimum draught of 13.5 metres. Westmar Consultants Inc. beam system supplemented the strength of the main structure.
(marine structural design) and Jacques Whitford (geotechnical A variety of failure mechanisms (overturning, sliding, interlock
design) jointly submitted the design for a new deep-sea wharf failure, as well as horizontal and vertical shear failure) were
in Anaktalak Bay in order to accommodate up to six supply ships analysed in the design of the sheet pile structure. Ice loads were
and concentrate carriers per month. an essential design consideration due to extreme winters with
temperatures dropping as low as -40°C (-40°F). Special ice-
A circular steel sheet pile gravity structure was selected as the
impact beams were installed to take the horizontal loads.
main structure. Individual sheet pile cells were driven into the
predominantly dense sand/gravel soil. Since the AS 500 sheet The face of the marginal wharf is made up of four AS 500 cells
pile system does not require embedment into lower soil layers for joined together with six arcs. The sheet pile cells forming the face
statical reasons, it is a standard solution for extremely hard soil of the wharf also act as a retaining structure for backfill material.
conditions. The design of the wharf was particularly challenging Scour protection was placed in front of the cells and the sheet
due to the fact that its construction had to be completed within piles were driven into it. Once the cells were placed, the area
one short ice-free season. Several geotechnical boreholes were behind the wharf was backfilled with dredged soil.
not completed before the installation of the first sheet piles.
For the construction of the four cells and six arcs, the following
The geology of the Anaktalak Bay site can be simplified into numbers of sheet piles were delivered by ArcelorMittal’s
three distinct soil layers overlying bedrock. The surface is Canadian agent, Skyline Canada:
characterised by a significant zone of soft to firm clay overlying • 680 straight-web sheet piles,
a sandy layer containing cobbles and boulders. The rockfill for • 72 straight-web sheet piles bent by 7°,
the cells and the backfill consist of well-graded angular material. • 12 straight-web junction sheet piles.
Dredging of the very soft sediments had to be avoided. This led
to the development of a state-of-the-art instrumentation plan
to continuously monitor stability during construction. A set of

9
 The sheet piles were installed with the help of a template.

General installation procedure for AS 500 cells

Step 1
• Installation of template and supporting piles
• Temporary positioning of top/lower platform
as high/low as possible above/below water level

Piles were driven with barge-mounted equipment.

Step 2
• Positioning of four or more isolated sheet piles
Each main cell made of 150 AS 500 straight-web sheet piles and (usually the special junction piles)
4 junction piles has a diameter of 24.7 m. Each of the six arcs is • Verification of verticality, then fixing by tack
made of 14 normal AS 500 piles and 12 bent piles in alternate welding to upper platform
positions. Secometal, a subcontractor of ArcelorMittal, fabricated
• Threading of adjacent sheet piles
the bent piles. All the AS 500 sheet piles are 26.7 m long and
12.7 mm thick. The piles have a guaranteed minimum interlock Step 3
strength of 5,500 kN per running metre of interlock. Skyline • Closing of cells between special junction piles
Canada additionally delivered 19 spare piles including single, bent
• Threading of arc piles (2 or 4)
and junction piles. The new wharf design received an Award of
Engineering Excellence from the Consulting Engineers of British Step 4
Columbia in 2006. • Driving of piles using staggered driving method
after closing of the cell
Owner: Step 5
Voisey’s Bay Nickel Company (VBNC)
• Lowering of upper platform and driving
Contractor:
IKC-Borealis of piles to design level
Designer: Step 6 & 7
Westmar Consultants Inc and Jacques • Filling of the cell
Whitford
• Raising/Removal of platforms at appropriate times
Sheet piles:
AS 500-12.7 Step 8
Pile length: • Backfilling to the top of the cell
26.7 m
• Extraction of supporting piles
Steel grade:
S 355 GP
Total quantity of sheet piles:
1,640 metric tons

10
1. 5.

2. 6.

3. 7.

4. 8.

11
 Shippagan | New Brunswick | Canada
> Rehabilitation of an existing wharf

The existing “Old North Wharf” in Shippagan in the Canadian The owner (Public Works and Government Services, Canada) and
province of New Brunswick, where the St. Lawrence meets the consulting engineer (Eastern Designers & Company Limited)
the Atlantic Ocean, was scheduled for reconstruction. Due to both opted for a steel sheet pile solution. Several construction
the ever-increasing size of vessels, the dredge depth had to methods were analysed. Due to site conditions, i.e. shallow
be increased in order to meet the requirements of the present bedrock levels, and the expected lifetime of the wharf, the
fishing industry. sheet pile solution turned out to be the most economical option.
Difficult soil conditions with sandstone, mudstone, siltstone and
Soil investigation was assigned to AMEC Earth and Environmental
bedrock led to the choice of an HZ/AZ combined-wall system.
Ltd who drilled five boreholes on the Old North Wharf property
Construction was scheduled to begin in July 2002 and was
with a track-mounted diamond drill. The boreholes reached a
expected to last twelve months. The first step of the project was
depth of 7.5 m to 17.7 m below the harbour bottom. The results
the removal of the existing concrete wharf deck, cope wall, wood
of the investigations showed that the site is characterised by a
fenders, guide rails and related hardware.
two- to four-metre-thick layer of compact to dense silty sand
Then the HZ 575 king piles and the AZ 13 intermediary sheet
with gravel, which overlies bedrock. The SPT-values (Standard
piles were driven 1.5 m in front of the existing structure. The
Penetration Test) for the sand with gravel range from 20 to
space between the new and existing wharves was backfilled with
over 100 blows per 0.3-metre penetration. The bedrock with a
dredge material. The demolished concrete deck of the old quay
strength comparable to pre-consolidated clay can be classified as
made way for dredged sand that was piled up to an elevation of
extremely weak according to the Canadian Foundation Manual.
+3.5 m behind the newly installed combined sheet pile wall. The
The proposed project comprised construction of a new quay wall, shoreline area between the North and South wharves was also
backfilling, and finishing of the deck. closed with a sheet pile structure.

Shippagan harbour showing the old and new north wharves on either side of the inner dock.

12
 17500
6000
100 mm asphalt 5000
150 mm base 1500
300 mm topping
1.5 % 1.5 % El. +4.0

72 mm ø tie rods at 1870 c/c

El. +1.2
2400

El. 0.0

Existing harbour bottom

El. -4.5 m

Existing S.S.P.

Precast concrete tie

back blocks at 3740 c/c Bottom of AZ sections El. -6.5 m
Very dense brown silty sand and gravel SPT: N = 115

BEDROCK Severely fractured medium strong CONGLOMERATE SPT: N = 98

HZ 575B at 1870 c/c

BEDROCK Severely fractured, extremely weak MUDSTONE with

occasional SILTSTONE seams (100 mm+) SPT: N = 95

Bottom of HZ section El. -11.7 m

Cross-section showing the existing and the new sheet pile wall.

A Delmag D19-32 diesel impact hammer was placed on the

existing wharf to drive the steel sheet piles through the top soil
layers and into the hard mudstone. Pre-drilling was not necessary
despite tough soil conditions. Special “driving shoes” produced
by APF in New Jersey, USA protected the HZ piles from damage
during the driving process. The contractor Comeau & Savoie
Construction Ltd built a two-level template in their workshop to
facilitate the installation of combined sheet pile walls. The design
of the template was based on conceptual drawings supplied by
ArcelorMittal adapted to accommodate the driving shoes.
The installation of the sheet piles proceeded smoothly and was
executed in accordance with recommendations of ArcelorMittal’s
Canadian office Skyline Canada. Despite encountering hard
driving conditions, only three HZ beams could not be driven
to the desired depth. The embedment length of those king
piles was reduced and the AZ sheet piles were driven until they
encountered the rock layer. The contractor was able to drive
five HZ king piles and five AZ sheet piles during a typical shift of
ten hours. All driving was completed within seven weeks. After
the installation of the combined-wall system, the contractor
proceeded with placement of the concrete tie-back blocks,
installation of the tie rods, backfilling between existing and new
structures and, finally, installation of a concrete and asphalt
wharf deck.
Skyline Canada delivered a complete solution to the contractor,
including steel sheet piles and tie rods. The eye tie rods were
produced by Anker Schroeder from Dortmund, Germany. The
3.75-inch tie rods are made of S 355 JO steel according to
DIN EN 10025. Each tie rod linked an HZ king pile to the concrete
New sheet pile wall installed 1.5 m in front of the existing wall. tie-back blocks.

13
 The two-level template ensures the king piles are correctly positioned for driving.

Eight guiding shoes – four per template level – guide each HZ king pile.

Driving shoes protect the pile toe from damage when hard soil layers
are expected during driving.

Owner:
Public Works and Government Services,
Canada
Contractor:
Comeau & Savoie Construction Ltd
Designer:
Eastern Designers & Company Limited
Sheet pile system:
HZ 575 B -12/AZ13 and
HZ 575 C -12/AZ 13
Length of HZ king piles:
15.75 m / 17.55 m Steel sheet pile – capping beam connection detail with bollard.

Length of AZ sheet piles:

10.55 m / 11.55 m
Steel grade:
CSA Gr 350 W, except HZ connectors
S 430 GP
Total quantity of sheet piles:
800 metric tons

14
Seattle | Washington | USA
> Deepening of Pier 36

The Port of Seattle’s Pier 36 belongs to the United States Coast

Guard (USCG). The deepening project called for demolition of the
old pier, a deck-on-pile structure. Underneath the existing pier
the ground sloped down to the bottom of the harbour. The top
part of the slope was faced with riprap (sand, gravel and crushed
rock) with a concrete cover. Concrete and timber bulkheads
had been installed to stabilise the old pier. The lower part of the
slope was mud. In order to accommodate the new Coast Guard’s
vessels, it was decided to develop a new, deeper quay by 2003.
The cross-section shows the existing mud layer reaching up to a
level of approximately -3 m (equivalent to -10 feet). Removing
the stone revetment beneath the old pier would have implied
high costs. It was therefore decided to dredge the mud down
to the depth of 12 m necessary for the docking of the Coast
Guard’s vessels. An underwater cantilever sheet pile wall was
chosen to hold back the rocky top part of the slope. A new deck
on piles was constructed behind the sheet pile wall. The deck combined-wall system. A total of 1,315 t of sheet piles in a high
is made of precast concrete panels resting on precast concrete steel grade were delivered to the site.
piles. The inclination of the rock slope was slightly changed to
The steel sheet piles were equipped with a cathodic protection
incorporate the timber bulkhead. Since Seattle is situated in an
system with sacrificial anodes. Cathodic protection is a means of
active seismic zone, earthquake loads were considered for the
protecting steel structures by preventing the corrosion process.
design of the new facility at Pier 36.
The sacrificial anodes were fixed to Pier 36’s underwater steel
The first step in the construction of the new quay was the sheet piles. The more electrically negative metal of the anodes
driving of the underwater steel sheet pile wall at the end of corrodes first; it is therefore necessary to supervise the anode
the rocky slope. The contractor, M.A. Segale Inc., fabricated his from time to time, depending on the site conditions and the
own template for the installation of the HZ 975 D - 24 / AZ 19 lifetime of the structure.

Seattle’s Pier 36 had to be deepened to accommodate the US Coast Guard’s new vessels.

15
 EL +19.00
CIP CONCRETE EL +17.7 CRUSHED
BULKHEAD AGGREGATE
BALLAST
CONCRETE PAVING
PRECAST
CONCRETE DECK
PANEL

MHHW EL +11.4
CIP CONCRETE
PILE CAP COVER EXIST
BULKHEAD
EXISTING FENDER
CONCRETE SYSTEM
BULKHEAD

MLLW EL 0.0

EXISTING
RIPRAP RESHAPE RIP-RAP

STEEL SHEET BOTTOM OF PANEL EL -6.0

PILE CUT-OFF
WALL

CUTOFF EL -10.0

EXISTING MUDLINE

DEDGING OF BERTH
PRECAST
CONCRETE PILE, TYP

STEEL SHEET PILE

UNDERWATER WALL

The underwater sheet pile wall made costly removal of the existing rocky slope unnecessary. [Elevations in feet].

A steel anode sled with three sacrificial aluminium-zinc-indium

anodes designed for use in seawater and saline mud was installed
on the USCG pier, together with test stations with corrosion
monitoring equipment. A number of tests that measured base
potential, electrical continuity, and anode potentials ensured
proper functioning of the system.
Cathodic protection is effective for sheet piles in permanent
contact with an electrolyte e.g. water. When properly designed
and maintained, cathodic protection is a highly effective means
of providing protection, leading to negligible corrosion rates in
the order of 0.01 mm/year.

Owner: The steel sheet pile wall that stabilised the structure was installed from a barge.
United States Coast Guard
Designer:
BERGER/ABAM Engineers Inc.
ALUMINIUM ANODE
Contractor:
M.A. Segale Inc.
Sheet piles:
HZ 975 D - 24/AZ 19
Length of HZ king piles: ALUMINIUM ANODE
36.3 m
Length of AZ sheet piles:
30.2 m
Steel grade: ALUMINIUM ANODE
ASTM A572 Grade 60
Total quantity of sheet piles:
1,315 metric tons
The pier’s cathodic protection system prevents corrosion problems.

16
Port Elizabeth | New Jersey | USA
> Deepening of existing container terminal

Port Elizabeth is located close to Newark International Airport It encompasses the following points:
and a stone’s throw from New York City. The Port Authority of • Installation of an HZ/AZ combined sheet pile cut-off
New York & New Jersey recently decided to upgrade the thirty- wall along the face of the wharf to enable the water depth
year-old wharf structures at the Elizabeth Marine Terminal to to be increased to -15.2 m,
handle the next generation of container vessels. A five-phase
• Removal of the existing crane rail support beams and
plan was created to overhaul the old wharf structures at Berths
installation of new piles and beams to support the increased
82 through 98 by increasing crane and mooring loads as well as
crane loads,
the water depth at the wharf face. Another vital point was to
equip the wharf with cranes reaching up to 18 containers wide, • Replacement of the existing timber fender system with
thus enabling the latest generation of Super Post-Panamax a new system capable of resisting the berthing energy
vessels to be handled. In parallel with the terminal upgrading of 150,000-DWT vessels,
project, the Army Corps of Engineers currently plans massive • Upgrading of the existing electric systems
dredging operations to deepen the harbour bed to 15.2 m to for increased crane power demands.
accommodate the most modern container ships. The modernisation of the 1,830-m wharf is a typical example
The $650-million terminal redevelopment programme was of a cost-efficient terminal-deepening solution. The wharf
sequenced in five phases to ensure that construction will not structures were constructed in the early 1970’s to serve general
disrupt on-going container operations at existing terminals. cargo operations. With the coming of containerised cargo, the
Approximately 350 m of wharf are upgraded during each 9- to terminal was equipped with container cranes.
12-month phase. The project was launched in January 2002 and
is scheduled to be completed by 2009.

The water depth of the Elizabeth Marine Terminal was increased from 10 m to 15.2 m.

17
 +2.00
+1.50

±0.00

Existing
Sheet Piling
HZ 575 A, B & C - 12
L=24.50 m

AZ 18
-10.00 L=7.50 m

Existing Mudline

-15.20

Future Dredge Depth

-22.50

A cut-off HZ/AZ combined sheet pile wall was driven in front of the existing terminal.

HZ 575 king piles / AZ 18 intermediary sheet pile combined wall.

The wharf and cranes were able to serve Panamax container a seismic analysis had to be performed to ensure that the
vessels with a draught of up to 12.2 m. The main part of Berths upgraded structure complies with current codes. After evaluating
82 through 98 coincides with the typical Port Elizabeth/Port the wharf’s stability under static and seismic loading conditions,
Newark cross-section: a 15.2-m-wide low-level-platform the project team chose a coated HZ/AZ combined-wall system
consisting of a 30-cm concrete deck slab supported by timber along the face of the wharf as the most cost-efficient solution.
piles. Tie rods attached to a deadman system provide the Several of the wharf improvement elements were governed by
lateral stability of the wharf structure. The crane rail beams are the seismic loading, including the size of the HZ king piles and
supported by timber and steel piles. anchor bolts.
The first step in the design of wharf improvement, inspection of The assessments of the structural upgrades depend on
the existing wharf, showed that all the elements of the existing geotechnical conditions. The general geological profile of the
structure were in good condition. The design office appointed for site consists of hydraulic fill above soft and loose silt and clays
the project, Han Padron Associates, determined that combining overlying dense sand and gravel and underlain by sandstone and
the new construction with the existing wharf structures was the shale bedrock.
optimum and most economical improvement alternative.
The principal concern regarding overall global stability after the
Construction time was considerably reduced by choosing planned dredging works was a slip-circle type of failure. Slope-
to improve the existing structure rather than completely stability analyses of the riprap slope determined that the tips
demolishing and replacing the wharf. Provision was also made of the HZ king piles needed to be driven into the dense sand
in the design for new supporting piles for the crane rails. The and gravel layers in order to achieve sufficient stability. Driving
advantage of the cut-off sheet pile wall chosen is the ability to the king piles through these denser layers also resulted in the
retain the existing mudline elevation beneath the wharf while optimum wall design with maximum passive pressure on the wall.
permitting the area in front of the toe wall to be dredged to the
To transform the existing terminal of the 1970’s into a state-of-
desired depth.
the-art container terminal accommodating 6,600-TEU vessels
Since requirements for earthquake design were not included the following cut-off combined sheet pile wall was installed at
in the building codes at the time the existing wharf was built, the wharf face: HZ 575 king piles with AZ 18 intermediary sheet

18
King-pile driving with two-layer template. A special beam transmitted the vibration energy to the underwater AZ-piles.

Failure
Surface

Original Mudline

New Mudline

Slip-circle type of failure was of concern with respect

to the stability of the new wharf.

The installation equipment was not submerged.

piles. The sheet pile wall permitted dredging of the harbour bed
to -15.2 m while maintaining the stability of the slope beneath Owner:
the relieving platform. Soil and static analyses showed that it APMT NORTH AMERICA
was necessary to anchor the top of the king piles. The HZ piles Designer:
were anchored into the concrete fascia wall to reduce bending Han Padron Associates, New York
moment, deformations and embedment depth of the king piles in Sheet pile system:
comparison to a cantilever solution. HZ 575 A, B & C –12 / AZ18
Driving works were simplified considerably due to the fact that Length of HZ king piles:
the heads of the king piles remained above the water line. A two- 23.0 m / 24.5 m
level driving template equipped with supporting consoles was set Length of AZ sheet piles:
on the existing quay wall. A quayside crane lifted the king piles 7.5 m
brought in by barge and lowered them into the driving guide. Steel grade:
The template was equipped with neoprene shields to protect the Grade 50 (yield strength: 355 N/mm2)
coating system of the sheet piles. A vibratory hammer first drove
HZ connectors:
the HZ piles until refusal; an impact hammer then drove them to S 430 GP
the design depth. Since the design called for the king piles to be
Total quantity of sheet piles:
attached to the existing quay wall, the head of the piles remained 2,440 metric tons
2 m above the waterline. Underwater driving was thus not
necessary for the installation of the HZ piles.

19
 Furthermore, the king piles were used as support for the
combined fender and panel system that provides the necessary
standoff between ship and toe wall.
The king piles also acted as a guiding frame for the installation
of the intermediary sheet piles. The contractor did not want to
submerge the vibratory hammer and thus opted for a special
beam that transmitted the vibration energy from the installation
equipment to the AZ piles throughout the driving process to
design depth. The underwater AZ sheet piles prevent soil erosion
due to the turbulence caused by ships’ screws.
Projects similar to the terminal deepening described above have
been carried out in numerous ports all over the world. Many
marine container terminals in operation today were originally
built to accommodate Panamax size vessels (draught up to
12 m). In order to remain competitive, ports are now forced to
accommodate Post-Panamax ships. Quay walls constructed in
the 1970s have to be modernised to receive these large vessels.
A very quick and cost-efficient solution for upgrading wharves
is to install stabilising steel sheet pile walls in front of the existing
wharf to permit deepening operations. HZ/AZ combined sheet
pile systems were also used for the following projects in Port of
Elizabeth:
• P&O Container Terminal, Port of Newark, delivery: 2001
4,630 t HZ 775 B - 12 / AZ 18 LHZ = 25 – 30 m,
L AZ = 13.5 – 16 m
• APMT NORTH AMERICA Marine Terminal, Phase 1,
Port of Elizabeth, delivery: 2002
1,350 t HZ 575 B&C -12 / AZ 18 LHZ = 24.5 m,
The heads of the HZ king piles remained above L AZ = 7.5 m
the water line, which facilited their installation…
• APMT NORTH AMERICA Marine Terminal, Phase 2,
Port of Elizabeth, delivery: 2003
1,090 t HZ 575 A&B -12 / AZ 18 LHZ = 23 m,
L AZ = 7.5 m
• Maher Terminals, Modernisation of berth 75 - 78,
Port of Elizabeth, delivery: 2003
2,260 t HZ 775 C -12 / AZ 18

…and provided an ideal support for the fenders of the terminal. Neoprene shields attached to the template protected
the coating system during installation.

20
Norfolk | Virginia | USA
> NIT South Wharf Renovation Project, Port of Virginia

In recent years, the Port of Virginia on the East Coast of the

United States has registered explosive growth in Asian cargo. This
growth has led to ambitious terminal renovation and expansion
projects to accommodate the increasing volume of cargo.
Northeast Asia, primarily China, accounts for up to one third of
U.S. container traffic with yearly growth rates in the range of
10 - 15%. As ports on the U.S. West Coast reach their maximum
capacity, the rise in container traffic is also being felt on the U.S.
East Coast.
The Port of Virginia, one of the world’s largest natural ice-free
harbours is located 29 km from the Atlantic Ocean. The port’s
annual shipping volume reached 1.98 million TEU in 2005 – a
growth of roughly 10% compared to the previous year. In
order to accommodate both increasing cargo volumes and
the increasing size of cargo ships, the Virginia Port Authority
[to whom we credit the pictures shown] decided to renovate
Norfolk International Terminal’s (NIT’s) South Terminal. The Port
The new terminal is built on the Elizabeth river, some 29 km of Virginia boasts a 15-metre-deep inbound channel that will
from the Atlantic Ocean.
ultimately be dredged to 18 metres, making it the deepest on
the U.S. East Coast. This new access channel will allow deep-
draught Suez Class container ships (10 - 12,000 TEU vessels)
to call at the port.

The NIT south wharf was renovated using two rows of steel sheet piles.

21
 Wharf
Weir & Outlet Water in
Structure from drainage system

Rear wall: AZ 18 sheet piles

Sediment collection
Front wall: AZ 36 sheet piles

Cross-section of the expanded terminal with the stormwater detention basin set between two rows of AZ sheet piles.

Launched in 2002, the renovation of the port’s largest container regulations. An under-wharf detention basin system formed by a
cargo terminal included the replacement of 1,290 metres of front and a rear sheet pile wall was installed. This basin eliminated
marginal wharf with a state-of-the-art structure designed the need for a conventional treatment pond while maximising
specifically for containerised cargo operations. Eight the land area available for cargo operations.
30.5-m-gauge post-Panamax cranes were installed to cope with
A vital goal of the project’s stormwater detention measures was
the increased cargo. The container yard was also reconfigured to
to create a highly impervious basin. At a width of 630 mm, the
improve its efficiency.
AZ 36 sheet piles were suitable not only to take up the statical
The NIT South Wharf Renovation project involved replacing loads, but also to contain stormwater. The watertightness of the
and widening the wharf by installing precast concrete piles, a system was further increased by the following measures:
steel sheet pile wall and an innovative under-wharf stormwater • Particularly high watertightness of the Larssen interlock
detention system. The wharf construction and landside due to its tight shape,
renovations were completed in stages to keep three of the
• The number of permeable interlocks was halved
terminal’s four container berths operational throughout the
by welding the middle interlocks,
renovation project.
• Large sheet pile width (1,260-mm double piles), and
Consulting engineers Moffatt & Nichol designed the renovation
• Filling of the non-welded interlocks with a Roxan
of the South Wharf, including the stormwater treatment
sealing system.
measures required by state and federal environmental

Installation of the basin’s impervious sheet pile wall. Supporting piles for the front side of NIT’s new South Wharf.

22
The AZ double piles were brought in by barge.

Installation by land-based crane equipped with vibratory hammer.

The AZ 36 sheet piles take the statical loads and act as an impervious water barrier.

23
 The Roxan system is based on a urethane-prepolymer product. A coating system was applied to the AZ sheet piles in Skyline’s
Its volume doubles after 24 hours of exposure to water. The shop to counter all corrosion risks caused by the water contained
contractor has to avoid having driving-process interruptions in the stormwater detention basin. The sheet piles were made
of more than two hours during installation, otherwise he of Marine Steel Grade A690, which has approximately two to
risks damaging the partly swollen sealing system. Contrary to three times greater resistance to seawater ‘splash zone’ corrosion
bituminous sealing products, Roxan exhibits excellent durability than ordinary carbon steel compliant with the U.S. ASTM A690
properties in mineral oil, crude oil or petroleum and is thus ideal standard.
for containing stormwater. The sheet piles were delivered from The AZ 36 and the AZ 18 sheet piles were driven in front of the
ArcelorMittal in Luxembourg to their U.S. sales agency Skyline existing wharf as double piles, using a vibratory hammer. The
Steel who applied the sealing system in their shop in Savannah, wharf itself is a deck-on-pile structure partly incorporating the
Georgia. The piles were then taken by truck to the project site in detention basin and extending the terminal approximately 30 m
Norfolk, Virginia. into the Elizabeth River.

A template ensures the straightness

of the sheet pile walls.

Overview of the construction site.

A hole was cut into the piles to pass the rebar tie rods.

Owner:
The Virginia Port Authority (VPA)
Design Engineer:
Moffatt & Nichol
Contractor:
Tidewater Skanska, Inc.
Sheet pile system:
AZ 36, AZ 18
Steel grade:
Grade ASTM A690
Total quantity of sheet piles:
3,950 metric tons

A waling system evenly distributes anchor

forces into the sheet pile wall.

24
Havana | Cuba
> Container terminal extension

The Caribbean island of Cuba is currently experiencing an

economic boom. Global economic ties, especially with individual
European nations, continue to flourish. Construction of the
Havana Container Terminal (Terminal de Contenedores de Habana
- TCH) is a typical example of Cuba’s recent development: The
project started in 1990 as a Cuban-Soviet project until the
collapse of the former Soviet Union. In 1993, the Transport
Ministry bidded out the concession for the container terminal.
Being Cuba’s only container terminal, TCH was approved for a
fifteen-year project in 1996. Only four years later, the goals of
the fifteen-year plan were reached; the first container vessel
called at the terminal as early as 1998. In phase one, an initial
investment of $14 million upgraded the terminal and enabled it
to receive 150,000 containers per year. In phase two, after an
investment of $16.8 million, the annual traffic can now attain
300,000 TEU. Growth is so significant that a further $7.5 million
is to be invested to further increase the container-handling
capacity of the TCH.

Cuba’s booming economy called for a new container terminal.

25
 50 kN/m2
+2.50 Bollard 80 kN/m

+1.50 +1.50

SML ±0.00 Crane 26 kN/m Crane 26 kN/m

+0.30

AZ 38

HZ 975 B - 12 / AZ 25
Concrete pile Concrete pile

-7.00

-12.50

2.50 15.30

28.00

-16.50

-18.00 Backfilled sand, sediments and weathered clay stone

Very compact clay stone, SPT > 80

-24.00

Cross-section: combined HZ/AZ main wall anchored with an AZ 38 wall.

Cantilever wall HZ 975 B - 12 / AZ 25

Front wall HZ 975 B - 12 / AZ 25

Rear wall AZ 38

28 m

150 m

L-shaped combined sheet pile quay wall consisting of a tie-back front wall and a cantilever return wall.

COLUMNA LITOLOGICA SONDEO 5

ESCALA VERTICAL

N° DE GOLPES/30 cm

SIMBOLOG.
DESCRIPCION N° DE GOLPES / 30 cm. RECUPERACION DE LA MUESTRA %
ESTRATO
COTA

0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
0

2
AGUA

-5.90 6 0

SEDIMENTO EN ESTADO FLUIDO. EL MUESTREADOR 0

8 PENETRO POR PESO SIN RECUPERACION DE MATERIAL
0
ALGUNO.
0
10
-10.35 2
ARCILLA LIMOSA DE COLOR GRIS OSCURO, DE CONSISTENCIA
2
BLANDA, CON INTENSO OLOR FETIDO, PRESENTA
-11.80 12 26

29
14 ARCILLA LIMOSA DE COLOR GRIS OSCURO, HASTA GRIS
VERDOSA, DE CONSISTENCIA FIRME AHASTA DURA, SIN
OLOR CARACTERISTICO.
16
15
-17.0
18
57

20 76

22
ARGILITA DE COLOR GRIS VERDOSA, DE CONSISTENCIA
DURA A MUY DURA, CON FRAGMENTOS DE LA PROPIA
24
ARGILITA E INTERCALACINES DE ARENISCA.
A PARTIR DE LOS 27.00 m EN ESTADO SEMIRROCO,
26 FISURADA.

28

30

-32.0 32

Boreholes were drilled to evaluate the soil conditions. Connection detail: existing Larssen wall / new combined wall.

26
The port’s latest proposed investment is for a 150-m extension
of the existing container terminal quay wall. In addition to the
materials, most of the special technologies and services were
not easily available in Cuba. The quay wall was thus supplied as
a complete solution by the Bauer Group, a German company
specialised in geotechnical and foundation construction
worldwide as well as in the sale of foundation construction
equipment. The package included the supply and installation
of a combined sheet pile wall together with the tie rods. The
sheet piles were produced by ArcelorMittal’s “Mill 2”, in Belval,
Luxembourg. The remaining civil works such as backfill and
concrete structures were performed by the Constructions
Division of the Cuban Ministry for Transport.
The new quay wall had to be connected to an existing wall made
of Larssen 5 piles produced in Russia. These heavy 420-mm
piles have a section modulus of 3,000 cm³/m and a weight of
238 kg/m². They have a huge weight disadvantage compared to
modern piles and are therefore far less economical. The superior
width of today’s piles allows faster driving progress enabling the
contractor to complete quay walls more rapidly.
To meet the requirements of the permanently growing Driving of steel sheet piles with barge-mounted equipment.
dimensions of vessels, the new quay wall is designed with a
water depth of 12.5 m. Apart from the geometry of the future
construction, soil analyses are a vital point in the design of quay
walls. The results showed that the geology in the area consists of
sediments overlaying claystone which is completely weathered
in the upper four to five metres. Very compact claystone with
SPT values (Standard Penetration Test) of 80 to 120 blows per
30 cm penetration is prevalent below -18.0 m.
The extension of the container terminal consists in the
construction of an L-shaped sheet pile wall. The shorter side of
the L-shape is a combined wall composed of 25.5 m HZ 975 B
king piles and 18 m AZ 25 intermediary piles, partly cantilever
and partly anchored to an AZ 38 wall. For the longer side of the
L-shape, an HZ 975 B-12/AZ 25 solution with HZ king piles with
a web height of 975 mm as load-carrying elements and AZ 25
sheet piles as intermediary soil-retaining elements was chosen.
The HZ king piles, delivered in S 390 GP steel grade, were driven
to a depth of 24 m, whereas for the AZ infill elements in steel
grade S 270 GP a shallower depth was sufficient to ensure wall
stability. The front wall is attached to the anchor wall with a
single layer of 28-metre tie rods. The tie-back wall is made of Driving of HZ king piles at the corner of the L-shaped wall.
8.5-metre AZ 38 double piles in steel grade S 430 GP.
A small number of spare piles were delivered from Luxembourg
to the site in Havana to prevent a standstill of the construction
site as a result of any possible damage to piles during transport
or installation.
The new and existing walls were connected with two concrete
blocks. These blocks fitted into the valley of the Larssen pile
at one end and in between the flanges of an HZ caisson at the
other.

The area behind the quay wall was backfilled with dredged sand.

27
 The execution of the project can be divided into two main
phases: the off-shore works and the finishing works on land. The
combined sheet pile wall was installed with a locally hired floating
crane. A Bauer base carrier equipped with a vibratory hammer
was used for the initial installation of the HZ piles. A hydraulic
hammer drove the piles to their final depth. A template was
used as a guiding frame to ensure the exact positioning of the
king piles. To finalise the container quay wall, the double sheet
piles forming the anchor wall were installed with a simple service
crane mounted on a second floating pontoon in places where
land-based installation was difficult. Due to the high accuracy
during installation of the HZ piles, the sheet piles fitted perfectly
into the gaps between the king piles so that a small hammer was
sufficient for the driving of the final metres into the compact soil
strata.

Bauer’s pile-driving equipment: impact hammer and vibratory hammer.

A locally hired floating crane assisted the installation

of the combined sheet pile wall.

Precise positioning of the HZ king piles was

guaranteed using a double-level template.

Owner:
TCH S.A. Terminal de Contenedores, Cuba
Contractor:
Bauer Spezialtiefbau GmbH, Germany
Steel grade:
S 430 GP, S 390 GP, S 270 GP
Sheet piles:
870 t HZ 975 B, 410 t AZ 25, 320 t AZ 38
Total quantity of sheet piles:
1,600 metric tons

The AZ piles were inserted between the HZ piles then driven to design depth.

28
 After the completion of the combined wall the main equipment
was set-up on land to install major parts of the anchor wall.
Backfilling of the new quay area proceeded simultaneously.
The sheet piles forming the anchor wall were driven into the
backfilled soil. This facilitated attachment of the tie rods that
connect the king piles of the front wall with the AZ anchor wall.
A continuous waler beam transferred the anchor loads uniformly
into the anchor wall assuring the stability of the system whilst
minimising deformation of the main wall.

The complete solution provided includes front wall, tie rods, and anchor wall.

The HZ piles were driven by vibratory hammer until refusal, then taken down to design depth by impact driving.

Several sheet piles were installed from a barge; others were driven with land-based equipment.

29
 Mejillones | Chile
> Breakwater and quay construction

The port of Mejillones is situated 1,440 km north of Chile’s

capital, Santiago, on the Pacific Ocean coastline, not far from the
town of Antofagasta. The history of the town is directly linked
to the mineral of sodium nitrate. In 1831 a small port for the
shipment of nitrate was built in Mejillones.
In 1995, an earthquake seriously damaged the harbour
installations of the town of Antofagasta, revealing the
vulnerability of the exporters using this port. The local mineral
industries were in need of an earthquake-proof harbour. Studies
showed that the most efficient solution would be to build a new
harbour 65 km north of Antofagasta, in the bay of Mejillones.
The masterplan of the “Complejo Portuario de Mejillones S.A.”
called for construction of joint terminals for different types
of cargo in accordance with demand. Construction started
in November 2001. Contractor Belfi S.A. completed the
construction of Terminal 1 by October 2003. The total budget
of the project is estimated at $120 million. The annual amount
of cargo handled by Puerto Angamos exceeds three million
metric tons.

In accordance with the requirements of the mineral industry, the new port was designed considering seismic loads.

30
 Port of Mejillones, Chile © Puerto Angamos
Terminal 1 is composed of different parts:
The breakwater was built using eight circular cells 24 m in
diameter and 24 m in height. The 200-metre structure is made
of high-tensile-steel sheet piles: AS 500 straight-web sections.
The 31.1-metre sheet piles were provided in steel grade
S 390 GP. ArcelorMittal’s straight-web sections have a width of
500 mm; there are currently five different thicknesses (9.5 mm
to 12.7 mm) available. For the project in Mejillones, a steel
thickness of 12 mm was chosen. The interlock of the
AS 500-12.0 section is able to transmit tensile force of up
to 5,000 kN/m.

The breakwater consists of sheet pile cells assembled with straight-web sections, A circular template was used for the installation of the cells.
whereas bending-moment-resisting sheet piles were used to build The sheet piles were driven from a jack-up barge. A total of
the terminal walls. 3,100 metric tons of AS 500 sections were used for the
construction of the port’s breakwater. The straight-web sections
and the junction sections were fabricated in Luxembourg and
delivered to the jobsite in Chile ready for installation.
The construction of Puerto Angamos was a first for templates of
such size Chile. The contractor used a 200-ton crane on a jack-
up platform and a two-level template of roughly 120 t to build
each cell composed of 152 AS 500 sheet piles. All the cells were
constructed using the same template.

31
 The breakwater is composed of eight cells with a diameter of 24 m. The straight-web sections were installed with the help of a template
to form the breakwater cells.

A barge-mounted crane lifted the sheet piles into the template. Removal of the template and filling of the cells.

24.20 m

+4.00 +2.50
Pavimento de sello

±0.00
-1.00

AS 500 - 12.0
L = 31.0 m Relleno Arenas

-20.00 (var)

T. Natural
-27.50

Diatomita
-28.50
The self-stable cells protect the quay area from waves.

32
The filled cells are capable of supporting the construction plant.

Quays 1 and 2 are deck-on-pile structures. They are designed The chosen sheet pile system varies with the rising water depth.
for ships up to 50,000 DWT and a length of 225 m. The deck The 115-mm-diameter tie rods were supplied in three parts due
foundation consists of 296 vertical and battered steel piles. to their considerable overall length. The individual pieces were
joined together by two turnbuckles providing a flexible, moment-
The 620-metre wall of Quay 3 was built using bending-
free system.
moment-resisting sheet piles. A high-strength HZ/AZ combined
wall was installed in Puerto Angamos. The quay wall consists of
HZ king piles that carry the main loads and AZ sheet piles that
act as infill elements also called intermediary sheet piles. The
HZ piles were anchored using steel tie rods provided by Anker
Schroeder from Germany.

Sheet pile cells are usually filled with locally available sand. Concrete ring beams protect the cells.

33
 An anchored combined sheet pile wall was chosen A concrete capping beam supports fenders and bollards.
as the optimum solution for the quay wall.

The steel tie rod is in three parts to facilitate transportation.

Owner:
Complejo Portuario de Mejillones S.A.
Contractor & Engineering:
Belfi S.A.
Steel grade:
S 390 GP
Sheet piles:
AS 500 – 12 3,100 t
HZ 575 A – 14 100 t
HZ 575 B – 24 480 t
HZ 775 A – 24 1,500 t
HZ 975 A – 24 1,700 t
AZ 13 620 t
AZ 26 700 t
Total quantity of sheet piles:
8,200 metric tons

First vessel docking at the new port constructed in less than two years.

34
 +5.20
+4.20
+3.0
+2.80
1
+0.70 2
±0.00 +0.14

-2.30
1 HZ 575 A - 14 / AZ 13
-1.0
1.5 L = 6.50 m

-10.0

Fondo marino
-14.0

HZ 975 A - 24 / AZ 26
L = 28.8 m

-26.0

Typical cross-section of the HZ/AZ system adapted to the varying water depth.

A jack-up barge and a template were used to install the HZ/AZ system.

A special template fitting all HZ beams was built to facilitate The main challenge for the contractor was the completion of
the installation. Special care had to be taken over the design of the Puerto Angamos’ quays in only 22 months. Eighteen cranes
this template because it was to fit HZ beams with heights of and two jack-up platforms were used simultaneously to stick
575 mm, 775 mm and 975 mm. to the tight time schedule. The workforce reached up to 1,400
employees at peak construction times.
Contractor Belfi S.A. used a 100-ton crane to install the steel
sheet piles. The crane was mounted with a vibratory hammer The contractor implemented a quality assurance plan for the
for driving of both the straight-web sections and the combined construction of this important project based on the NCh-ISO 9002
wall. The HZ/AZ system was vibratory-driven until refusal. The standard. More than 11,000 inspection reports confirmed the
vibratory hammer was then replaced by Delmag D-22 and D-30 outstanding quality of the Puerto Angamos project.
impact hammers for driving the final metres.

Completed in record time, the port is mainly used by the mineral industry.

35
 Aveiro | Portugal
> New solid bulk terminal

Aveiro is located about 300 km north of Lisbon, Portugal’s infrastructure for trading bulk goods. For the period 2000 -
capital, and roughly 65 km south of Porto, the country’s second- 2006, the European Union allocated € 3.7 billion for investment
largest city. In the 16th century, the city acquired prosperity in the Portuguese maritime-port sector, with a view to
through cod fishing. At the end of the century, strong storms upgrading infrastructures and to making Portugal an integral
caused Aveiro’s harbour to silt up. In 1808, the passage from the part of the trans-European transport network.
lagoon to the sea was reopened.
In 2005, cargo handled in the port of Aveiro was up 6%
Today, Aveiro is an important fishing and commercial harbour. compared to 2004. This was the biggest rise of all Portuguese
Operating 24 hours a day and enjoying optimum natural ports. The port of Aveiro handles over 3 million metric tons
conditions as a sea shipping port, Aveiro is ideally situated to of cargo annually. Dredging works for the solid bulk and liquid
serve the vast economic areas of central Portugal and Spain. bulk terminals were launched recently by the Port Authority of
Aveiro Commercial Harbour comprises approximately 1,700 m Aveiro.
of quays (north, south and roro terminals) and three wharves for
Geological tests showed that the coastline features dunes
liquid bulk (petroleum products, chemicals and wine).
consisting of medium and coarse sand made up of quartz,
The Harbour Authority APA – Admi­nistração do Porto de feldspar, and calcium fragments. Horizontal ground acceleration
Aveiro–, aimed to build an environmentally sound port with the due to seismic activity in the region of Aveiro Harbour can reach
highest standards of safety and efficiency with a specialised up to 0.1 g.

The two parts of Aveiro’s new terminal have a combined length of 750 m.

36
 CRANE RAIL
CRANE RAIL
+5.00 TOP SLAB

+3.29 (M.H.W.)

+2.00

+0.63 (M.L.W.) ROCKFILL +0.63 TIE ROD Ø 3 ¼”

N.N.

GEOTEXTILE
-2.00 1
1

ANCHOR WALL
-3.00 PILE Ø 1.00 m AZ 18

INTERMEDIATE SHEET PILE RH CONNECTOR

AZ 18

2
1
-11.00
-12.00

-16.00

-17.50

KING PILE
HZ 975 B -21.50

The state-of-the-art terminal consists of an anchored HZ/AZ sheet pile system.

The sheet pile wall was later topped with a concrete capping beam.

Two solid-bulk quays with a water depth of 12 m were built in

the port of Aveiro. The first quay is 450 m long and is used for A particularly economical solution was provided
shipping agricultural produce. The second 300-m quay is used with the help of RH connectors.
for handling other bulk cargo, mainly cement and clinker.
The quay wall of the solid-bulk terminal consists of an
HZ 975 B-14/AZ 18 combined-wall system. The 25.9-m
HZ king piles are made of high-yield-strength steel (grade
S 430 GP). The steel of the 20.9-m AZ 18 intermediate sheet
pile elements has a yield strength of 355 N/mm². A total of
4,500 metric tons of steel sheet piles was delivered from
Luxembourg to the site in Portugal.

37
 The sheet piles were vibratory-driven until refusal.

A two-level-template ensured straightness during installation. RH connectors were placed at the back of the HZ king piles, at
the location of maximum moment. These connectors locally
increase the section modulus in order to guarantee the necessary
stability along the full length of the pile while using a minimum
amount of steel. The saving in steel makes this combined-wall
system a particularly economical solution.
The anchor wall is situated 31 m behind the main wall. By holding
back the top of the main wall, the anchor wall not only limits
deflections, but also considerably decreases the maximum
moment in the front wall, allowing a lighter section to be
chosen. The anchor wall consists of AZ 18 profiles in steel grade
S 355 GP with a length of 6.5 m.
The high-strength tie rods made of steel with a yield strength of
460 N/mm2 were provided by Anker Schroeder in cooperation
with ArcelorMittal. They have a length of 31 m, a diameter
of 70 mm, and a thread of 3¼”. They are made of two parts
joined together by a turnbuckle. The turnbuckle has a dual role:
it compensates variations in distance between main and anchor
walls, and allows the tie rod to be straightened into a horizontal
position. Welded T-shaped connectors attach the tie rods to the
main wall.

Due to the template the space between the king piles precisely fits one AZ pile.

38
Crane loads rest on the front sheet pile wall and on concrete columns.

The distance between two king piles is 1.79 m whereas the

centres of the AZ 18 double piles of the anchor wall are 1.26 m
apart. It was therefore necessary to install a waling system which
also has the essential function of uniformly distributing the loads
into the anchor wall. The complete package comprising the steel
sheet piles and the entire tie-back system including tie rods,
waling beams, brackets, bearing plates, spacers, fixing bolts,
and splicing plates with corresponding nuts was delivered by
ArcelorMittal to the entire satisfaction of the customer.
A template was used to install the HZ king piles. This steel
structure guides the sheet piles into the ground, ensuring they
are correctly positioned both vertically and horizontally. The king
piles were vibratory-driven to the top of the template, which
was then repositioned to install the next HZ piles. An impact
hammer was used to drive the last few metres. The installed
HZ piles then served as a template for the AZ intermediate
elements. The AZ double piles were vibratory-driven to design
depth. The contractor opted for pre-drilling to ease AZ driving
through a compact sand layer at a depth of 10 m.
Steel sheet pile solutions are characterised by their great
flexibility. The corner section of the main wall consisted of
ordinary AZ 18 intermediate elements attached to HZ piles
by connectors. Most assignments such as welding or tie-rod
installation can be executed by a small workforce in a minimum
of time. One of the essential advantages of sheet pile systems in
comparison to concrete solutions is the fact that the sheet piles
are produced in a steel mill and are delivered ready for installation
to the site. This guarantees consistently good quality of the
construction material.

Tie rod/sheet pile wall connection details.

39
 Dynamic bearing tests confirmed the vertical bearing capacity of 1,800 kN.

Dynamic bearing tests were carried out in order to ensure that

the ground would provide the vertical bearing cap­acity required Deslocam ento (m m )

for the HZ 975 B piles to support the loads from the crane rails. -30 -25 -20 -15 -10 -5 0 5
In total, eight profiles were tested with the same equipment used 5.000

for driving the piles: a hydraulic impact hammer with a 7,000 kg

ram, deploying a maximum energy of 83 kNm. The results of the
special deformation detectors and piezo-electric accelerometers 0.000

applied back-to-back to the HZ piles were analysed. The

measured values indicate a vertical king pile bearing capacity
exceeding the required 1,800 kN. -5.000
Cota (m, ZH)

-10.000

Owner:
Administração do Porto de Aveiro
-15.000
Contractor:
Somague, Irmãos Cavaco and SETH
Dynamic load tests: -20.000
PDI Engenharia (Brazil) Calculado (FEM)

Geotechnical investigations and Medido (Inclinómetro)

structure instrumentation: -25.000

Tecnasol FGE
Project designer: The test also showed that predicted and observed deflections match.
J.M. Morim de Olivera and J.L. Rodrigues
Rocha engineers
Sheet piles:
HZ 975 B - 14 / AZ 18
Pile length:
HZ: 25.9 m; AZ: 20.9 m
Steel grade:
HZ: S 430 GP; AZ: S 355 GP
Total quantity of sheet piles:
4,500 metric tons

40
The steel structure was finished off with capping beam, fenders and bollards.

Both the 450-m agricultural quay and the 300-m bulk quay were completed in 2005.

The behaviour of the main and anchor walls was analysed The structure was completed with a concrete capping beam
using load cells attached to the tie rods and other measuring placed on top of the HZ king piles. It consists of cast-in-place
instruments installed inside inclinometer tubes next to the main monolithic sections, 21.48 m in length and 2.55 m in height.
wall. The readings obtained during dredging operations were Concrete mountings were provided for fenders and mooring
compared to the predicted values. The geotechnical data was fed bollards.
into a finite-element-method calculation program designed to
The new terminal opened in 2005 and is among the most
simulate soil/structure interactions. The results showed that the
modern in the world. Thanks to the sheet pile - tie rod package
predicted tie-rod force was confirmed and that the calculated
delivered by ArcelorMittal, the new solid-bulk terminal boosts
and observed deflections matched. It was furthermore possible
the economy of the region.
to validate the assumed geotechnical parameters and the
calculation process.

41
 Cadiz | Spain
> Extension of existing quay

Cabezuela quay in Bay of Cadiz Harbour originally handled only Because of advantageous technical and financial aspects, easy
bulk goods. The Harbour Authority – Autoridad Portuaria de la installation within short timeframes and minimum environmental
Bahía de Cadiz – decided to extend the quay in order to increase impacts, the decision fell in favour of the sheet pile wall.
its bulk handling cap­acity, thus attracting more shipping lines to The great height of the quay wall led to important loads
the port. The northern end of the wall was extended by 117 m that called for a high-strength-steel sheet pile solution.
during the first phase of the development project. Construction ArcelorMittal’s combined-wall system proved to be the ideal
works for the first phase began in March 1999. The existing structural element for the 20-m-high Cabezuela quay wall. The
“Muelle de la Cabezuela” quay wall built in 1989 is 495 m long. HZ/AZ solution incorporates two types of sheet piles: HZ king
It consists of 17 rein­forced concrete caissons founded on rock piles that act as a structural support and AZ sheet piles acting as
and gravel 14 m below sea level. intermediary infill elements. 31-m HZ 975 D king piles combined
Soil conditions with sufficient resistance to support the caissons in pairs were used for this project together with 24-m AZ 18
were encountered only at great depths towards the north side of sheet piles.
the existing quay. Adopting the caisson solution for the extension An anchor wall made of AZ 36 sheet piles was installed 36 m
would have involved high costs due to the deep foundation behind the main quay wall to limit deflections and to increase the
required. The owner therefore rejected this solution and was loadbearing cap­acity. The two walls were connected by tie rods
looking for more economical construction methods. Deck-on- with a diameter of 4.5” placed one metre above water level to
pile and sheet pile solutions were studied and compared. facilitate installation.

Economic advantages led to a sheet-pile-based extension of the concrete quay.

42
 +6.00

+4.00 Relleno seleccionado / Fill

±0.00

-2.00 AZ 36
lg. 8.00 m

HZ 975 D - 24 / AZ 18 Relleno
lg. 31.00 m / lg. 24.00 m Fill
Pedraplen
Rockfill

-14.00
Concrete pile Ø 1000 mm
lg. 38.50 m

-15.00
-21.00

Arenas
Sand
-28.00

-33.00

A combined steel sheet pile system was used to build the 20-m-high quay wall.

The underwater sections of the existing concrete wall were

connected to the sheet pile wall by welding the sheet pile’s first
interlock to a steel plate fixed to the last concrete caisson.
Prior to the start of the installation works, a 4-m-thick layer
of thick mud (fangos) was removed. An embankment was built
along the line of the future wall as installation with a Muller
MS 100 F vibratory hammer proceeded to avoid having to use
a barge. The steel sheet piles were sandblasted and coated with
coal-tar epoxy paint on site. The contractor used a two-level
template standing 3.5 m high that fitted three double HZ piles
to ensure correct positioning of the sheet piles. Two double king
piles were used to position the template prior to installation
of the first sheet piles. The HZ double piles were driven in
approximately 10 minutes, whereas 20 minutes were required
to install a double AZ sheet pile. A template consisting of a
horizontally positioned AZ 36 sheet pile was sufficient to ensure
the straightness of the anchor wall.
The new quay wall required a total of 1,600 metric tonnes of
ArcelorMittal’s steel sheet piles which were installed in less than
five weeks. The front crane loads were carried by the HZ/AZ
wall, whereas cast-in-situ concrete piles were installed to take
up the weight acting on the rear crane rail. A concrete capping
beam with bollards and fenders was installed on top of the sheet
pile wall to finish off the structure at an elevation of +6 m. Four
inclinometer tubes were installed inside the double HZ king piles
to measure horizontal movements. The recordings confirmed
the design’s predicted construction and service loads. Eight
extensometers and two load cells with a nominal range of 135 t
A berm of backfilled sand supported the driving equipment. were installed to detect the actual tension forces in the tie rods.
On site measurements were completed by pressure sensors and
six piezometers that evaluated hydro­static pressures in different
locations near the sheet pile wall.

43
 The driving template was placed on the embankment.

Tie rods were installed above the water line to facilitate the installation.

A finger quay formed the north end of the Cabezuela quay.

The quay extension required 1,600 metric tons of sheet piles.

Once the sheet pile wall was installed, the area behind it was backfilled.
The connection between old and new quay consists of a steel plate
welded to the first sheet pile.
Owner:
Autoridad Portuaria de la Bahía de Cadiz
Consulting engineer:
CEDEX, Alatec Haskoning
Main contractor: NECSO
Piling contractor: Piacentini (Italy)
Sheet pile system: HZ 975 D - 24 / AZ 18
Length of sheet piles: HZ 31 m, AZ 24 m
Steel grade: S 430 GP
Total quantity of sheet piles:
1,600 metric tons

The wall’s corner consists of AZ 18 piles that were also used as intermediary piles.

44
Calais | France
> New passenger berth

The Port of Calais is situated on France’s North Sea coast, at the

point closest to England (22 nautical miles). Calais, together with
the Port of Dover, provides the main maritime link between the
UK and Western Europe.
The two ports find themselves in the unique global position
of taking first and second place in port classifications in terms
of passenger transport. Handling an average of 65 car ferry
departures per day and up to 20 million passengers per year,
Calais is also France’s fourth largest mercantile port with
38 million metric tons of goods handled annually.
The opening of the Channel Tunnel in 1994-1995 prompted
shipping companies to review their operations in order to tackle
this new competitor head-on: the frequency of crossings
has been increased and embarkment procedures have been
The new Berth 9 is equipped with larger ramps and is able to handle bigger ships. improved.

The ports of Calais and Dover are the world’s busiest passenger ports.

45
 5
PU 2

AZ 1
U 25

HZ 7 Z 12

2
g-P
t pilin
Existing PU 25 quay wall shee

/A
75C
Ex isting AZ 17

- 24

PU 16
HZ 775C - 12 / AZ 12
HZ 7 Z 12
/A
75C

12
- 24

AZ
AZ 1
2

PU 1

Anchor wall - AZ 12
PU 6

New HZ 775 C–12 / AZ 12 wall

The new Berth 9 replaces the outdated berth from the 1970s.

Section A-A POUTRE DE COURONNEMENT B.A.

28.50

(+9.00) Terre-pleins
1.20
0.80

(H.M.V.E.E. +7.30)
(+6.50)
(+8.60)

NAPPE PHREATIQUE (+4.50)

Remblai sableux (+2.70)

(+1.60)
LIERNE
Ø 85 M105 E500 (esp. 1.87) UPN

2.20
(B.M.V.E.E. +0.30) NIVEAU DE REFERENCE (± 0.00)

(+0.50)

RIDEAU D'ANCRAGE AZ12

20 65
TRANCHEE AU COULIS DE CIMENT
26.00

17.90

ENROCHEMENT
RIDEAU PRINCIPAL HZ 775C -12/ AZ12
(-8.50) HZ 775C - S430 - IGR. = 26.00
120

AZ12 - S240 - IGR. = 21.60

(-11.00) COTE DE CALCUL ET DE DRAGAGE

186

295
120

(-13.00) NIVEAU DE PALPLANCHES INTERMEDIAIRES

Boulons M50

(-17.40)

Cross-section along side the ferry vessel.

Section B-B POUTRE DE COURONNEMENT B.A.

28.50

(+9.00) Terre-pleins
1.20
0.80

(H.M.V.E.E. +7.30)
(+6.50)
(+8.60)

Remblai sableux
(+5.70)

NAPPE PHREATIQUE (+4.50)

(+4.70)
Ø 85 M105 E500 (esp. 1.87)
4.50

LIERNE UPN400 - S355

(B.M.V.E.E. +0.30) NIVEAU DE REFERENCE (± 0.00)

(+1.20)

RIDEAU D'ANCRAGE AZ12

TRANCHEE AU COULIS DE CIMENT

65
28.00

22.90

120

ENROCHEMENT 20
RIDEAU PRINCIPAL HZ 775C -24/ AZ12
(-8.50) HZ 775C - S430 - IGR. = 28.00
AZ12 - S240 - IGR. = 21.60

Obturateur provisoire
(-11.00) COTE DE CALCUL ET DE DRAGAGE
210
350

±5°

(-13.00) NIVEAU DE PALPLANCHES INTERMEDIAIRES

Soudure ou bride vissée

Capot étanche 124

(-18.40)
rempli de graisse

(-19.40)

Cross-section at the ferry’s bow.

46
The existing PU 25 quay wall allowed the new wall to be driven in the dry.

The old anchor wall had to be removed before the piles for the new Berth 9 were driven.

The rocks forming the old harbour bed were removed by a crane mounted on a barge.

47
 Bentonite and other filling materials prevented the possibility of the very fine sand washing out through the interlocks.

The Port of Calais comprised seven ferry berths in 1994. been commissioned, it was possible to start upgrading Berth 5
Berth 5, the first berth to be built (commissioned in 1975), in to a length of 200 m and a dredge level of -8 m. Due to the
the outer harbour, featured two single-lane links for loading and increased capacity of the latest generation ferries and the
unloading docking passenger ferries. Initially designed for vessels requirements to optimise turnaround time, two levels with two
168 m long and 6 m deep, it became unsuitable for modern lanes each were provided to deal with the roll-on/roll-off traffic
cross-Channel traffic. at the new berths. Both Berth 5 (HZ 775 B, 26/11 combina­­tion)
and Berth 8 (PU 32) were constructed using steel sheet piles
For operational and strategic reasons, it was impossible to
provided by ArcelorMittal from Luxembourg.
interrupt traffic through Berth 5. In 1995, the operator of
the port–the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Calais–
therefore decided to build a new Berth 8. As soon as it had

A bentonite trench facilitated driving so that a simple template was sufficient. Vibratory driving of the 21.6-m AZ 12 intermediary piles.

48
The steel tubes driven in front of the quay wall act as fenders.

HZ 775 C -26 / AZ 12 quay wall offering a water depth of 8.5 m.

The 100-million-euro investment project for the port launched main wall (top: +9.0 m, tip: -16.1 m) and a PU 16 anchor wall
in 2004 was scheduled for completion by 2006. With its new (top: +4.7 m, tip: +0.9 m). Rocks of different sizes had been
180-m car-ferry terminal, Berth 9 is at the heart of Calais’ placed on the waterside in front on the main sheet pile wall. The
redevelopment project. It was operational at the end of 2005, existing structure facilitated construction of the new Berth 9:
after a construction time of just over a year. The new pier the old main wall acted as protection from the sea, enabling
completes the current range of 4 large-sized and one small the contractor to work in the dry. After removing the backfill
berth. Another smaller part of the project is the construction of a material behind the old PU 25 piles, the exposed anchor wall and
new Ro/Ro berth for catamarans and roll-on/roll-off vessels. tie rods were removed easily.
The new Berth 9 with a water depth of 8.5 m is built right French contractor Spie Batignolles then proceeded with the
next to Berth 8. The existing structure at the location of the installation of the new L-shaped combined-wall system. The
new berth had to be removed. With a water depth of merely longer side of the L forms the wall alongside the ferry and is
four metres, it was no longer suitable for modern ferries. To 174 m long. The following sheet piles were installed: 93 HZ king
allow docking of passenger vessels, the new structure had to piles with length of 26 m and 92 AZ 12 intermediary piles with a
be L-shaped. The existing straight berth comprised a PU 25 length of 21.6 m.

49
 HZ 7
75 C

PU 6
-
24 /
AZ 17

A
Z 12

AZ 17
PU 16
PU 22
AZ 17
12
AZ
2/
-1
5C
77
HZ

Berth 9 features a two-level ramp for faster loading and unloading of the Ro/Ro vessels.

The design of the sheet pile wall provided by ArcelorMittal’s

technical team showed that an HZ 775 C-12 solution made of
HZ king piles with a height of 775 mm and AZ 12 intermediary
sheet piles fulfils the static requirements. More details can be
seen in cross-section A-A.
The shorter side of the L-shaped structure measures roughly
48 m and comprises the ramp as well as a sheet pile wall on
either side of the ramp. An HZ 775 C-26 solution, as shown in
cross-section B-B, formed the quay’s front wall.
All HZ king piles were ordered in high-strength steel S 430 GP.
AZ 12 sheet piles were used for the anchor wall and as
intermediary elements for the main quay wall. The AZ piles of
the front wall mainly have a load distributing function; which is
why a lower steel grade (S 240 GP) was chosen. The AZ 12 piles
in steel grade S 355 GP forming the anchor walls are 2.2 m and
4.5 m long respectively.
There is no special corrosion-protection system in the Port
of Calais. It was decided to use an extra thickness that will
be allowed to corrode away during the lifetime of the sheet
pile structure. The following corrosion reserves were chosen:
1.75 mm on the sea side and 0.25 mm on the soil side of the
piles.
In November 2003 several boreholes were drilled to a depth of
35 m to investigate soil conditions. The geological properties
such as internal friction angle, cohesion and density coefficients
The 35 x 14 m sheet pile trench accommodates the lower access ramp. that are necessary for the elasto-plastic design of the sheet pile
wall were analysed by pressuremeter, penetration and laboratory
testing. For the design of the foundation piles, toe resistance and
Operator: lateral friction were also evaluated.
Chamber of Commerce and Industry
of Calais The results of the geological investigation revealed three
different types of soil:
Contractor:
Spie Batignolles 1. +9 m to -5 m: soft backfilled sand with shells,
Steel grade: friction angle: 36°, density: 17.5 kN/m³.
HZ & AZ 17: S 430 GP, AZ 12: S 240 GP 2. -5 m to -20 m: compact “Flandrian sand”,
Sheet piles: friction angle: 37°, density: 19 kN/m³.
HZ 775 C -12 / AZ 12, HZ 775 C - 3. Below -20 m: silty “Flandrian clay”,
26 / AZ 12, AZ 17, PU 22, PU 16, PU 6
friction angle: 10°, cohesion: 25-50 kPa.
Total quantity of sheet piles:
1,500 metric tons

50
 Poutre de couronnement 12.61
béton armé
+9.00
11.96
+8.375

+7.00
+6.27
Ø 55 R 70 esp. 3.78

2.75
UPN 260

Plaque d'ancrage Plaque acier

2.75 x 2.75 x 0.30 0.40 x 0.40 x 0.040

Enrochement variable de +1.61 à +6.27

+1.61
Rideau AZ 17 S430 GP L = 13.50

13.50
13.90 15.00

-4.90

12.23

ArcelorMittal supplied AZ 17 sheet piles in six different lengths for the trench.
(-11.00) COTE DE

The combined-wall sheet piles were driven into a trench filled

with bentonite cement to prevent the fine sand particles washing
28.50 out through the pile interlocks. Above the top of the trench, the
sheet piles were filled with a bituminous material called Beltan,
adding to the impervious quality of the steel wall.
This unconventional way of installing the piles also had the
positive effect of considerably facilitating driving through the
hard sand layer. The trench was 1.22 m wide and reached a
depth of -16.4 m. This alternative installation method allowed
very precise placement of the steel sheet piles without need for
an elaborate template.
Junction tie rod / AZ 17 sheet pile.
A high-strength (yield strength: 500 N/mm2) steel tie rod
connects the two sheet pile walls. Common round steel tie rods
have a weak point: the reduced cross section at the thread. In
order to provide tie rods with tensile strength corresponding to
the shaft diameter, the anchors’ ends were upset. These upset
tie rods thus combine reduced weight, easier handling and lower
costs. The Berth 9 project used upset tie rods with a shaft
diameter of 85 mm upset to 105 mm at the thread. They were
equipped with T-shaped connectors, bolts and eyes at the front
end. The anchors connect both sheet pile walls over a length
of 28.5 m. The horizontal tie rods were attached to the AZ 12
anchor wall with the help of a waling made of two UPN beams.
Being exposed to tidal variations ranging from +0.30 m to
Lower access ramp of neighbouring Berth 8. +7.30 m, the deck of Berth 9 offers an elevation of +9.0 m to
enable year-round operation. A water depth of eleven metres
was assumed for the design of the quay. A 2.5-m-thick,
42-m-wide bed of rockfill was placed in front of the main sheet
pile wall to serve as scouring protection deemed necessary due
to numerous ship movements.
A special 14-m-wide trench with sheet pile walls was built for
the placement of the steel access ramp. AZ 17 sheet piles were
driven on both sides of the 35-m-long inclined trench. The piles
were supplied in a variety of lengths: 11.5 m, 10.5 m, 9.5 m,
8.5 m, and 7.5 m for the side walls; 6.3 m for the return wall. The
AZ piles were anchored to concrete plates. The two-level ramp
allows fast car and truck access to the ferries, optimising docking
times in the Port of Calais.
Upper access ramp under construction.

51
 Antwerp | Belgium
> Deurganckdock Container Terminal

To meet exponential growth Before the earthworks started, the groundwater level was
of container traffic in the Port lowered by means of dewatering pumps in order to execute
of Antwerp, an expansion the construction works in a dry excavation. The excavation
programme was finalised in proceeded in several steps to reach a depth of -18 m, with
January 1998. It includes a new different slopes.
tidal container dock on the left
Steel sheet piles were driven on both sides of the foot of the
bank of the river Scheldt some
quay to ensure the stability of the structure. By connecting them
60 km inland from the North Sea.
to the footing of the quay wall, erosion of soil from beneath
Once finished, the new facility
the quay wall was prevented. After driving of the sheet piles,
– Deurganckdock – will double
the excavation was deepened to -21 m. A 70 mm layer of
the harbour’s container handling
dry concrete was placed to obtain a clean foundation surface.
capacity.
Different types of AZ sheet piles were used: some 5,300 metric
Works at Deurganckdock are tons of AZ 19, AZ 26 and AZ 36 for permanent applications
Deurganckdock
being carried out in three phases. and 700 metric tons of AZ 26 and AZ 36 profiles as temporary
Terminals with quay lengths of supporting piles.
1,250 m, 1,750 m and 2,200 m are planned. For the design of
Once concreting of the footing of the quay wall was finished,
the quay wall, an extensive soil investigation programme was
works on the vertical part of wall started. The next step
carried out, and indicated the presence of 8 different soil layers.
consisted in backfilling the excavation behind the quay wall with
The quay wall consists of an L-shaped reinforced concrete wall.
sand to +8.8 m. When the first 1,650 m of the quay wall were
The horizontal “footing” of the quay wall is up to 26 m wide.
ready, the soil was then raised to the level of the future terminal
A sheet pile wall is driven behind and in front of the footing which
sites with the help of cutter dredgers.
supports the 23.5 m vertical wall.

Over 6,000 t of steel sheet piles were used for the foundation of the quay walls.

52
The AZ sheet piles were installed with a diesel hammer.

At the entrance of Deurganckdock, the terminal walls open created by the displaced soil is progressively filled with grout that
towards the river Scheldt. In contrast to the L-shaped quay, this provides an excellent connection between displaced soil and the
entrance wall is an anchored structure. MV piles were used to steel element. ArcelorMittal offers a range of special wide-flange
take the horizontal loads of this retaining wall. MV piles consist piles that are used throughout the world as HP piles for deep
of steel bearing piles wrapped with a grout envelope during foundations of various structures.
installation enabling them to carry very high tensile forces. The
steel pile displaces soil during the driving process. The volume

Owner:
Ministry of the Flemish Community, LIN,
AWZ, Maritieme Toegang
Contractor:
Consortium comprising Cordeel, Aertssen,
CFE & Van Laere and Dredging Int’l
Driving company:
Soetaert
Permanent sheet piles:
440 t AZ 19; 2,300 t AZ 26; 2,600 t AZ 36
Temporary sheet piles:
540 t AZ 26; 200 t AZ 36

Steel MV piles take the tensile forces of the entrance walls.

53
 Aarhus | Denmark
> Extension of CT East

Aarhus is located on the east coast of Jutland, Denmark’s

peninsula north of Germany. The town with its 300,000
inhabitants is home to the country’s largest container port
handling almost 500,000 TEU each year. Covering a land area
of 227 hectares, the port offers a total quay length of 13.5 km.
Aarhus has a market share of 63% of the total number of
containers handled by Danish ports.
The port is ideally located in relation to the home market –
not far from the centres of consumption and production in
Denmark. Nature has provided the port of Aarhus with a range
of significant advantages, for example a natural water depth to
match the requirements of large, ocean-going container ships.
In addition, there are no natural hindrances such as large waves
and winter ice that can hamper vessels calling at the port. Apart
from the seaport, Aarhus has major shipbuilding and petroleum-
refining industries; other manufacturing activities include
machinery, transportation equipment, processed food and beer.
Aarhus is Denmark’s major container port.

Extension of CT East

The extension project will increase the annual cargo-handling capacity to 20 million metric tons.

54
 500 2500
Kranbjælke
1.6
31000
0.00 a=3 0.15 0.0
-1.05 2 ø 160 PVC Dræn med Geotekstil PR. 8000. l. = 15000 Ankerspuns
-1.55
a=3
-2.55 -2.55
ø 56/M60 Opstukket
Drænudløb Raldræn 50000
PR. 4 Dobbeltjern
a=3

350 x 350 JBT-PÆL

Sand i Kajentreprisen -5.55
-6.05 Tilladelig Sandindfyldning
400 x 400 JBT-PÆL

før etablering af øverste anker

Spunsjern

Ankerplader

C-PÆLE
B-PÆLE

1000 x 1000 x 300

Uddybes før
spunsramning -11.05
I Anden ø 56/M60 Opstukket
Entreprise -12.00
2100 700

-14.05
1
a=

30000
-15.55

-21.0 TIL -26.0

-29.0
-33.0 TIL -35.0

Two levels of tie rods were chosen due to poor soil conditions leading to the positive side-effect of reducing maximum bending moments.
A combined wall system was thus unnecessary. The underwater installation of tie rods by divers was a complex task however.

Concrete capping beam showing fender, bollard, crane rail and top of sheet pile.

The all-purpose port has its own towage, pilot and mooring
service which is available 24 hours a day, 365  days a year.
Approximately 8,000 ships including some 25 cruise ships dock
annually at the port of Aarhus carrying a total of 10 million
metric tons of goods. Almost 5 million metric tons of cargo are
handled via the two container terminals North and East and
via the ferry services. The turnover of oil products amounts to
almost 2 million metric tons. The last 3 million metric tons include
bulk cargo such as animal feed and coal.
Some 3.5 Mm3 of sand were placed behind the sheet pile wall The Port of Aarhus is a municipal autonomous port led by a Board
to create the new CT East. of Governors of seven members with the Mayor of Aarhus as
chairman. Ocean-going container ships call at the port to load
cargo arriving via smaller feeder ships from countries located
around the Baltic Sea. The relatively new EU membership of
the Baltic states will result in a market increase in the volume of
exports and imports in coming years.

55
 Anchor Wall
Anchor Wall
Anchor wall

A B
Front Wall

33 688

1771
755 445
Detail A

0
00
PU 32 Single Pile
to adjust on site

44
C D

415
30 102

existing H 3600
Layout of the new sheet pile quay wall of Container Terminal East.
600 600 600

3 x PU 32 Single Pile
lg. 20 650

Detail A Corner detail B

1771

Detail A
755 445
PU 32 Single Pile
to adjust on site Corner detai
415

C 14 corner section

33 688
33 688
(S 355 GP) C 14 corner section
(S 355 GP)
existing H 3600

600 600 600

Corner detail B
3 x PU 32 Single Pile
lg. 20 650

Corner detail C
The existing sheet piles were connected to the new PU 32 sheet piles by a single pile that was adjusted on site.
1771

Detail A 30 102
PU 32 Single Pile
to adjust on site Corner detail C
755 445
415

1771

Detail A
Corner detail D
33 688

C 14 corner section
existing H 3600
PU 32 Single Pile
to adjust on site Corner detail C
(S 355 GP)

6°
12
600 600 600

3 x PU 32 Single Pile
415

lg. 20 650
33 688

CC 14
9(Scorner
cornersection
355 GP)
section
existing H 3600
C 14 corner section (S 355 GP)
33 688

30 102
(S 355 GP) 600 600 600
755 445
3 x PU 32 Single Pile 00
lg. 20 650
44

Corner detail D
°
26
Corner detail1 D 30 102

Corner detail B 755 445

C 14 corner section
C 9 corner section
(S 355 GP)
33 688

(S 355 GP)
Corner detail D
0
00

6°
30 102
44

12

Corner detail B C 9 corner section

(S 355 GP)
C 14 corner section
33 688

(S 355 GP)
30 102
0
00
44

Corner detail B
30 102

Detail A: End of capping beam of the old CT East.

The existing sheet piles of CT East continued a few metres beyond the capping beam.

56
The construction equipment was mounted on barges to build the quay wall.

The port has already established a position for itself as an

important Baltic hub. Regular services have been established
to other large European and Asian ports. Numerous road and
rail connections in addition to modern computer management
systems that control reception, delivery and storage of
containers mark the efficiency of the Port of Aarhus.
Due to ever increasing trading volume, there is already significant
pressure on the European highway network and on the West
European container ports. To relieve traffic problems, the EU has
declared that sea transport must be promoted. Being close to
the new markets around the Baltic Sea, the Port of Aarhus is a
solution for fast and efficient cargo transportation avoiding the
congested road networks.
The Port of Aarhus is investing its financial profits in the
maintenance of the port infrastructure and the development of
harbour facilities to make space for even more vessels. In 1995
the port reached its maximum capacities and a programme for
extension of the existing quays was decided. Expansion began in
The new quay wall was temporarily fixed with inclined piles. 1998 and will be spread out over 25 years. When the extension
operation is completed, the port area will have doubled. The
annual cargo-handling capacity will increase to approximately
20 million metric tons. The projected maximum water depth
is 15.5 m alongside the quays. The budget for the expansion
project is estimated to exceed 250 million euros.
The two existing container terminals in the Port of Aarhus are
Denmark’s largest and busiest offering a water depth of up to
14 m. Each year, 1,500 ships call at Container Terminal North
and at the new Container Terminal East to load and unload
approximately 500,000 containers. Container Terminal North is
equipped with five gantry container cranes, each with a lifting
capacity of up to 40 metric tons, while Container Terminal East
is equipped with 3 post-Panamax cranes with a lifting capacity
of up to 90 metric tons. Each crane can lift an average of
A steel beam was fixed to the main wall as waling. 35 containers per hour. The terminals have room for container
ships or roll-on/roll-off ships. The terminals are complemented
by modern facilities for cooling and refrigerating containers.

57
 The existing part of Container Terminal East came into use by
APM Terminals in April 2001. CT East currently offers a quay
length of 500 m, a water depth of 14 m and has a storage area
of 200,000 square metres that can accommodate up to 6,400
containers. It is equipped with Ro/Ro facilities, railway tracks,
office and warehouse facilities and repair and service companies.
Efficient cargo handling is assured by straddle carriers, reach
stackers and trucks in cooperation with computer reporting and
logistics systems.
The projected new quay will add almost 300,000 square
Storage area for sheet piles. metres of harbour area to the existing terminal. The budget for
the expansion of CT East designed to accommodate container
vessels carrying up to 7,000 TEU was limited to 65 million euros.
For the extension of the terminal, the sheet pile wall of the
existing part of the terminal will be prolonged to reach a total
quay length of 1,300 m. The new structure is planned as a
multiuse terminal. An anchored wall consisting of ArcelorMittal’s
PU sheet piles was chosen by NIRAS Portconsult and by the
technical department of the port. NIRAS Portconsult is a Danish
consulting company carrying out assignments worldwide in
the fields of port planning and engineering as well as in soil
engineering.
Due to poor soil conditions, it was necessary to install two levels
of tie rods for the construction of the new quay. To limit the
weight and thus the costs of the steel solution, a high-strength
steel grade with yield strength of 430 N/mm2 was chosen.
PU 32 profiles were used for the main wall, PU 22 profiles for
the anchor wall. The soil conditions vary considerably along the
quay wall comprising weak to stiff clay layers. The sheet pile
solution was adapted to these changing conditions: the length
of the PU 32 sheet piles of the main wall of the terminal varied
from 20.65 to 31 m. The sheet piles were vibratory driven and
temporarily fixed with inclined beams by Danish contractor MT
Højgaard. The next step consisted in backfilling the area behind
the PU 32 wall to -12 m with sand brought in by a dredger from
Barge-mounted crane for installation of sheet piles.
the Bay of Aarhus. The lower tie rod was then installed on top
of the backfilled sand at a depth of eleven metres. The tie rod
consists of a 28 m steel bar with a diameter of 56 or 63 mm,
depending on the soil characteristics present. Two reinforced
concrete deadmen, one at the end of the tie rod, the second
7 m from the end, transfer the anchor’s traction forces into the
backfilled soil. A crane lifted the tie rods with the two 300-mm-
thick concrete plates from a barge and lowered them to the
design depth. Divers fixed the tie rods to the main sheet pile
wall. A hole to fit the tie rod was burnt in the sheet piles prior to
installation to facilitate the underwater works.
The dredger then backfilled the area behind the front sheet
pile wall until a water depth of three metres was reached. The
1,200-mm-wide PU 22 double piles of the anchor wall were
installed with a vibratory hammer. The upper tie rod connects
both sheet pile walls at a depth of -2.55 m. All top tie rods have
a diameter of 56 mm and are made of high-strength steel (yield
The sheet piles and the beams were transported to the installation site by barge.
strength: 460 N/mm²).

Large areas had to be backfilled to complete the new CT.

58
 The first 450 m of the extension uses 20.65-m-long PU 32
double piles. The anchor wall made up of 7-m PU 22 profiles
is placed 30 m behind the main wall. The next 345.6 m to the
corner of the structure consists of PU 32 profiles with lengths of
25.65, 29.65 or 31 m depending on soil conditions.
At a distance of 50 m, 5.5-m-long PU 22 profiles anchored
the structure. A corner at the west end of the quay wall was
designed to accommodate Ro/Ro vessels.
The foundation for the crane rails was separated from the quay-
wall structure because of poor soil conditions. The Port of Aarhus
purchased five super-post-Panamax cranes with an outreach
of 60 m to serve even the largest container vessels. The loads
of the crane rails are carried by reinforced concrete piles with a
sectional area of 400 x 400 mm. Due to the enormous loads of
super-post-Panamax cranes, the piles were driven as much as
35 m into the weak soil.
The Port of Aarhus has long and very satisfying experience with
cathodic protection systems. Several steel sheet pile quays in
Aarhus are considerably more than 50 years old. The anodes
protecting those structures have been replaced every five to
The tie rod consists of a 28 m steel bar, 56 or 63 mm in diameter. eight years. The port authorities decided to rely on sacrificial
zinc anodes as corrosion protection for the new quay. The
expected lifetime of the new structure exceeds 50 years. Visual
inspections by divers are scheduled every two years to check the
actual condition of the anodes.
Although the tidal variations in the Port of Aarhus are in the
range of only one metre, a drainage system consisting of rocks
was installed behind the main wall. This system reduces the water
pressure on the sheet pile wall and a­ llows a more economical
section to be chosen. A concrete platform overlying a layer of
compacted sand and stones mixed with cement was installed on
top of the backfilled sand behind the PU 32 quay wall. Asphalt
finishing was not suitable as there are severe risks of the material
being damaged, especially in warm weather conditions. A slope of
0.5% ensures rainwater drains from the container handling area.
Completion of the new terminal currently under construction is
scheduled for mid 2007.
Reinforced concrete deadmen 1,000 x 1,000 x 300 mm.

The crane lifted the tie rod together with the deadmen into position
at a depth of eleven metres. Sand was pumped from a dredger to refill the area
behind the sheet pile wall.

59
 Nearly 4,000 metric tons of PU 32 profiles in different lengths had to be installed to complete the 1,170 m main wall.

Existing part of Container Terminal East.

The port’s long-term extension plan

is situated on the right side of the
white line. The red line marks the new
port area which was finished in 2001.

Owner:
Port of Aarhus, Denmark
Designer:
Technical Department of the Port of Aarhus
and NIRAS Portconsult
Contractor:
MT Højgaard, Denmark
Steel grade:
S 430 GP
Sheet piles:
3,930 t PU 32 double piles
690 t PU 22 double piles
Total quantity of sheet piles:
4,620 metric tons

The new terminal will feature super-post-Panamax cranes and a water depth of 15.5 m.

60
Prøvestenen | Copenhagen | Denmark
> Construction of a new harbour & soil enclosure

Prøvestenen is located in the Danish capital in Copenhagen,

whose name historically means “the merchants’ harbour”. The
entire Öresund region has always been the obvious connection
between Sweden and Denmark as well as between the Baltic
Sea region and Western Europe, where a steady increase in cargo
volume is anticipated. The region where the famous Öresund
Bridge was built is an established logistics centre which includes
Copenhagen Malmö Port (CMP). Created in 2001, the two
harbours of Copenhagen Malmö Port are 26 kilometres apart.
CMP’s vision is to become the leading harbour in the region.
The port currently offers a maximum water depth of 13.5 m,
a combined quay length of 16.5 km including two container
and ten ferry terminals as well as oil tanks with a volume of two
million cubic metres.
The double-wall cofferdam was installed in open water.

Double wall cofferdam

AZ 18-10/10 & AZ 17

PU 8

AZ 13-10/10

Different types of steel sheet piles were used for the cofferdam that functioned as a soil enclosure and harbour wall.

61
 The sheet pile cofferdam forms an impervious barrier for the contaminated soil.

CMP is the biggest dry-bulk harbour in the region and will

enhance its position with investments in docking facilities.
A development company owned by Port of Copenhagen and
the Copenhagen municipality was established in 2001. It was
to invest €8 million in the development of Prøvestenen over a
5-year period. The so-called “Fuel Island Prøvestenen” also plays
an important role for the local petroleum industry. Construction
of the new dry-bulk area in the southern part of Prøvestenen
started in May 2002, including a 650-metre quay that will
expand the bulk area by 180,000 m².
When the expansion of Prøvestenen was completed in 2004,
the dry-bulk activities in the other port areas were scaled down +3.00
and moved to the new area where the water depth of 13.5 m +2.50
+2.00
can accommodate large vessels. The reclaimed area on which the
Prøvestenen project was built is located close to the Öresund ±0.00 Upper tie rod
bridge linking Denmark and Sweden.
The harbour was not the main reason for building the cofferdam
in Prøvestenen. The structure was primarily designed as a 15.00 m

dumping place for contaminated soil. As a side effect the AZ 18-10/10 AZ 17

impervious sheet pile cofferdam forms a quay wall that will serve L = 22.2 m L = 21.4 m
Backfill
as a temporary docking place to relieve congestion from nearby
Contaminated
ports. soil

Different types of sheet piles were used for the construction.

The total amount of sheet piles was delivered to Prøvestenen in Lo wer tie rod

batches, in accordance with the needs at the construction site.

Deliveries took place from 2001 until 2003, either by ship or by var. -13.4 / -15.5
truck from the mills in Luxembourg. Mud / Organic sand

The water at the south side of the reclaimed area is shallower Greensand clay / Silt
(design water depth = 4 m). Therefore 9.4-m-long
AZ 13-10/10 sheet piles were sufficient for this side of the Greensand / Limestone
new quay. The AZ 13-10/10 wall was tied back to concrete
anchor plates. A berm was built up along the other part of the
south quay. PU 8 sheet piles were driven into this berm with an The cofferdam consists of AZ 18-10/10 sheet piles on the water side
excavator-mounted vibratory hammer. and AZ 17 sections on the land side.

62
 The depth of Öresund Sound on the north side of the quay varies
between 13.4 and 15.5 m. A double-wall cofferdam was chosen
for this part of the construction. The cofferdam is made up of
two sheet pile walls 15 m apart.
The wall facing the Öresund Sound consists of AZ 18-10/10
sections in S 390 GP steel grade with a length of 22.2 m and a
section modulus of 1,870 cm³/m. The wall facing the reclaimed
area comprises 21.4-m-long AZ 17 sections made of steel
with a yield strength of 355 N/mm² and a section modulus
of 1,665 cm³/m. The installation of these sheet piles in open
water took place with the help of a vibratory hammer that was
mounted on a barge. Z-type sheet piles were chosen for the
deep-water side of the Prøvestenen quay because of their more
economic section-modulus-to-weight ratio compared to U-type
sheet piles.
The two walls are held together by two layers of tie rods. The
top layer was installed the traditional way with a waling made
of double U beams held in place by supporting brackets. The U
beams were supplied in 12-metre lengths and joint together
with wailing joints and screws on site. The lower tie rod had
to be installed underwater by divers. The conventional central
attachment of the tie rod implied that the holes through which
the tie rods pass had to be burnt through the middle interlock
The PU 8 piles were driven into a berm by an excavator-mounted of the AZ sections. Furthermore a special supporting plate to
vibratory hammer. bridge the central Larssen interlock is needed. In order not to
lose the economic advantage of the AZ sheet piles, ArcelorMittal
worked out a means of installing the tie rods next to the
central interlocks. The principle of this solution combines the
statical advantages of the AZ piles with the simple anchoring
of U-shaped sheet piles. Off-centre attachment of the tie rods
means that ordinary supporting plates are sufficient and that the
more difficult boring through the middle interlock does not have
to be carried out by the divers. Both material and installation
costs are thus considerably reduced.

Several barges facilitated the installation of the two cofferdam walls. The crane, vibratory hammer and sheet piles were loaded on a barge.

63
 Horizontal beams were used as a driving template.

The conventional top tie-rod system

includes a waling.

Workshop installation of the waterswelling

sealing system.

Top steel tie rods of the cofferdam.

Most of the sheet piles were brought

to Prøvestenen by ship.

Owner: Model of the lower off-centre tie rod.

Udviklingsselskabet Prøvestenen
Contractor: The installation of a double-wall cofferdam implies the filling of
Skanska the inner wall area with dredged material. The interlocks of the
Consulting engineer: AZ 18-10/10 front wall were sealed. There are several systems
Moe & Brodsgaard a/s available from ArcelorMittal to ensure the watertightness of
Sheet pile systems:
Larssen interlocks. The simplest system, a bituminous filler,
PU 8, AZ 13-10/10, AZ 17, AZ 18-10/10 was rejected in this case due to the fact that the nearby
petrochemical facilities may have a negative impact on the
Steel grade:
AZ 18-10/10 in S 390 GP, durability of the bituminous filling system.
all other sheet piles in S 355 GP As contaminated soil was used as backfill material behind the
double-wall cofferdam, the sheet pile walls had to form an
Total quantity of sheet piles:
4,500 metric tons impervious enclosure to protect the waters of the Öresund
region.

64
 The cofferdam was filled with dredged sand.

The contractor for the Prøvestenen project decided to use

a waterswelling product – the Roxan sealing system. Roxan
is a urethane prepolymer with waterswelling properties that
increases its volume by 100% when in contact with water.
The product starts to expand in water after a contact time of
two hours and reaches its maximum volume after 24 hours of
exposure. It can resist water pressures of up to 25 m.
The system possesses excellent durability for each type of
environment. ArcelorMittal supplied the sheet piles together
with the sealing system in the interlock. The Roxan system is
preferably installed in a workshop with special tools under clean
and dry conditions.

The structure is also an enclosure for dumping soil. Reinforcement bars of the capping beam.

A capping beam fitted with fenders and bollards was placed on top Formwork for the concrete capping beam.
of the sheet piles to finish off the construction.

65
 Hamburg | Germany
> Altenwerder Container Terminal

Hamburg, Germany’s largest seaport, is also Europe’s second

largest container port and is among the top ten ports in the
world. Due to the predicted increase of harbour transhipments,
the port decided to annex the 250-hectare site of the former
fishing village of Altenwerder in 1990. A new container
terminal with state-of the-art technology was to guarantee
maximum efficiency in the handling of containers by 2003.
The Altenwerder Container Terminal was designed to handle
1.9 million TEU per year.
The elevation of the top platform of the container terminal had
to be incorporated into the port’s flood protection scheme. For
this reason the ground level of the Altenwerder site was raised
to +7.50 m to allow continued operation despite frequent
local floods. The dyke running directly along the waterway was
relocated behind the site to make way for the new terminal. The
next step consisted in deepening the shipping channel to permit
even the largest container vessels to access their berths in all
weather and river conditions.
Following EU-wide tendering, the construction of the first
section of the quay wall began in April 1999. Apart from
predominantly economic factors, the essential criterion for
contract award was the construction time. The decision
eventually fell in favour of ArcelorMittal’s HZ/AZ system, the
most cost-effective solution. The expansion of the port calls for
construction of four large container-vessel berths with a total
quay length of 1,400 m and a water depth of 16.70 m.

The new Altenwerder CT will handle 1.9 million TEU per year.

66
 2.50 35.00 m
+7.50
Crane rail Crane rail

+4.20

+2.10
Backfilled soil
PU 12
-1.50 L = 10.20 m / 11.20 m

-6.00 Clay
-7.00 Sand with clay
Tubular pile
Ø 1219.2 mm
t = 16 mm
Traction pile
HTM 600/136 Sand / Gravel
L = 41.00 m

-16.70 -15.00

-20.80 -20.50
Design dredge level

-23.00
-24.80
-25.50
-26.00

Clay
-30.50 HZ 975B - 24 / AZ 19
LHZ = 33,50 m
-31.50
LAZ = 27,45 m

With a quay-wall height of more than 24 m, the new container terminal can receive super-post-Panamax class vessels.

The basic features of the cross-section include the following

elements:
AZ 19 AZ 19 • Low-level superstructure slab with pile foundation
(to reduce soil pressure),
HZ 975 B • Sheet pile wall set back by 4 m (to minimise scouring),
• Open cross-section (to reduce water pressure),
junction junction • Anchor piles (to provide stable anchorage
slab slab and minimise deformation),
• Soil replacement (ice-age rock strata with boulders),
• Crane track on separate foundation (to reduce surcharges).
2270 mm
The difficult subsoil of the harbour floor in front of the quay wall
bears the imprint of the ice age, with changing characteristics
The double king piles and the intermediary piles resulting in different design scenarios. A clay layer containing
were delivered to the site as joined elements. huge boulders had a major impact on the choice of installation
method.
The unconventional installation method called for replacement
of the soil layers above El. -25.3 m instead of driving the sheet
piles through the different layers of sand, gravel, pebbles and
boulders. The steel elements were placed and driven to final
depth in a 1.20-m-wide bentonite-supported trench. Cement
was added to the suspension to prevent flushing out of the
prevalent extremely fine sand particles. The required vibration
energy was considerably reduced by choosing this alternative
installation method which implied a much lower likelihood of
possible negative impacts on existing structures nearby.

Tubes placed in front of the sheet pile wall act as fenders.

67
 The low-level superstructure slab is placed on top of the two sheet pile walls,
steel tension piles, fender tubes & concrete piles.

The quay wall of the first construction phase is 955 m long. It

The 47-m tailor-made HTM 600/136 anchor piles
were driven with a hydraulic impact hammer. comprises two 350-m berths for container vessels and a 100-m
feeder-vessel berth. Altenwerder boasts the highest quay wall
in Germany with a top level at +7.50 m and a water depth of
16.70 m. The heart of the quay’s cross-section is the HZ/AZ
combined sheet pile system.
The container terminal’s HZ/AZ system features double
HZ 975 B king piles in steel grade S 390 GP with a length of up
to 33.40 m as structural elements resisting both horizontal soil
and water loads as well as vertical foundation loads. Additional
plates were welded onto the king pile’s toe in order to further
increase their loadbearing capacity. The 27.45-m intermediary
piles (AZ 19, steel grade S 240 GP) hold back the soil and
distribute the loads into the king piles.
The joined sheet pile elements where The elastic section modulus of the combined wall is
delivered just in time.
10,330 cm3/m. The HZ king piles and the AZ intermediary piles
were joined together in the mill. The large resulting system width
of 2,270 mm is of great benefit in terms of installation speed.
Openings in the intermediary elements allow sand to be flushed
out from below the quay platform. ArcelorMittal delivered all the
Owner: piles just in time, thus minimising the required storage space.
Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg,
Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) The joined sheet pile elements each weigh approximately
Contractor: 22 t. They were threaded into the interlock of the previously
Hochtief AQ, NL Tief- und Ingenieurbau Nord, installed pile and driven to design depth with an impact hammer.
Fr. Hoist GmbH & Co. Excavation for the bentonite-filled trench and installation of the
Sheet piles: piles were carried out block by block. A loading trial on a separate
8,500 t double HZ 975 B king piles, king pile at the beginning of the construction works confirmed
steel grade S 390 GP, L = 32.60 m - 33.40 m that the required load bearing capacities were achieved.
1,500 t AZ 19 intermediate piles,
steel grade S 240 GP, L = 27.45 m
1,120 t PU 12 sheet piling apron,
steel grade 355 GP, L = 11.20 m
Bearing piles:
2,300 t HTM 600/136 anchor pile,
L = 45.5 – 47.2 m, steel grade S 355 J2G3
Total quantity of sheet piles:
11,120 metric tons (sheet piles)

Due to difficult soil conditions, and as a means of reducing

vibration, the sheet piles where driven in a bentonite-
supported trench.

68
A sheet pile wall finishes off the terminal at both ends. After pouring, the concrete of the relieving platform
was covered with a 3.3 m sand layer.

The relieving platform was founded on concrete cast-in-situ

piles. Tensile forces were transferred to 47-m anchor piles fixed
to the superstructure with disc anchors. The steel anchor piles
were spliced on site and driven with a hydraulic impact hammer
at an angle of 1:1.3 into the soil below the platform. Due to the
substantial tensile forces prevailing, ArcelorMittal supplied tailor-
made HTM 600/136 sections. These piles are characterised by
excellent durability due to low susceptibility to corrosion. Quay
construction was completed with a rear sheet pile apron made of
11.2 m PU 12 sheet piles at the end of the relieving platform.
Tubular fenders were arranged below the head of the quay, in
front of the sheet pile wall, at intervals of 3.59 m. The 30.8-m
tubes were positioned by a crawler crane, vibrated with heavy
vibratory hammers, then driven with an impact hammer to their
final depth of 27.30 m. In order to increase the vertical bearing
capacity, steel wings were welded onto the toes of the tubes.
Other tubes were extended by up to four metres by on-site
splicing. The water cushion between the tubes and the sheet
piling reduces scouring at the base of the sheet piles caused by
ships’ propellers.
Construction works for the foundation (tubes, sheet piles
and anchor piles) began in April 1999 and were completed by
December 1999. The entire Altenwerder project was completed
in spring 2001 using 16,500 metric tons of steel products
supplied by ArcelorMittal.

The heavy sheet pile elements were driven

to a depth of 30.5 m with an impact hammer.

69
 Hamburg | Germany
> Predöhlkai extension project – Berth 1

As one of the world’s most important ports, Hamburg will handle

an expected 14 million TEU by 2010. This represents a major
rise from today’s 8.5 million TEU container handling capacity. The
European mega-port is currently confronted with a 15% yearly
rise in container volume and close to 10% growth for total cargo
throughput. It was therefore decided to increase the investment
funds to approximately 1,000 million euros for enlargement of
the following four facilities:
• Burchardkai Container Terminal:
Current quay length: 2,850 m. Current quay depth: 16.5 m.
Increase of capacity from 2.6 million TEU to 5 million TEU by
area modification and modernisation of the storage system.
• Altenwerder Container Terminal:
Current quay length: 1,400 m. Current quay depth: 16.7 m.
It is planned to increase the capacity of the new container
terminal built with steel sheet piles from 1.9 to 3 million TEU.
• Eurogate Container Terminal – Predöhlkai:
• Tollerort Container Terminal: Current quay length: 2,100 m. Current quay depth: 18.8 m.
Current quay length: 395 m. The extension of Berth 1 has just been completed; the
The expansion of the handling area will increase the container development of Berth 2 to 3 is currently under way. The
handling capacity by 0.8 million TEU to reach over 2 million extension programme is scheduled for completion by 2008 and
TEU by 2011. will extend the entire Predöhlkai quay length by 1,035 m.

By 2010 the Predöhlkai quay will be able to handle more than four million TEU per year.

70
The quay wall consists of a high-strength HZ 975 B - 24 / AZ 25 sheet pile solution.

Existing quay wall

Block 14 Block 13 Block 12 Block 3 Block 2 Block 1 Block 2
Block 15
Block 16
31.84 m
36.9 m

Block 1 Block 2 Block 3 Block 13 Block 14 Block 15

26.84 m 29.51 m 29.51 m 29.51 m 29.51 m 29.51 m 10.22 m
450.2 m

Berth 1 is 450.2 m long and is 18.8 m deep.

The new sheet pile wall of Berth 1 was placed 36.9 m in front of the old quay wall.

71
 There are further plans for a westward expansion towards the
river Elbe that will increase capacity from 2.6 to over 4 million TEU
by 2010. The Eurogate project budget is 350 million euros.
The Eurogate Terminal was officially reopened in November
2005 when the first part of the modernisation programme was
completed, after a construction time of 18 months. Boasting
some of the biggest container cranes in Europe, the terminal
is now ready to handle the world’s largest container vessels.
The modernisation of the 450-m-long Berth 1 included the
construction of a new 24.6-m-high quay wall placed 37 m in
front of the existing quay wall. Construction of the sheet pile
wall was subdivided into 29.51-m-long sections. The first
construction unit at the east end of the quay was 26.84 m long
The steel sheet pile wall was installed with the help of a jack-up platform. and was connected to the old construction at right angles. The
western end of the quay is temporarily connected to Berth 2
which is currently being extended. The temporary wall used a
combined sheet pile solution.
The entire Predöhlkai quay wall (Berth 1-3) in Waltershofer
Hafen harbour will be built by placing a new offset sheet pile
wall in front of the existing (sheet pile) quay wall. The Hamburg
Port Authority has been using this method for numerous
modernisation projects. The method, known as the “Hamburg
solution”, comprises a row of tubular fender piles and a half-open
main sheet pile wall topped with a concrete capping beam and a
flood protection wall. All installation works will be carried out from
a jack-up platform. The sheet piles and anchors will be brought to
the site by barge.
The soil investigations were completed prior to the start of the
A template guides the head of the double HZ king piles. construction works. They showed that driving obstacles such
as large stones are to be expected beneath the present harbour
bed. It was therefore decided to replace the in situ soil layer:
the sand was dredged, sieved and dumped. This proved to be
a good idea as stones with a diameter more than 63 mm were
extracted. At greater depths very hard silt and clay layers made
driving extremely difficult but not impossible.
A high-strength combined steel sheet pile wall (HZ 975 B -
24/AZ 25) was chosen as a soil retaining structure. The main
elements are double HZ 975 B king piles in a high steel grade.
The double king piles at 2.27 m intervals were driven to depths
ranging from 28.5 m to 29.5 m with a hydraulic hammer. Driving
proceeded smoothly in the first sections with the IHC S-90
hydraulic hammer. From section 4 onwards, the cohesive values
of the lower silt and clay layers proved to be too high for the
The pile toe was guided by a special sledge. hammer to drive the piles to the design depth. It was therefore
decided to use an IHC S-280 hammer, the heaviest driving gear
ever to be used in the port of Hamburg, delivering an energy of
280 kNm per blow with its 13.5-ton ram.
ArcelorMittal recommends installing combined walls with the
“Pilgrim Step” driving method using a template with two guiding
levels. The contractor chose an alternative method: a single
template attached to a jack-up platform guides the top of
the piles. The second guiding level is provided by a sledge that
ensures the correct predefined distance between the king piles.
Even though the “Pilgrim Step” driving method was not applied,
the installation results were excellent.

Installation proceeded smoothly as a result of two-level-guidance.

72
 Because of the extreme soil conditions, pre-drilling was necessary
to facilitate installation of the AZ piles.

Both HZ king piles and AZ intermediary piles were reinforced

at the toe to cope with the hard soil. The webs of the HZ 975
double king piles were provided with 15 mm reinforcement
plates and a concave cutout. The stepped cutouts of the flanges
additionally reduced the driving resistance. Both sides of the
AZ 25 double piles were reinforced with 15 mm steel plates.
They were driven to a depth of 24.8 m in between the HZ king
piles installed previously. Due to the difficult driving conditions
it was decided to loosen the soil by pre-drilling to facilitate the
installation of the lighter intermediary sections. A vibratory
hammer was used to drive the AZ sheet piles until refusal,
and an impact hammer then drove them to the design depth.
The top part of every second AZ intermediary pile was cut to
A crane lifted the sheet piles into the template.
allow a wave chamber to form by natural erosion of the soil
underneath the superstructure. The top 2.5 m of the interlocks
of the concerned AZ piles concerned was cut off at the mill. This
reduced welding torch cutting on site to a minimum.
The ingenious anchor system of Predöhlkai quay consists of
pivoted 28 to 34-metre HP bearing piles attached to short
double AZ sheet piles. This system is not only able to take high
AZ 25 traction forces, but it can also be installed where very difficult
driving conditions are to be expected. The preassembled anchors
1260 made up of HP 400/122 piles (steel grade S 355 J2G3) and
stiffened AZ 25 double piles (steel grade S 430 GP) were
delivered to the construction site by barge. A crane lifted the
anchor into a horizontal position behind the quay wall. A joint
connection attached the pivoted system to the wall. The
vibratory hammer was attached to the anchor piles before
the system was lowered to the harbour bed. Once the anchor
reinforcement plates reached an angle of 32°, the vibratory hammer was switched
on to drive the sheet pile into the soil to ensure it did not move
The toe of the double AZ pile was reinforced with 15-mm-thick steel plates.
during backfilling. To facilitate installation of the anchors and to
prevent jamming of the vibratory hammer, the top of the AZ
piles was provided with two slots. The inclined anchor system
functioned perfectly even in the east corner of the quay wall
where the anchors of the main wall and side wall crossed each
other.
To minimise scouring problems caused by ships’ propellers,
1,220-mm-diameter steel tubes were placed in front of
reinforcement plates the quay wall. The entire area behind the new quay wall was
backfilled with sand in later construction stages. The river sand
from the Elbe River delivered by dredgers was piled up behind
the main wall, securing the anchor system in position and
allowing the concrete works on the top of the quay wall to be
built in the dry.
The web and flanges of the king piles were cut to facilitate
penetration into the hard soil.

73
 AZ 25

1100
AZ 25

Pivoted tension piles welded to AZ 25 sheet piles acted as anchors.

A crane lifted the preassembled anchors into position.

The vibratory hammer was attached to the sheet piles prior The entire anchorage system was lowered to the harbour bed
to installation of the anchors. with the vibratory hammer.

Two slots prevented jamming of the vibratory hammer. At an angle of 32°, the vibratory hammer was switched
on to securely position the anchor.

74
A 170-mm-diameter pin forms the pivot of the anchor system The 3.5 m AZ 25 piles transfer tensile forces into the backfilled soil

Each HZ double king pile was fitted with an HP 400 x 122 tension pile. The corner anchors had to be installed with great care as they crossed
each other on different levels.

The vertical loads of Predöhlkai Berth 1 are partly carried by steel

systems – tubes and sheet pile wall – and partly by concrete
piles towards the back of the quay. Three rows of concrete
piles with diameters of 510 mm take the loads of the concrete
superstructure. The superstructure fulfils a load relieving
function, allowing economical design of the front sheet pile wall.
AZ 13-10/10 sheet piles in steel grade S 355 GP were driven
to -5.3 m at the back end of the concrete superstructure. These
sheet piles have a soil retaining function. A row of concrete piles
carries the loads of the rear crane rail situated just in front of the
former quay wall.

Steel tubes take vertical loads and minimise scouring.

The load-relieving concrete superstructure installed at elevation +3 m provides for economical design of the combined sheet pile wall.

75
 The structural elements of the quay comprise sheet piles, steel tubes, tension anchors, concrete columns, and the load relieving-superstructure.

Overview: Construction phases 1 to 8 for Berth 1

• Phase 1: • Phase 5:
An excavator mounted on a jack-up barge dredged the The anchor was first lifted from a barge with a crane and
stony soil layer and placed it on a sieve. The sieved sand was placed in the joint connection, then vibrated into the harbour
transferred by conveyer belt onto a barge. floor before placement of the backfill material. The steel scour-
protection tubes were also installed during phase 5.
• Phase 2:
The barge was towed above the future location of the new • Phase 6:
sheet pile wall where it released the sand. A hopper dredger carried river sand to backfill the area
between the new and old quay walls.
• Phase 3:
The HZ king piles were driven from the platform using a crane- • Phase 7:
mounted hydraulic hammer. The IHC S-90 hammer drove the The 510-mm-diameter concrete piles and the AZ 13-10/10
piles to a depth of approximately 22 m. If extremely difficult rear sheet pile wall were installed. Each concrete pile has a
driving conditions were expected, pre-drilling to a diameter of maximum bearing capacity of 2,500 kN.
360 mm was carried out. An IHC S-280 hydrohammer was
• Phase 8:
used to drive the king piles to the final depth.
The reinforced concrete superstructure was installed.
• Phase 4: “Windows” were cut from the lower side of the superstructure
The soil was pre-drilled (diameter 600 mm) prior to installation down to -2.5 m into the AZ piles to allow the wave chamber
of the intermediary AZ 25 sheet piles with a hydraulic- to form.
hammer.

Owner: Steel grade:

Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg, Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) S 430 GP, S 355 GP
Designer: Sheet piles:
– KMT Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH, Hamburg HZ 975 B – 24 / AZ 25
– Hochtief Construction AG, Hamburg 3,740 t HZ 975 B - 1,470 t AZ 25 &
– F + Z Baugesellschaft mbH, Hamburg AZ 13-10/10 - 910 t HP 400/122 anchors
Contractor: Total quantity of sheet piles:
– Hochtief Construction AG, Hamburg 6,120 metric tons
– F + Z Baugesellschaft mbH, Hamburg
– Aug. Prien Bauunternehmung, Hamburg

76
Overview: Construction phases 1 to 8 for Berth 1

1. 2. 3.

4. 5. 6.

7. 8.

77
 La Spezia | Italy
> Port expansion projects

The city of La Spezia is situated about half way between Genoa Following a study that predicted a rise in cargo traffic beyond the
and Pisa, the part of the country with the largest concentration present capacities, a modernisation programme was launched
of harbours. Among these ports are the harbours of Genoa, in 1995, with the goal of expanding the Ravano, Malaspina
Savona, Livorno and La Spezia which have a joint annual cargo and Garibaldi terminals. In 2004, the port of La Spezia handled
handling capacity of more than 100 million metric tons. It is from slightly more than one million TEU, a rise of 3.4% compared to
here that the industrial north of Italy exports its products. the previous year. The modernisation programme called for a
total of 27,500 t of sheet piles to be installed in the following
The origins of the Malaspina and Garibaldi quays date back to
parts of the harbour:
the end of the 19th century. The quay structures of the port
suffered considerably during WW II. The port authority of La 1. GARIBALDI PIER: 9,000 t HZ/AZ combined wall
Spezia therefore had to invest heavily to rebuild the damaged
The effectiveness of the pier is guaranteed by three mooring
structures.
spots totalling 510 m on the west side and two eastern mooring
Today the port offers a combined quay length of 5,300 m with spots measuring 360 m. Garibaldi Pier offers a draught of up to
draughts of up to 14.5 m to receive container ships of the latest twelve metres. Being the largest pier in the port of La Spezia, the
generation. The different terminals in La Spezia handle all kinds crane park comprises several 12-t capacity quayside cranes as
of products: containers, coal, oil, cement, cereals, food oils etc. well as four mobile 100-t cranes. Together with the large cereal
The port’s container quays dispose of a total mooring length of and cement silos, the 4,300 m² covered storage area handles
1,500 m. The Gottwald cranes with their 100-metric-ton lifting various goods including forest products, coal, iron and steel
power serve the 260,000 m² container yards. products.

Due to the predicted rise in cargo volume, the port of La Spezia is currently upgrading several terminals.

78
La Spezia handles a large share of the container traffic engendere by the industries in northern Italy

2
3
1
4

11
9
10
7

27,500 t of sheet piles were used for eleven projects in La Spezia.

The draught of 12 m was achieved by placing a new sheet pile During the following construction phase, the 8-m AZ 26 sheet
quay wall 40 m in front of the existing gravity wall. The combined piles forming the rear anchor wall were driven. All the sheet
steel sheet pile wall is U-shaped, thus forming three parts. piles used for the Garibaldi Pier project are made of high-
strength steel (S 390 GP). The upset tie rods provided by Anker
For the first part closest to the coast, an HZ 975 C - 12/ AZ 18
Schroeder from Dortmund, Germany were installed next. The
system with an elastic section modulus of 7,360 cm³/m
anchors have a thread of 3.75”, a diameter of 75 mm, a length
was chosen as the main wall. The HZ king piles and the AZ
of 25 m, and are connected every 1.79 m to the HZ beam at
intermediary piles were supplied in lengths of 24 m and 18 m.
one end and to a UPN 400 waling at the other end. They were
After the installation of the steel sheet piles, the next phase of designed to take a working load of 839 kN.
construction called for backfilling of the area between the new
and existing quay walls. Along the rear wall, the backfill material
had to rise from the harbour bed to a point level with the top of
the previously installed main wall. Closer towards the main wall,
the dredger installed the backfill material only until halfway to
the top of the combined wall. This minimised the forces and the
deformations of the combined wall which acted as cantilever wall
before installation of the tie-rod system.

79
 Construction phases

The new U-shaped quay wall was built

around the existing terminal.

550

1685
2270

2270

a
7.2
5.1

s.
Po
82
56
2270

5J0
35
"S
1/2 J0
/5 55
10 S3
¯1 /2" 7.2
b
ods 51
ie R 0/
waling UU 400 S355J0 * 9850 + 300 Pos.

rT 14 7.3 s.
rne ¯ Po
ods
4
Co 51
2270

78
eS ts iT e R 11 0
H 40
20

13
J2
r
0

s.
4 Po 55
rne 0 0
15 27 le S3
Co RH ck 0
bu * 55
ets turn 00
4S 27
0
¯2
7.6 LH
0
55

7.7
06
51

2270

83
/2

7.5
"

0
s. 13
c
7.2
Po
JR 0 0
35 15 27
S2 RH
0 s.
s. 5J0 6 s.
11

7.4
Po
Po 5 4*1 Po 0
0

lt 0 S3 4*1 94 27
73
e bo * 26 re 1 DIN LH 24
hing 25 squa 60 a
¯ 1 ded
16
*1 7.1
2*

wel pin
lit s.
sp Po J0 s. 96
51

5 e 55 Po
2270

50
/2

5 plat S3
"

0
12 ng 40 82 13
feni 0 * 56 b 0 0
stif 32 7.1 15 27
25

Bl.¯ RH
26
0

11

0
0

0 s.
32 Po 27
95

LH
78
40 c
7.1 d
7.2
s.
Po 872
40

0 s. 94
40 Po 18
UU
300 + 2490

0
73 13
10

a10 24
40
0

0 0
15 27
14

d
0

7.1 0
RH
s.
Po 872 27
LH
14

300 + 1355
0
20

7
50

30

7
a=5mm

360
50

62
0
50

20

a9 channel spacers Pos. 5.4

U 180 * 360 S235JR
805

626

540 2270 2270 2270 2800 + 300

corner fishplate Pos. 5.3
Bl.30*430*620 S355J0
welded on jobsite
1675 2270 2270 2270 1665 + 300

2* waling UU 400 S355J0 * 10150 + 300 Pos. 5.2

The new wall was placed 40 m in front of the existing structure. Tie-rod system – Details of the quay wall corner.

80
 HZ 975 C

U 400

U 400
Plate 450x200x40
Plate 500x180x30
RZU 18 Bolt Ø 103 / L = 260
AZ 26

Anchor Ø 75 / 179
HZ 975 C

Ø 150
RZD 18

Two different sets of upset tie rods were used, depending on the HZ/AZ system chosen.

Further from the shore, a stronger solution using the same high- 3. RAVANO PIER: 4,000 t HZ/AZ combined wall
strength steel grade was chosen for the second and third part: a
This container terminal is managed by La Spezia Container
HZ 975 B - 24/AZ 18 main wall with 27-m double HZ king piles
Terminal (Contship Italy Group) and Terrestre Marittima. The
and 22-m AZ 18 intermediary piles. The elastic section modulus
terminal offers a berthing line of 300 m, a depth of 11 m, three
of the chosen system amounts to 10,840 cm³/m. AZ 36 double
rail tracks, and a 40,000 m² yard.
piles nine metres long were installed as an anchor wall. Due to
the larger system width of 2.27 m, stronger upset tie rods with 4. CANTIERI DEL GOLFO TERMINAL:
a working load of 1,250 kN were required. The tie rods have a 4,000 t HZ/AZ combined wall
diameter of 90 mm, a thread of 4.5” and a length of 33 m.
TARROS QUAY: 500 t HZ/AZ combined wall
Once all the tie rods were installed, the area behind the main
Situated close to the Ravano quay, the 310 m Golfo Terminal
sheet pile wall was backfilled. As a final step, the top slab with the
with a depth of 12 m is specialised in Roll-on/Roll-off and
capping beam was installed and the harbour bed was dredged to
container ships. The Tarros Terminal handles passenger traffic.
the required depth of 12 m.
The quays are equipped with seven Roll-on/Roll-off moorings.
2. MALASPINA QUAY:
5. IMMA maritime site: 500 t AZ sheet piles
1,800 t HZ/AZ combined wall
6. PORTO LOTTI Marina: 3,500 t AZ sheet piles
The 200-m multipurpose wharf with its depth of ten metres is
equipped with four cranes and is used for handling Roll-on/Roll- 7. FERRARI maritime construction site:
off ships. Managed by the Compagnia Lavoratori Portuali, the 250 t AZ sheet piles
wharf has a storage area of 2,500 m².

With its draught of 12 m, Garibaldi Pier is the largest pier in La Spezia.

81
 Malaspina Quay is a multipurpose wharf, mainly handling containers.

8. FINCANTIERI: 600 t AZ sheet piles shipyard for the Northern Tyrrhenian Sea based in the port of La
9. VALDEMARO maritime construction site: Spezia. Works on the new shipyard began in May 2003 and are
250 t AZ sheet piles scheduled for completion in 2006. Several existing structures
were demolished to make way for new hangars, offices and a
10. GRAZIE Quay: 500 t AZ sheet piles 400 m pier. The 15,000 m² boatyard in the eastern part of the
11. FERRETTI Quay: 2,600 t AZ sheet piles port is currently in operation.
The Ferretti Group is a world leader in the design and The new boat yard was built using Z-type sheet piles in steel
construction of luxury motor yachts and sporting boats. The grade S 390 GP. The main wall consists of AZ 36 piles; their
group has invested 26 million euros in the construction of a lengths range from 19 to 24 m. Eight-metre-long AZ 18 piles

Thanks to the combined-wall system the new quay now offers a water depth of 10 m.

82
The owner of Ferretti Quay, the Ferretti group, designs and builds luxury motor yachts.

were installed as an anchor wall. A PTC vibratory hammer in in Luxembourg to the port of La Spezia. A sealing system was
combination with a template was used to drive the sheet piles. used for the Ferretti quay. The Roxan system used consists of a
The 21 corners of the complex quay are formed by C9, C14 and waterswelling product placed in the interlocks of the piles in a
Omega 18 connectors welded to special sheet piles. Some of the workshop in Luxembourg. The urethane prepolymer based Roxan
quay walls are 92 m long while others are only 7.5 m long. system is extremely durable and can resist water pressures up to
25 m.
All the AZ 36 and AZ 18 double sheet piles including the special
sheet piles for the corners were delivered via train from the mill

The new 400-m pier will be completed by 2006 using AZ 36 and AZ 18 sheet piles.

A template was used for the installation of the AZ piles.

83
 2,600 t of 24-m AZ 36 and 8-m AZ 18 sheet piles were installed.

AZ 36 - L = 19000 mm
Garibaldi Quay
97150
Owner: Condotte d’Acqua Spa
Steel grade: S 390 GP
9000

Sheet piles:
– Main wall part 1: HZ 975 C, 41200

7560
L = 24 m & AZ 18, L = 18 m
– Rear wall part 1: AZ 26, L = 8 m 47880
32000

– Main wall part 2 & 3: double HZ 975 B,

21420

L = 27 m & AZ 18, L = 22 m
AZ 36 - L = 19000 mm
– Rear wall part 2 & 3: AZ 36, L = 9 m
10020 54780
Total quantity of sheet piles:
9,000 metric tons
15150

12600

15120

33650
AZ 36 - L = 24000 mm

6750

22680
2520
11800

41200
6750

Ferretti Quay Anchor Walls:

21420

AZ 18 - L = 8000 mm
22150

Owner: Ferretti Group

Designer: Studio Manfroni e Associati
Contractor: Acmar (Ravenna)
10020 31180
Steel grade: S 390 GP
25200
32020

Sheet piles:
AZ 36, L = 19 – 24 m AZ 18, L = 8 m
Total quantity of sheet piles: 41200 21420
2,600 metric tons
3780
12530

67530
AZ 36 - L = 19000 mm

The complex quay layout includes numerous connectors forming 21 corners.

84
Installation proceeded smoothly with the PTC vibratory hammer and the driving template.

A sealing system, the waterswelling Roxan system, was inserted into the piles interlocks.

When installing sheet piles with the Roxan sealing product, the
contractor must take care that the system does not swell before
installation. Contact of Roxan-filled interlocks with water must
be avoided during transport and storage. By placing the treated
interlock to face downwards, unwanted swelling is generally
avoided.
When installing the pile with the sealing product in the leading
interlock, driving should not be interrupted for more than two
hours. Otherwise the expanding sealing product may be torn off
when driving resumes.

85
 Mersin | Turkey
> Port extension project

Mersin is situated on the Mediterranean Sea, on the south-east A steel solution was chosen for upgrading of the existing
coast of Turkey. Several international contracting companies concrete solution partly because the project was constructed
were invited to bid for the upgrading of the Mersin Seaport of in an active seismic region. Being a ductile material, steel offers
Debarkation. Closing date for the tender was September 2002. higher load reserves during earthquakes.
The entire project was completed by the end of 2005 after a
Purchase and installation of the steel sheet piles account for
construction time of two years.
roughly 15% of the total project cost.
To allow docking of large vessels and installation of new container
The following material was required (tender amounts):
cranes, both the existing wharf made of heavy underwater
concrete blocks and the marshalling area, were modernised. The • Wall area: 14,968 m²,
water depth was doubled to twelve metres. A steel sheet pile • Material quality: ASTM A690,
wall totalling 624 m in length was installed 12.2 m in front of the • Section modulus: 6,000 cm³/m,
existing wharf. The area between the old and new part of the • Thickness: 10 mm,
wharf was backfilled with rock. The steel sheet piles were driven
into clay soil characterised by cohesive values ranging between • Painting: 3 layers of epoxy coating.
5 and 10 kN/m².

The existing concrete structure was modernised with the help of a jagged sheet pile wall.

86
 12000

5
2500 1000 8500

Usturmaça
Fender Kreyn rayl Mevcut kreyn raylari
+2.40 Crane rail Existing crane rail

Baslik kirisi
Capping beam

±0.00 200

ø24" t=14 mm. / 5,0 m. (0-0,4 ton)

Çelik boru kazik Katagorize tas
Steel pipe pile Graded stone

Çelik palplans Mevcut blocklu rihtim

Steel sheet-pile Existing block wall wharf

Mevcut deniz tabani

Existing sea bottom 1
~1.5 m. Mecut balçik 2
Existing mud

ø24" t=14 mm. / 2,5 m.

3 Çelik boru kazik
2 Steel pipe pile

Tarama kotu
Dredging elev.
-12.00

-22.80
-23.53

-32.42

The sheet pile wall enabled the harbour to be dredged to El. -12 m.

The required section modulus surpasses the capacity of U or The AU 20 steel sheet piles for the Mersin project were installed
Z-type sheet piles. Such high-capacity quay walls can be built in a special layout referred to as a jagged wall. An arrangement
using a combined or a jagged sheet pile wall. For the current of U sheet piles into a jagged wall offers economic solutions
project, ArcelorMittal proposed a jagged wall made up of AU 20 where high inertia and section modulus are needed. The AU 20
sheet piles with the following characteristics: elements were crimped together in the mill and delivered as
• AU 20 jagged wall, double elements. Crimped double piles allow full shear-force
transmission in the “vital” interlocks situated on the central
• Weight: 186.7 kg/m²,
wall axis. The standard crimping configuration of AU sheet piles
• Material quality: ASTM A690, alternative in S 355 GP, involves three crimping points every 0.75 m with an allowed
• Section modulus: min. 6,365 cm³/m, shear-force transmission of 75 kN per crimping point. Tensile
• Thickness: 10 mm, tests carried out by ArcelorMittal showed that each crimping
point can transmit loads of up to 130 kN.
• Total sheet pile quantity: 2,770 t.

Connector Connector
Omega 18 Omega 18

AU 20 AU 20
Double Pile Double Pile
1140

AU 20 AU 20
Double Pile Double Pile

Connector Connector
Omega 18 Omega 18

2270

The special configuration of the AU 20 double piles led to a section modulus of 6,365 cm³/m.

87
 ArcelorMittal provided the contractor with drawings to assemble a template.

The Omega 18 connector can be tack welded to the AU 20

double piles for handling reasons. In this case its contribution
to the section modulus is disregarded. Appropriately designed
welds contribute fully to the section modulus, however. The
elastic section modulus reaches 7,395 cm³/m (6,365 cm³/m
if connectors are tack welded) for a mass of 186.7 kg per
square metre of wall. Each AU 20 double pile of the jagged wall
contributes 1.135 m to the length of the quay wall.
543 AU 20 double piles in steel grade A690, representing a total
of 2,535 metric tons, and 235 t of Omega 18 connectors in
steel grade S 430 GP were used to build the 624 m main wall.
“Marine” steel grade A690 is characterised by a resistance to
seawater splash zone corrosion approximately two to three times
The contractor’s template features two steel-tube guiding levels greater than that of ordinary carbon steel. The main difference
fitted with rubber fenders.
to ordinary steel is the high amount of copper (min 0.50%). This
steel with a minimum yield strength of 345 N/mm² is mainly
used in marine environments.
Şener Arda Construction is a Turkish contractor specialised
in marine construction and piling work. Created in 1968, the
company has completed numerous quays, jetties, harbours and
breakwaters.
A suitable template is essential for the installation of a jagged
wall. ArcelorMittal provided drawings for a template fitting the
AU 20 double sheet piles and sent 2 engineers to supervise
the installation procedures of the first steel sheet piles. The
contractor built the template based on the design provided. The
two guiding levels of the template are made of steel tubes fitted
with special rubber fenders to prevent damage to the sheet pile
The rubber protectors prevent damage to the coating system during installation. coating system during driving.

Vertical and inclined batter piles were also installed with the template.

88
Both the vibratory and the impact hammer were mounted on the specially designed rail-mounted rig.

A specially designed rail-mounted rig system was used for the

installation of the steel sheet piles and for the 24 inch (61 cm)
steel tubes. The vertical piles were installed every 5 m, reaching a
depth of 23.53 m. The inclined batter piles spaced at intervals of
2.5 m were driven to a depth of 32.42 m.
A vibratory hammer and an impact hammer were used as driving
equipment. Installation proceeded conventionally: the vibratory
hammer first drove the piles as far as possible into the soil, the
impact hammer then drove the steel sheet piles to the design
depth of 22.8 m. The panel-driving technique was used in order
to ensure verticality and alignment of the sheet piles.
Installation of a group or a “panel” of piles allows individual piles
to remain above design depth in the event of obstructions in the
soil, without interrupting driving operations. Refusal was defined
by reaching an installation progress of just 2 to 3 mm per blow.
Further driving at this penetration rate could cause damage to
The driving caps were provided by ArcelorMittal on a rental basis.
the piles and driving gear.

Quick-release shackles are a timesaving help used on numerous sites.

89
 The installation rig used the existing concrete wharf for support.

A Japanese TVM-50 Toyoda vibratory hammer with the

following characteristics was used:
• Weight: 3 t,
• Maximum centrifugal force: 420 kN,
• Maximum eccentric moment: 205 Nm,
• Frequency: 1,355 min -1.
Şener Arda had two German diesel impact hammers available
at the site: a Delmag D30 and a Delmag D46 equipped with
rams weighing 3,000 and 4,600 kg. Their maximum explosion
pressures average 1,050 and 1,650 kN, delivered at a frequency
of 37 to 52 blows per minute. Weighing six metric tons, the
Delmag D30 is limited to piles of up to eight metric tons,
The 624-m sheet pile wall will enlarge the mooring area.
whereas the D46 can install piles of up to 15 metric tons. The
optimum weight of the installation material ranges from two
to nine metric tons for the D30. The required driving cap was
supplied to the contractor as part of ArcelorMittal’s services for
Owner: the Mersin project.
TCDD Directorate
Contractor:
At the far end of the wall, the contractor had to stop installation
Şener Arda Construction Co. Inc. before reaching the target depth of 22.8 m because stiff clay
slowed the driving progress below the set limit. The design of the
Designer:
HES Engineering &
jagged wall was revised to take account of the extremely stiff soil
Unitek Engineering Consortium layer. Studies showed that the toe depth could be reduced by as
much as 3 m because of the superior load-carrying capacities of
Steel grade:
A690 & S 430 GP the unexpectedly favourable soil values encountered at the end
of the extension.
Sheet piles:
2,535 t AU 20 double piles
235 t Omega 18 sections
Total quantity of sheet piles:
2,770 metric tons

90
The structural system consisted of a sheet-pile soil-retaining wall, steel crane-foundation piles, and deflection-restricting batter piles.

The AU 20 jagged wall was capped with a two-metre-thick

reinforced concrete beam cast onto the sheet piles, the inclined
steel piles that take horizontal loads, and the vertical steel piles
that act as a foundation for the crane rails, and also securing
the bollards, fenders and container-crane rails. A new pavement
was installed behind the capping beam, on top of a 1.5-m layer
of stabilising material overlying rockfill. Topping up the area
between old and new construction, the rockfill extended to a
depth of 12 m.
A coating system was applied on the water side of the steel
sheet piles, over a depth of 16 m starting a metre below the pile
head. A developed area of 18,656 m² had to be coated with the
following three layers:
• Sigmarite sealer (50 μm),
• Sigmacover TCP Glassflake (450 μm),
A three-layer coating system was applied on the waterside of the steel wall.
• Sigmacover DTM coating (200 μm).

The AU 20 double piles were arranged into a jagged wall

using Omega 18 connectors.

91
 Ziguinchor | Senegal
> Quay reconstruction project

The coastal town of Ziguinchor is situated on the banks of

the Casamance River in southern Senegal. Founded by the
Portuguese in 1645, the prosperous trading post has an easy
connection to the Atlantic Ocean, 70 km downriver. In addition
to ferry passengers, the harbour handles local produce e.g.
groundnut products, fish, rice, fruit and cotton as well as imports
of petroleum products and capital goods.
With the assistance of different international organisations,
chiefly the French Development Agency, the Senegalese
Government undertook a vast development programme
including the 5.3-million-euro rehabilitation of Ziguinchor
Harbour whose fifty-year-old structures had seriously
deteriorated over the years. The two-phase reconstruction
operation concerned the passenger quay, the goods quay and
the tanker berth.

The Senegalese river port of Ziguinchor is situated 70 km from the Atlantic Ocean.

92
The new quay wall was built with AU 21 sheet piles driven 20 m in front of the dilapidated structure.

The first phase began in August 2004 and lasted about The extension of the new goods quay was completed in July
8 months. It involved the construction of an 80-m-long 2005 as part of the second phase. It included the construction
passenger quay wall directly in front of the existing wall with of a 68-m-long return wall and backfilling of the new marshalling
a 35-m-long return wall at the western end. It also included area. Once completed, the new quay had a total length of 265 m.
31.5 m of goods quay and a 20-m-long roll-on roll-off berth. The soil conditions can be resumed as follows: soft to compact
The goods quay is not aligned with the passenger quay but is river mud overlying clayey sand. To ensure the stability of the
located about twenty metres in front of and parallel to the old structure, the soft mud was dredged before the sand backfill was
quay, enabling enlargement of the marshalling area reclaimed placed. The river was deepened to 5.50 m to ensure sufficient
from the river. water depth for vessels to dock.

The reconstruction plans included passenger and cargo quays as well as the tanker berth.

93
 Delmag diesel impact hammer. 190 tie rods in different lengths were supplied by Anker Schroeder.

19000 / 19800

40 40
223 65 75 13 206 400 75 109
MANCHON Pos. A a5
Pos. B +1.00
¯ 125 * 550 S355J0H
550 Pos. C
125

UU 400 UU 400

120
120

65
280

200
M80
AU 21

AU 16
a5
270 RH
270 RH 270 LH 270 RH

8010 Pos. 9.1 190 180 11600 Pos. 9.2

8810 Pos. 10.1 190 180 11600 Pos. 10.2
TIRANT No. 9 27 ENSEMBLE ¯ 65 / M 80 * 19800 S355J0
TIRANT No.10 85 ENSEMBLE ¯ 65 / M 80 * 20600 S355J0

The 65-mm-diameter tie rods have a working load of 680 kN.

PLAQUE D'APPUI A ASSISE SPHERIQUE
Bl.75*280*280 S355J0 Pos. B
ECROU ROTULE Pos. D Bl.75*200*200 S355J0 Pos. C
M80 (DIN 934-8)

Owner: HiCAD 2011 Datum / date Name / name Maflst./ scale Zeichnung / drawing no. Auftrag / order
W/04/11551
Senegalese Ministry of Infrastructures, Public gez./ drawn 10.08.04 Lohbach 1:10
2 Angebot / offer
gepr./ checked 1:5 04/W/039384
Works, Road Transport, and Inland Waterways ƒnderung / revision Datum Name ƒnderung / revision Datum Name
94,3
M80

280
(200)

a d
LOT 2
Designer: b e
c f
BCEOM Bauwerk / project
26 PORT DE ZIGUINCHOR, SENEGAL
Contractor:
64
Bauteil / subject
TIRANT ¯ 65 / M 80 S355J0
Eiffage Construction / Kunde / customer
ANKER-SCHROEDER.DE ASDO GmbH
Hannˆversche Str. 48 - D-44143 Dortmund
75 280
Fougerolle Sénégal consortium FOUGEROLLE SENEGAL SA
Postfach 110196 - D-44057 Dortmund

(200) Telefon: +49 (0)231 / 5 17 01-0 Fax -56

Internet: www.anker.de
e-mail : info @ anker.de
Steel grade: F¸r diese Zeichnung behalten wir uns das Urheberrecht vor. Mitteilung an dritte Personen ist unzul‰ssig.

AU 21: S 430 GP, AU 16: S 270 GP This drawing is our property for which we reserve all rights. Transmission to any third party is inadmissible.

Sheet piles:
1,020 t AU 21, 270 t AU 16
Total quantity of sheet piles:
1,290 metric tons

Anker Schroeder provided the entire tie-back system. Finished quay with bollard.

94
A three-layer coating system was applied to guarantee a long lifetime.

AU 21 steel sheet piles (rolled-up AU 20 piles) were chosen The quay-wall anchor system consisted of 65-mm-diameter
in response to the strongly felt need for maximum protection S 335 J0 steel grade tie rods with upset ends. 152 anchors in
against corrosion through greater thickness. Because of the lengths of 19 to 30 m were supplied. They were attached to a
tropical climate this protection was further enhanced by special waling made of 400-mm channel sections. 38 additional tie rods
coating and cathodic protection. The shop-applied coating with a diameter of 58 mm and in lengths of 20 m to 22.50 m
consists of a zinc-rich epoxy primer and two coats of coal-tar were installed at coping level, behind the bollards, to take up the
epoxy. It was applied to both sides of the immersed part of the pull forces exerted by moored vessels. All these components
main-wall sheet piles. The 750-mm-wide AU sheet piles have were supplied by ArcelorMittal’s faithful partner for many years:
about 10% less developed surface area than 600-mm U piles, Anker Schroeder from Dortmund, Germany.
thereby reducing the coating area. This advantage of the AU
The sheet piles, mostly supplied as double piles, were first driven
sections is complemented by excellent driving performance and
with a Vibro Delmag rig placed on a barge, then impact driven
toughness resulting from the particularly favourable geometry of
with a Delmag D12 or D22 diesel hammer with a hanging leader.
the web/flange interface.
The sheet piles produced in Luxembourg were transported by rail
The 16-m AU 21 sheet piles forming the main wall were driven
to the port of Antwerp, then by ship to Dakar where they were
into the clayey sand to a depth of 14.50 m. They were tied
transferred to another ship bound for Ziguinchor. The passenger
back at the top to an anchor wall made of 5.50-m AU 16 piles.
quay was completed in 2005, enabling the first ships to berth as
The angles in the wall alignments were made using Omega 18
specified from the outset.
or Delta 13 connectors or junction piles with welded C9 corner
sections that were provided by ArcelorMittal together with the
steel sheet piles. The front quay wall was topped with a capping
beam made of precast reinforced concrete elements.

Following a construction time of slightly more than one year, all quays were reopened at the end of 2005.

95
 Visakhapatnam | India
> Extension of Berth WQ-7

In the early 1920s the Indian government decided to construct ports – Calcutta, Chennai (Madras), Cochin, Haldia, Kandla,
a harbour at Visakhapatnam on the east coast of India in order Mangalore, Mormugao, Mumbai (Bombay), Paradip, Tuticorin and
to provide a direct outlet for mineral and other products of Visakhapatnam – are managed by the government controlled
the Central Provinces. The port serves a vast hinterland in the Port Trusts. Together, they have been handling approximately
absence of any other sea port between Madras and Calcutta. 230 million metric tons of cargo per year. A development
In 1933, a heavy programme for dredging of the swamp near plan has just been completed to raise capacity by a further
the town of Visakhapatnam was completed to form a sheltered 170 million metric tons.
harbour. The port was originally built as a monocommodity
Visakhapatnam Port is today one of the largest harbours in
port for manganese ore exports, having only three berths with
India. It developed rapidly from a small mineral trading post into
a combined cargo-handling capacity of 0.3 million metric tons.
a major harbour handling bulk cargo, iron ore, petroleum oils
An unusual feature of the port are the old ships “Janus” and
and lubricants, coking coal and coke as well as container traffic.
“Welledson” that were filled with stones then sunk towards the
Visakhapatnam Port was under the control of the Bengal-Nagpur
south of the entrance channel to form a breakwater.
Railways at the time of its completion. The railway transported
About 90% of India’s foreign trade passes through one of the the mineral ore to the city of Visakhapatnam, home to one of the
ports situated along its 6,000-km coastline. Eleven major few ports on India’s eastern shoreline.

Visakhapatnam Port is one of India’s largest harbours.

Local mineral production is the driving industry behind the port’s development.

96
 An
ch
or
W
all
-
AZ
Anchor Wall - AZ 18

18
HZ
97
50 14
5A
50 / A
-
0 Z
18

Omega 18 290870
HZ 975 A- 14 / AZ 18

The two segments of the quay wall have a combined length of 340 m.

23275
Stag-horn type 90t
4300 10000 1000

EL+3.775

EL +2.0
EL+1.5 (HWL)

EL+0.0 (MLWS) EL +0.0

EL-1.0

AZ 18 - 10800 LG.

50 x 50 x 6 x 200 lg. angle

welded HZ&AZ piles
to support conc.
EL -8.5
HZ 975 A - 14 / AZ 18
INITIAL DREDGED LEVEL EL-10.7 Steel grade S 430 GP/ S 320 GP
HZ 975 A - 25500 LG.
EL-12.0 AZ 18 - 20000 LG.
DESIGN DREGED LEVEL

To be dregded after installation

800 ø pile 800 ø pile
of sheet pile and ties

EL-20.5 (top of rock)

EL-23.0

EL-27.0

The HZ 975 A - 14 / AZ 18 main wall is installed 23 m in front of the AZ 18 anchor wall.

RH 16 RH 16
L = 11,00 m L = 11,00 m

HZ 975 A
975 mm

L = 25,50 m

AZ 18
L = 20,00 m

RZU 16 RZD 16
L = 20,00 m L = 20,00 m
1790 mm

The combined wall was locally reinforced with RH sections.

97
 AZ 18
C9 L = 20,00 m C9
L = 20,00 m L = 20,00 m

1349

C9 connecters welded to an AZ 18 double pile formed the corner of the segmented quay wall.

Visakhapatnam boasts the only port in the country to have Several exploratory boreholes were logged to investigate the
exceeded the 50 million metric ton mark in 2004-2005, characteristics of the site’s soil layers which were incorporated
though with a low growth of 5%. The Indian government into the design of the sheet pile wall. The result of the drilling can
is considering increasing the port’s cargo handling capacity be resumed as follows: fill material overlying a layer of fine silty
to 70 million metric tons. The expansion will implement sand that reaches a depth of six metres. Below this, medium-
deepening of the outer harbour, allowing bigger vessels to density cohesive clay overlying very dense weathered rock
access the port. with SPT values above 50 was encountered. The tidal levels in
the port area vary between MHWN = +1.49 m and MLWS =
The Port of Visakhapatnam recently constructed and
+0.09 m. Loads due to high waves were not considered since the
developed 22 berths, including two state-of-the-art ore
proposed site is well protected from the open sea.
berths, an off-shore oil tanker terminal, an LPG berth,
and a container terminal, as well as four new multipurpose ArcelorMittal’s design team issued a preliminary design based on
berths. Among these new constructions, Berth WQ-7 in the information supplied by the owner. According to these design
extended northern arm of the inner harbour was completed in calculations, the maximum bending moments will occur 5.5 m
April 2005 using 2,350 metric tons of steel sheet piles. The below the water level: 1,570 kNm/m for the normal case and
new berth can receive vessels up to 45,000 DWT. 1,620 kNm/m for the seismic case.

The template was assembled in India, based on construction drawings supplied by ArcelorMittal.

anchor wall axis

removable beam (lg = ~15 m)

390 mm

pile or equivalent
removable
for stabilisation of template
beam fixation
pile or equivalent Driving direction
for stabilisation of template

A second driving template facilitated installation of the AZ 18 anchor wall.

98
 The contractor opted for the PTC 60HD heavy-duty vibratory hammer.

Two-level templates ensure correct horizontal and vertical

positioning of the sheet piles.

Power unit of the PTC hammer.

BORE LOG 3
J.J.SOIL INVESTIGATION & ENVIRON CONSULTANTS
10-51-8/1, KAILASMETTA UPLANDS
VISAKHAPATNAM - Bore hole 530 003

Project : Berth WQ - 7
Location : Near HZ 183
Bore hole No :3
Ground Water Table : -0,23
Strong shackles were used to lift the king piles.

Ground R.L Visual Description of N-value

Strata
From To

+2.00 +0.00 Reddish gravelly soil

+0.00 -6.00 Fine sand with silt

-8.00 -17.00 Blackish soft clay

34
-17.00 -20.50 Brownish stiff clay
> 50
-20.50 -24.00 Highly weathered rock
Wooden spacers prevent damage to the stored AZ piles. Hard rock with > 50
-24.00 -27.38 fractures

99
 Two crawler cranes lifted hammers and sheet piles into position.

The Indian designer Howe opted for an anchored HZ/AZ combined sheet pile quay wall.

The resulting forces lie well above the maximum design resisting
moment of conventional sheet pile walls, reason for which the
following combined-wall system was chosen for the construction
of Berth WQ-7:
• 192 king piles HZ 975 A – 14, S 430 GP, L = 25.5 m,
• 191 intermediary piles AZ 18, S 320 GP, L = 20.0 m,
• 275 anchor piles AZ 18, S 320 GP, L = 10.8 m.
The HZ 975 A – 14/AZ 18 sheet pile wall features a system
width of 1,790 mm, a section modulus of 8,170 cm³/m, and
a weight of 225 kg/m². The king piles were designed in high-
strength S 430 GP steel (minimum yield strength:
Due to the presence of weathered rock an impact hammer 430 N/mm², minimum tensile strength: 510 N/mm², minimum
was needed to fully drive the sheet piles. elongation: 19%). The high-strength steel reduced material and
transportation costs to a minimum. The section modulus of the
HZ king piles was adapted to the maximum bending moments by
Owner: adding RH sections to their flanges.
Visakhapatnam Port Trust, Visakhapatnam
As a result, the designer was able to choose a rather light, locally
Designer: strengthened king pile. Further savings were achieved in terms
Howe Private Ltd, New Delhi
of steel grade and length reduction of the intermediary AZ 18
Contractor: piles. The king piles in S 430 GP steel have the following chemical
Afcons Infrastructure Limited, Mumbai
composition:
Piling equipment:
- Hydraulic vibratory hammer: PTC 60HD C Mn Si P S N
- Diesel impact hammer (max%) (max%) (max%) (max%) (max%) (max%)
Steel grade: 0.27 1.70 0.60 0.05 0.05 0.011
S 320 GP & S 430 GP
The front sheet pile quay wall was tied back over a distance of
Sheet piles: 23 m to an AZ 18 anchor wall. The design bending moment of
1,330 t HZ 975 A
1,020 t AZ 18
the anchor wall averages 230 kNm. The distance between the
tie rods corresponds to the system width of the combined-wall
Total quantity of sheet piles:
system. Each 100-mm-diameter tie rod is subject to a design
2,350 metric tons
pull of 1,074 kN.

100
Designed for a lifetime of 50 years, the new Berth WQ-7 will boost the port’s cargo-handling capacities.

Steps in construction of the quay wall: The choice of vibratory hammer depends on the cross-section
• Driving of front main sheet pile wall (land-based work), and weight of the pile, the penetration depth, and the soil
• Driving of anchor sheet pile wall (land-based work), characteristics. A PTC 60HD (heavy-duty vibratory hammer)
• Installation of steel tie rods connecting the two walls, was chosen to install the sheet pile wall at Berth WQ-7.
The machine features a frequency of 1,650 rpm, an eccentric
• Backfilling and pouring of reinforced concrete deck
superstructure, moment of 60 kgm and a maximum centrifugal force of
1,830 kN. The contractor, Afcons, opted for two crawler cranes
• Dredging to -12 m in front of main sheet pile wall,
with respective lifting powers of 40 and 70 metric tons to
• Connection of new berth to existing structure,
handle the seven-ton vibratory hammer, the sheet piles, and the
• Installation of pavement, drainage with culvert template. Beyond the vibratory hammer’s potential refusal point,
and electrical lighting. the sheet piles were driven to design level using a diesel hammer.
The steel sheet piles were installed on-shore using a standard-
The logs of three boreholes drilled at the driving site revealed the
frequency vibratory hammer. Vibratory hammers reduce the
friction between soil and pile by applying vertical vibrations to presence of weathered rock at an elevation of -20.5 m. Since the
the sheet pile. The vibrations are caused by rotating eccentric king piles had to be driven three metres beyond the rockhead, an
masses arranged in pairs to eliminate horizontal vibrations. The impact hammer was essential in order to reach the design depth.
remaining vertical components add up, and the centrifugal
The layout drawings for the construction of the driving template
force temporarily liquefies the soil in the vicinity of the sheet
were provided by ArcelorMittal’s technical team. The necessary
pile. The weight of the pile and the hammer create enough
downward force for installation of the sheet pile wall. Preferably welding works were executed by an Indian subcontractor
two hydraulically-operated clamps ensure secure attachment appointed by the main contractor Afcons. The template was
and proper transmission of the oscillating movement to the levelled with the help of a theodolite. Technical assistance at
pile. Three technical parameters (eccentric moment, centrifugal the jobsite to support the installation of the combined wall was
force and frequency) are generally used to describe vibratory provided free of charge by ArcelorMittal.
hammers. The frequency corresponds to the number of
revolutions of the rotating masses per minute. The eccentric The quay structures were designed for a lifetime of 50 years;
moment is equivalent to the product of the mass of the rotating therefore corrosion losses of 4 mm at the zone of permanent
masses [kg] and the distance [m] between the rotational axis immersion on the water side and 1 mm on the land side were
and centre of gravity of the revolving weights. The generated considered for the choice of the steel sheet pile section.
centrifugal force (unit: kN) depends on the eccentric moment An impressed-current cathodic protection system ensures
and on the frequency. Such hammers are especially advisable that the required lifetime can be achieved.
in non-cohesive water-saturated soils for driving of piles both
above and under water.

101
 Nakhodka | Russia
> Dry dock for offshore gravity base structures

The city of Nakhodka is situated in the far east of mainland Russia. The dry docks were constructed with a 750-m sheet pile wall
The company Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd. was around all four sides of the rectangular excavation. 550 m of the
established in 1994 to develop the Sakhalin II project, one of surrounding sheet pile wall was built using AU 25 sheet piles; the
the largest integrated oil and gas projects in the world, including remaining 200 m required the stronger PU 32 sections with a
the Piltun-Asokhskoye oil field and the Lunskoye gas field. The section modulus of 3,200 cm³/m. A slope with wells leads down
venture called for the construction of two new production to the bottom of the excavation. Three stages of wells lower
platforms founded on huge concrete gravity base structures the water level below the bottom of the dock, thus allowing
installed in the fields in summer 2005. The beginning of year- construction to proceed in the dry.
round oil production for both platforms is scheduled for 2007;
The sheet piles used for the Sakhalin II development project
gas production is expected to get under way by 2008.
were produced in Luxembourg and brought by train to their
Since land transport of these enormous base structures weighing destination in Nakhodka. Each wagon was loaded with 40 to 45 t
more than 100,000 metric tons was close to impossible, the of steel sheet piles. Over 3,000 metric tons of sheet piles were
investment company opted to build them in a dry dock. By later required on the job site, in two different lengths: 24 and 29 m.
flooding this dock, the floatable offshore structures could easily The piles were cut into 12-m pieces to ease transportation. The
be towed out to their destination in the open sea. contractor then spliced the sheet piles on site.

Huge construction projects were launched to exploit Sakhalin’s natural resources.

A dry dock for offshore platforms was built using more than 3,000 metric tons of steel sheet piles.

102
The 750-m outer dock wall features AU 25 and PU 32 piles.

The following quantities of sheet piles were delivered: Description of the driving equipment:
• 1,940 t AU 25 in steel grade S 355 GP. • Vibrator hammer: ICE 815, eccentric moment: 46 kgm,
Pile length: 24 m (12 m + 12 m), nominal centrifugal force: 1,250 kN,
• 1,100 t PU 32 in steel grade S 355 GP. maximum frequency: 1,600 rpm.
Pile length: 29 m (12 m + 12 m + 5 m). • Hydrohammer: IHC S70. Maximum energy per blow: 70 kNm,
50 blows per minute, Drop weight: 3.5 t.
The contractor used a template and two different hammers
(vibratory and impact hammer) to install the steel sheet piles. The two offshore gravity base platform structures were
The soil conditions encountered are a relatively soft top layer completed after nearly ten months of uninterrupted concrete
with SPT values (Standard Penetration Test) ranging between casting. The dry dock was then flooded and the two gigantic
10 and 30 blows per 30 cm penetration overlying a high- structures were towed to their respective offshore locations
density layer with SPT values from 60 to 90 blows. The U-piles some 1,000 nautical miles from Nakhodka in July 2005.
were driven through the soft soil, to a depth of 15 m, with the
vibratory hammer. The impact hammer was then used to drive
the piles until refusal through the denser soil layers. All AU and
PU piles were driven as double piles to speed up the installation
process. Driving caps for the impact hammer were provided by
ArcelorMittal free of charge for the duration of the works.

Owner:
Sakhalin Energy Investment Company
Limited
Contractor:
Quattrogemini Ltd, Finland
Sheet piles:
AU 25 and PU 32
Pile length:
24 m and 29 m
Steel grade:
S 355 GP
Total quantity of sheet piles:
3,040 metric tons

103
 General Santos | Philippines
> Fishing quay expansion project

General Santos City in the southern part of the Philippines,

1,000 km south of the islands’ capital Manila, was founded in July
1968. Some 26 years on, in 1994, construction began on the
General Santos City Fish Port Complex (GSFPC), funded by the
Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF) of Japan. It was
completed just over four years later in March 1999. The port
provides good trade access to major foreign markets in southeast
Asia, Australia, continental Europe and the United States. The
harbour features a 32,000-m² container yard equipped with
modern container-handling facilities and additional provisions for
holding livestock. Tuna from General Santos.

With annual production of 2.4 million metric tons, the

700-million-euro fishing industry accounts for 4% of the Among the harbour’s infrastructure are several refrigeration
Philippines’ gross national product. Considered the most modern facilities, an ice producing plant, market halls, and fish container
fishing port in the country, General Santos is also the nation’s storage yards.
second-largest fishing harbour. Fishing is the prime industry The Philippine Archipelago lies between two of the world’s
in the so-called “Tuna Capital” of the Philippines and is largely major tectonic plates, the Pacific Plate and the Eurasian Plate.
responsible for the city’s economic boom. There are more than Interactions and movements along the active faults cause strong
50 commercial fishing companies located in General Santos, earthquakes in the Philippines. General Santos City is situated
producing a collective volume of 8,000 metric tons of sashimi- about 20 km from the active Mindanao fault which is responsible
grade tuna per month. General Santos City Fish Port Complex for an average of six perceptible earthquakes per year. Important
offers a 750-metre quay and a 300-metre wharf for 2,000-GT seismic loads had to be considered for the design of the
refrigerated carriers. expansion project.

Two AZ sheet pile quay walls were required by the growing tuna fishing industry.

104
 90.0 m
230.2 m

Wharf 1

27.0 m
200.0 m Wharf 2
The 2 new wharves offer a combined mooring length of over 500 m.

Steel solutions have an important advantage compared to homogeneous layer of medium to coarse sand mixed with a
concrete wharves; ductile steel can to a great degree absorb small amount of angular coral gravel down to a depth of -2.7 m.
the energy input resulting from an earthquake’s horizontal Further below, medium to high density silty clay with angular
accelerations. gravel continues to -42.6 m.
The tidal variations in the General Santos City Fish Port are not The project comprises the expansion of two wharves:
very substantial. The following tidal levels based on observations • Wharf 1: main wall length: 230 m, return wall length: 90 m,
from nearby Davao Port were considered for the design of the
• Wharf 2: main wall length: 200 m, return wall length: 27 m.
sheet pile quays:
• Design high water level: 1.88 m Wharf 1 is a new structure, whereas the second wharf is built in
(high tide accumulated frequency: 10%), front of an existing wharf. This existing structure offers a water
depth of just over one metre, far too shallow for the modern
• Design low water level: -0.19 m
fishing vessels that dock and unload at General Santos.
(low tide accumulated frequency: 90%).
Both wharves were built with Z-type steel sheet piles provided
According to observations from the logs of 15 boreholes drilled
by ArcelorMittal from Luxembourg. Two different profiles were
at the site of the two new fishing quays, and to geotechnical
used: AZ 34 with a section modulus of 3,400 cm³/m and AZ 26
tests, the strata structure in the area is relatively simple. The
with a section modulus of 2,600 cm³/m. A high steel grade
onshore area consists of made ground: medium to coarse sand
(S 430 GP) was used to provide an economical solution by
ranging from +3.4 m to -3.2 m.
optimising the weight of the sheet pile wall as far as possible.
Further boreholes were drilled in the offshore area where
the seafloor drops to a depth of -8.3 m. They showed a

In a single delivery, all the sheet piles were shipped to the site where they were unloaded and stored.

105
 The 380 AZ 34 double piles delivered are 21.5 m long; the The weight of the tie-rod solution was further minimised by
80 AZ 26 double piles are 18.5 m long. In order to connect the providing upset tie rods. Two different sizes of anchors were
sheet pile walls made of 1,260-mm-wide double piles, two C9 provided: M64 thread with a shaft diameter of 48 mm:
and one Omega 18 corner sections were used. A total of 2,180 t 22 and 12 m. To allow both easy handling and transportation in
of steel sheet piles were delivered by train from the rolling mill
containers, the tie rods were made of two pieces shorter than
to Antwerp Harbour where they were loaded onto M/V Wilma 12 m. The two separate anchor pieces were joined together
heading directly to General Santos. by turnbuckles and tightened horizontally between the two
walls. This is normally done above the water level to reduce the
Both the main and return walls were connected to concrete
risk of corrosion. The turnbuckle also allows for correction of
anchor plates by 22-m tie rods. The German manufacturer Anker
inaccuracies in the distance between the main and anchor walls.
Schroeder provided 485 tie rods in high-strength steel S 460 N.

22000

4300
2.19% 4000 Retaining wall
+3.00
2.40
(DHWL) +1.88 1.90 1.85
1:
1.
25
ø56/ø48 (S460) (Steel tie rod)
@1.26m - L=22m 0.50 Rubble stone

2700
1:

1:
1

(DHWL) -0.19 -0.50 Geo textile

-0.70 -0.85
Rubble stone Medium and coarse sand backfill

750 550 Mix filter

(Existing mud level)

(Design mud level) -9.0

Z - Type steel sheet pile

-20.5
Cross section Wharf 1

27000

22000
4300
+3.00 2.19% 4000 Retaining wall

(DHWL) +1.88
2.40
1.90 1.85
1:
1. Existing
25
0.50 Rubble stone sea wall
1

2700
1:

1:
1

(DHWL) -0.19 -0.50 ø56 (S460) (Steel tie rod)

-0.70 -0.85
@1.26m - L=22m Medium and coarse sand backfill
Rubble stone
750 550
(Existing mud level) Geo textile

(Design mud level) -9.0

Z - Type steel sheet pile

-17.5/-20.5
Cross section Wharf 2
Modern fishing vessels can now dock at General Santos thanks to the water depth of 9 m.

106
AZ double piles up to 21.5 m long were installed with barge-based driving equipment.

The two wharves were built using 380 AZ 34 double sheet piles as well as 80 AZ 26 double sheet piles.

The new steel quay wall of Wharf 2 was placed 27 m ahead A vibratory hammer was used first; a diesel hammer
of the existing concrete wall. then completed the installation process.

107
 hexagon nut M 56 DIN 934-8 130 bearing plate
a5 45 BL.40*300*300 S355J0
340 turnbuckle 40 45
45 45 200 ¯ 89 * 250 20MnV6
50 250

89

48

M56

300
160

bearing plate
BL.50*145*160 S355J0
220 120 120 220
RH LH RH RH
10975 10975

50 50

77 Sets Tie Rods - 48 / M 56 * 22000 S460N

The 48 and 56 mm shaft diameter tie rods were provided by Anker Schroeder, Germany.

The tie rods consisted of several parts suitable for transportation in 40-foot containers.

Owner:
Department of Agriculture, Philippine
fishing development authorities
Contractor:
CAMC (China National Construction &
Agricultural Machinery I/E Corp.)
Steel grade:
S 430 GP
Sheet piles:
1,890 t AZ 34, 290 t AZ 26
Total quantity of sheet piles:
2,180 metric tons

The new quay walls required 485 high-strength-steel tie rods.

108
The area behind the AZ wall was backfilled carefully so as not to damage the tie rods.

The anchor sets including upset-end tie-rods (diameter 56 mm/ The steel sheet pile walls were installed the conventional way:
M64, total length = 22 m) with a working load of 615 kN were a Japanese KN2-90 vibratory hammer drove the AZ piles until
made up of the following pieces: refusal. A second installation team followed with a Delmag D62
• 1 front upset-end tie-rod 56 mm/M64, diesel hammer equipped with a 6.2-t ram to drive the piles to
RH-LH-thread, 10 350 / 120 / 250, S 460 N, the design depth.
• 1 rear upset-end tie-rod 56 mm/M64,
RH-RH-thread, 11 600 / 120 / 250, S 460 N,
• 1 turnbuckle, M64, length 250 mm,
adjustment ± 50 mm, 20 MnV6,
• 1 bearing plate on waling: 160 x 155 x 55 mm, S 355 J0,
• 1 bearing plate on concrete: 300 x 300 x 45 mm, S 355 J0,
• 2 x M64 hexagonal nuts according to DIN 934–8.

Extreme local seismic loading had to be considered when designing the new wharves.

109
 Kaohsiung | Taiwan
> Deepening of Berths 65 and 66

There are currently seven international harbours in Taiwan

playing important roles in economic development: Keelung,
Kaohsiung, Hualien, Taichung, Suao, Anping, and Taipei. The port
of Kaohsiung is Taiwan’s leading international commercial port
with Anping serving as its auxiliary harbour.
The deep-water port of Kaohsiung is the marine transit hub
for East Asia and South Taiwan. Featuring a natural harbour and
two access channels with depths of 11 and 16 metres, the
2,683-hectare port is capable of handling up to 100,000-DWT
vessels. Kaohsiung currently has five container terminals and Kaohsiung features 5 container terminals
and 118 berths.
a total of 118 berths – including 26 container berths – which
can accommodate 6,000-TEU post-Panamax container ships.
Berths 65 and 66 are part of the Container Terminal No. 2.
Handling over 70% of Taiwan’s container traffic and 60% of the
Due to the scheduled deepening from 12 to 14.50 metres,
country’s total international trade volume, the harbour has been
the existing quays had to be redesigned. The quay walls of the
the world’s third largest container port for many years, with
existing Berths 65 and 66 consist of a combined sheet pile wall
a container throughput of 10 million TEU in 2006. Plans have
featuring box piles as king elements and 500-mm U-piles as
been made to benefit from geographical advantages and nearby
intermediary elements. The king elements (L = 20.5 m) and the
software and hardware facilities to speed up the development
intermediary elements (L = 13 m) are made of FSP VL sheet
of Kaohsiung Harbour. To respond to the development of
piles.
large vessels and to maximise the harbour’s efficiency, several
container wharves have been deepened, including the existing The Kaohsiung Harbour authorities disregarded the original
berths 65 (length: 244 m) and 66 (length: 440 m) that have concrete tender solution of the redesign because it exceeded the
been be rebuilt as container wharves. budget by 70%.

Handling 10 million TEU per year, Kaohsiung is one of the largest harbours in the world.

110
The most economical deepening solution involved installation of an underwater sheet pile wall forward of the quay.

It was therefore decided to opt for a high-strength steel sheet

pile solution to deepen the quays. The new underwater sheet pile
wall was to be placed in front of the toe of the existing quay wall.
Due to the substantial water depth of the new structure and
seismic loads with horizontal ground accelerations of 0.11 g
above and 0.22 g below the water level, bending moments were
very high. The allowable deformation of the underwater sheet
pile wall was strictly limited. In order to allow safe docking of
vessels at the two deepened berths, the harbour authorities had
to limit deflections so that ships would not strike the new wall.
A design study carried out by the ArcelorMittal’s technical
department showed a maximum moment of 1,014 kNm/m
for the ultimate limit state and a maximum moment of
1,482 kNm/m for seismic conditions, assuming overdredging
of 1.0 m. These loads stretch conventional steel sheet piles to
their limit: only ArcelorMittal’s AZ 48 with a section modulus of
4,800 cm³/m is capable of handling these moments.
The renovation of the 650-m quay calls for underwater
installation of the AZ 48 sheet pile wall in front of the existing
FSP VL box pile wall. The 17-m AZ 48 piles were driven into the
harbour bed until their head reached a depth of seven metres.
Cement grout and concrete were injected between the new and
existing sheet piles.

The existing structures were left in place.

111
 The sheet pile wall reached from -7 to -24 m and was anchored with inclined anchors.

L-shaped plates were used to connect the sheet piles to the anchors.

Due to static requirements and the restricted allowable

deformations, the new wall had to be anchored. Prestressed
grouting anchors attached to the head of the sheet piles ensured
the stability of the AZ 48 wall. The anchors were attached to
every third sheet pile: the distance between anchors is thus 3 x
0.58 m = 1.74 m. The grouting anchors had to carry high loads
which had to be transferred into deeper soils with high load-
bearing capacities. The contractor opted for inclined anchors,
for which a special connection system was developed. L-shaped
plates were welded into holes cut into the AZ 48 piles. The 25-m
tie rods were connected to the L-shaped plates and were held
back by a 10-m-long grout section. They were installed half a
metre from the top of the underwater sheet pile wall, at -7.5 m,
with an inclination of 30 degrees. A total of 373 tie rods were
required to hold back the 650-m quay wall. Each of them has
a working load of 660 kN and an ultimate load of 2,490 kN.
Owner: Following installation of the anchored underwater steel sheet
Kaohsiung Harbour authorities pile wall, the harbour bed was dredged to -14.5 m. Deflections
Designer & Contractor: remain well within the set limits and safe operation of container
HWA CHI Construction traffic can thus be guaranteed.
Sheet piles:
AZ 48
Pile length:
17 m
Steel grade:
S 355 GP
Total quantity of sheet piles:
2,690 metric tons

112
The deep excavation and seismic loads called for heavy-duty AZ 48 piles. The piles were driven hard alongside the existing berths.

Belonging to CT 2, Berths 65 & 66 can handle vessels of up to 6,000 TEU.

Kaohsiung Port is promoted as an Asian-Pacific transhipment centre.

113
 Anping | Taiwan
> Quay Construction

Anping, the most important auxiliary port of Kaohsiung Harbour,

is situated on Taiwan’s southwest coast some 40 km north of
its mother port. The volume of cargo handled has been growing
considerably in recent years as Anping has developed into a
multi-functional harbour connecting east Asia, China, Hong Kong,
and Taiwan’s offshore islands. Due to its excellent geographical
location and natural conditions, Anping used to be Taiwan’s
largest harbour, with origins dating back to the Ming dynasty.
However, the importance of the harbour declined as a result of
silting up.
In more recent times the Kaohsiung Harbour Bureau started
to rebuild Anping Port in order to improve local economic
development. The port has been equipped with advanced port
facilities and a tourist service centre transforming it into an
international commercial harbour with growing international
trading capacities. The depth of the navigation channel is
11.5 metres, the wharves of the harbour offer a water depth
varying between 7.5 and 11 m. The combined wharf length
totals 1,450 m for the deeper quays and 1,330 m for the
shallower quays. After completion of the different expansion
phases, Anping will have 32 wharves with a waterline of
5,566 m. The port will be able to handle vessels of up to Anping Quay 1 - anchor wall.
30,000 DWT, boosting its annual cargo capacity.

Taiwan’s Anping Port was expanded

recently to accommodate larger vessels.

114
 330000
23600 AZ 48 - lg. 23000

lg. 23000

lg. 13000
22400
AZ 48

37800 AZ 14 292200
AZ 34 - lg. 19000 AZ 14 - lg. 13000

The 330-m quay wall was urgently required to handle the port’s increasing amount of general cargo

22 000

1%
M.L.W.L. EL +2.40 m
+0.96m
M.L.W.L. +0.39m
EL +0.80 m
EL -0.50 m AZ 14

AZ 46
EL -3.50 m

1:5

EL -11.50 m 1:5
EL -11.70 m
EL -12.00 m

EL -21.7 0 m

The AZ 46 sheet piles of Quays 1 & 2 were installed 52 m in front of existing berths.

The Kaohsiung Harbour Bureau planned to build Quays No.1 and Kaohsiung Harbour Bureau placed an order for the following
2 in the bulk and general cargo area near the entrance of the amounts of steel sheet piles:
port. The new U-shaped quay is 330 m long, 24 m wide, and has • 480 t AZ 14,
a water depth of 9 m. The quay’s design required three different
• 140 t AZ 34,
types of sheet piles. The predicted resisting design moments
amounted to 1,050 kNm/m, 690 kNm/m and 250 kNm/m • 1,860 t AZ 46.
respectively. The required steel grades were optimised in The main wall of the U-shaped quay consists of 283 AZ 46
accordance with the prevailing forces, which led to the following double piles. The anchor wall situated 22.2 m behind the main
line-up of steel sheet piles: wall (wall axis to wall axis) is composed of 218 AZ 14 double
• AZ 46, steel grade S 390 GP, piles plus 29 AZ 34 double piles near the head of the wall. The
bending moment capacity: 1,195 kNm/m > 1,050 kNm/m, 24-m return wall consists of 18 AZ 46 double piles anchored to
• AZ 34, steel grade S 355 GP, 15 AZ 14 double piles.
bending moment capacity: 812 kNm/m > 690 kNm/m,
• AZ 14, steel grade S 270 GP,
bending moment capacity: 252 kNm/m > 250 kNm/m.

115
 AZ 46 300 AZ 46

180
L 75x75x18
105

170
268 AZ 14 AZ 34 127
145
AZ 46
553

AZ 46
175

C9
250

201

Several special piles were used to connect the different wall axes.

Several special piles and one PU pile were required to form the
walls’ corners and to attach the new quay wall to the existing
structure. The following special piles were supplied by a
subcontractor of ArcelorMittal and shipped to Taiwan together
with the other sheet piles:
• AZ 46 single pile with C9 connector welded on,
• An oxycut AZ 46 single pile welded back together
to obtain a reduced pile height of 250 mm,
• AZ 14 single pile interlocked with cut-off AZ 46.
A plate was welded over the interlock to stabilise
the cut-off AZ 46 sheet pile,
• AZ 34 single pile with additional Larssen interlock welded on.
The quay wall was installed using a jack-up barge on which the
driving equipment was set up. Large parts of the parallel main and
anchor walls were installed in open water some 52 m in front of
the existing berths. Other parts of the quay allowed land-based
installation of the steel sheet piles with a vibratory hammer. An
impact hammer later drove the AZ piles to design depth, which was
reached once the head of the piles passed the elevation of +1.2 m.
In contrast to most sheet pile construction sites, the contractor
decided to install several AZ piles without the assistance of a driving
template.

Owner:
Kaohsiung Harbour Bureau
Sheet piles:
AZ 46, AZ 34, AZ 14
Pile length:
23 m, 19 m, 13 m
Steel grade:
S 390 GP, S 355 GP, S 270 GP
Total quantity of sheet piles:
2,500 metric tons

Welded on rebars prevent interlock rotation so as to precisely achieve the planned quay wall length.

116
The sheet piles were installed in open water using barge-mounted vibratory and impact hammers.

Great care was taken to achieve the exact design length of the quay
wall. The contractor welded rebars on the inside of the AZ 46 sheet
piles to prevent rotation of the middle interlock which could have
increased or reduced the width of the AZ 46 double piles. The target
wall length was achieved by driving the quay wall in an optically
controlled straight line. The contractor relied on the help of a driving
guide for installation of the greater part of the 330-m quay wall,
however.
The new infrastructure and facilities built under the “Anping
Commercial Port Land Acquisition and First Stage Construction Plan”
soon proved their worth. Implemented between July 1998 and
September 2005, the project triggered strong growth in the cargo
volumes handled: Anping handled 11.15 million metric tons of cargo
volume in 2006, which represents growth of 66% compared to
2005.

The installation team controlled the straightness of the wall axis optically.

With the new quays, the port was able to handle 11.15 million metric tons of cargo in 2006.

117
 Taipei | Taiwan
> Quays 13, 14 and 15

The owner of Quays 13, 14 and 15, the Formosa Plastics

Corporation (FPC) is Taiwan’s top petrochemicals company
with an annual turnover of over US$20 billion. FPC is one of
the world’s largest producers of PVC and is a member of the
industrial giant Formosa Plastics Group. FPC is investing in
petrochemicals, plastics, textiles, electronic materials, machinery,
and power generation as well as in harbour operation and in the
construction of marine and ground transportation. The company
established Taiwan’s first chemical tanker fleet in 1981. To meet
the needs for transportation of chemicals and coals to their
respective plants, the company possesses a fleet of 24 vessels
including highly advanced chemical tankers, oil tankers, LPG ships,
and cargo carriers.

Due to increasing traffic, Taipei Harbour is currently undergoing a three-phase expansion plan.

118
 AZ 36 - L = 18.00 m
201550

25580
AZ 36
L = 18.00 m QUAY # 13

51020 100770 49590

HZ 975 B - 14 / AZ 26 HZ 975 A - 14 / AZ 26
LHZ = 28.00 m / LAZ = 22.40 m LHZ = 27.00 m / LAZ = 21.60 m

AZ 36 - L = 18.00 m
QUAY # 14
299860

299280
AZ 36 - L = 18.00 m

219580 28640

27360
AZ 36
QUAY # 15 L = 18.00 m

248220

HZ 975 B - 14 / AZ 26
LHZ = 28.00 m / LAZ = 22.40 m

The Formosa Plastics Corporation required three new quays. Due to its advantageous installation speed, the choice fell in favour of the HZ/AZ combined-wall system.

Taipei serves as an auxiliary port for Keelung Harbour, one of Since the primary purpose of the 3,102-hectare harbour is to
Taiwan’s seven international harbours. Taipei Port is located on relieve some of the ever increasing traffic Keelung is confronted
the south bank of the Tamsui River in Taipei County, facing west with, Taipei Harbour has recently been undergoing a three-
onto the Taiwan strait. Exceptionally rich in natural resources, phase expansion of its facilities. The first phase began in January
the port possesses a vast hinterland, spacious harbour areas 1993, involving construction of a 70-hectare stacking yard and
with sufficient depths and an ideal geographical location near two nine-metre-deep berths totalling 340 m in length. Phase I
metropolitan Taipei. was comple­­­ted in 1998 with the reclamation of an 84-hectare
area. The second phase, which involved the construction of
The port of Taipei was designed as a multi-functional
26 operation wharves including quays 13, 14 and 15 as well
international port comprising terminals handling sand, gravel,
as 3,810-m-long outer breakwater, was finalised in 2002. The
cement, petroleum, containers, bulk and general cargo. Its total
third and final phase is set to be completed by 2011.
imports and exports exceeded 2.3 million metric tons in 2000.
The Taipei Harbour Consortium (Yangming Marine Transport Taipei is subject to high tidal fluctuations, the highest recorded
Corp., Evergreen Marine Corp. and Wan Hai Lines) plans to level being at +3.82 m. The top of the new quay was therefore
build a container warehousing and shipment centre at Taipei designed at +4 m to avoid flooding under extreme tidal
Harbour that will consist of 7 wharves featuring a total quay conditions. The design of the sheet pile walls had to take the
length of 2,355 m. With a depth of 14.5 m, the wharves will following tidal values into consideration: Mean High Water Level
accommodate large container vessels with loading capacities of (MHWL) of +2.48 m and Mean Low Water Level (MLWL) of
up to 5,000 TEU. +0.55 m.

119
 The “Pilgrim Step” driving sequence ensures that the piles encounter uniformly compacted soil during installation.

The three wharves for the Formosa Plastics Corporation were

built in 2001. The client’s choice fell on ArcelorMittal’s HZ/AZ
combined sheet pile wall. Each of the three HZ/AZ quay walls
was anchored to a tie-back wall to limit deflections of the wall’s
tip and to achieve an optimum moment distribution in the wall,
synonym of an economically optimised layout. The existing soil
harbour floor at -2.4 m was dredged to a depth of 15 m for each
of the following quays:

Quay 13: Length 200 m

Main wall: • HZ 975 A / 14, L = 27 m & AZ 26, L = 21.6 m
Two cranes, an ICE vibratory hammer and an impact
hammer made up the installation equipment. • HZ 975 B / 14, L = 28 m & AZ 26, L = 22.4 m
Anchor wall: • AZ 36, L = 18 m, distance to main wall: 25.3 m

Quay 14: Length 300 m

Main wall: • HZ 975 B / 14, L = 28 m & AZ 26, L = 22.4 m
Anchor wall: • AZ 36, L = 18 m, distance to main wall: 27.4 m

Quay 15: Length 250 m

Main wall: • HZ 975 A / 14, L = 27 m & AZ 26, L = 21.6 m
• HZ 975 B / 14, L = 28 m & AZ 26, L = 22.4 m
Anchor wall: • AZ 36, L = 18 m, distance to main wall: 28.1 m
The HZ 975 A king beams were delivered in steel grade
S 390 GP (yield strength: 390 N/mm²) and the HZ 975 B king
A two-level rigid template ensured beams in US Grade 60 (yield strength: 60 ksi = 414 N/mm²).
the verticality of the king piles.
The sheet piles were shipped to Taiwan in three batches from
the mill in Luxembourg.
The three quay walls connect at angles of 90 degrees. A special
solution had to be found for the intersecting anchor walls of
Quay 14 and Quay 15. For this purpose, two AZ double piles
were welded together to form a CAZ 36 box pile. Additional
interlocks were welded onto the box pile to connect it to both
anchor walls.

Driving was occasionally executed below

the waterline because of substantial tidal variations.

120
 The wall lengths of Quays 13, 14 & 15 are 150 m, 300 m & 250 m.

Two engineers from ArcelorMittal were dispatched to

the site for assistance during the installation process.

After installation of all the king piles, the AZ sheet piles were driven to El. -20 m.

Two engineers from ArcelorMittal travelled to Taiwan to provide

assistance during the installation of the sheet pile walls. The
contractor decided to set up the driving equipment on a barge
that could move up and down in accordance with the tide. The
installation gear consisted of a Kobelco crawler crane, a fixed
crane, a vibratory hammer, and an impact hammer. Due to the
substantial tidal fluctuations, the vibratory hammer occasionally
had to work under water. This did not pose a challenge to
the vibratory hammer because the separate power source
remained above the waterline on the barge. The hammer used
is characterised by a centrifugal force of 1,250 kN emitted at
1,600 rpm.
The driving template employed ensured that the high-section-
modulus king piles were embedded into the ground straight,
vertically, and at the required spacing. The 21-metric-ton
template guided the piles at two levels 3.5 m apart. The lower
level of the template was positioned close to the high water level
at +2.48 m. Seven king piles spaced 1,790 mm apart fitted into
the driving guide, which was fixed and levelled with the help of
four tubes (length: 18 m, diameter: 800 mm, thickness: 20 mm).
Tubular piles are the ideal support for templates during pitching
and driving because they have identical static properties in all
directions.

The vibratory hammer was the ideal tool to install

the AZ intermediary sheet piles.

121
 Boreholes drilled at the site showed SPT values ranging from
20 to 30 blows for the top soil layers, increasing to beyond 50
blows below El -23 m. The 8.5-t HZ king piles had to be driven
into dense soil to El -25 m. The vibratory hammer turned out
to be the ideal installation tool when driving through the upper
layers of medium-density granular material. The lower clay
layers however were so stiff that driving progress was barely
perceptible. The contractor therefore switched to an impact
hammer to proceed with the installation. Vibratory driving may
cause cohesive soils to clump around the pile toe, considerably
Two layers of tie rods connected main and anchor walls. slowing down driving progress; hence impact hammers are
advisable when faced with cohesive soils. The intermediary AZ
sheet piles were vibratory driven until they reached the bottom
of the medium-density soil layer at -20 m. The achieved
verticality of the sheet piles was measured and turned out to be
excellent.
To accomplish optimum driving results, a special driving sequence
called the “Pilgrim Step” is advantageous: once all the king
piles have been inserted into the template, the HZ pile driven
previously being in position 0, driving then proceeds in the
following order: 1 – 5 – 3 – 6 – 4 – 7 – 2. Driving one pile after
the next (pitch and drive) could lead to problems with respect to
the verticality of the sheet piles. Driving long elements can cause
compaction of the soil at the pile toe which causes deviation
of the following piles. An appropriate driving sequence avoids
this problem. The driven piles should nevertheless be checked
occasionally to ensure their correct vertical position.
Two levels of load-distributing walings were installed.
The installation of the anchor walls began with driving of the
special CAZ 36 box pile at the intersection of the anchor walls of
Quays 14 and 15. The position of the sheet piles was checked
at regular intervals. An interlock deviation of up to 5° allows for
correction of driving inaccuracies without any need for special
piles. When pile installation was complete, both the main and
anchor walls were connected by two layers of tie rods. A waling
was used to distribute the tensile force of the tie rods evenly into
the sheet pile wall. The contractor used an excavator to backfill
between the walls. A concrete capping beam and the top slab
completed the three new quays.

A CAZ 36 box pile with three interlocks welded on was used

where the anchor walls intersect.

DETAIL "N"

Owner:
Formosa Plastics Corporation CAZ 36 - L = 18 m

Contractor:
Tian Tao, Taiwan
136

Steel grade:
S 320 GP, S 355 GP, S 390 GP, Grade 60
423

Sheet piles: 527 444

580 t HZ 975 A, L = 27 m
3,330 t HZ 975 B, L = 28 m
2,030 t AZ 26, L = 21.6 - 22.4 m 630 111 920 75 630
2,670 t AZ 36, L = 18 m
Total quantity of sheet piles:
8,610 metric tons

The box pile was driven first, followed by the AZ 36 anchor walls
of Quays 14 and 15.

122
A large excavator was used to backfill the area between the main and anchor walls.

The installation and backfilling procedure proceeded on separate barges. The 27.4-m return wall of Quay 15 consists of a combined wall
with 14 HZ king piles.

Numbers of tie rods cross over each other to connect the main and return walls to their respective anchor walls.

123
 Marsden Point | New Zealand
> Construction of new deepwater port

Marsden Point is situated on the northeast coast of New

Zealand’s North Island. It is here where the country’s most
modern and deepest port was constructed. Offering permanent
shipping access and guaranteeing a continuous increase in traffic,
the harbour is undoubtedly a key factor in the development of
New Zealand’s economy.
The idea of building a new port in this region goes back several
decades. The Northland Port Corporation, which operates the
nearby port of Whangarei, purchased the site in the 1960s when
New Zealand’s forestry was still in its infancy. With the passing
of the years some 190,000 ha of pine forest reached maturity,
resulting in sustained growth of exports of forest products from
Whangarei. Exports were predicted to increase fourfold between
2000 and 2004. Port Whangarei, whose wharf structures were
not designed to carry today’s heavy handling equipment, is
incapable of handling this growth.

The new deepwater port was completed in 2002 after a construction time of less than 2 years.

124
 26.00 Reinforced
concrete deck Fender
Pavement +5.00
AZ 26 Sand fill MHW +2.60
L = 7.50 m MLW +0.50
±0.00

-3.30 Wave and scour

protection layer

Existing sea bed -8.00

Filter layer

AZ 36 - 13.00 Design dredge level

L = 30.0 m -14.50 Future dredge level

6.00 6.00
Pile
Ø 710 mm

-25.50 Pile
Ø 610 mm

The originally planned HZ/AZ quay wall was replaced by a more economical AZ 36 wall.

The port accepts draughts of merely nine metres, which is

inconsistent with the evolution of modern shipping fleets.
Furthermore this capacity can only be assured at the cost of
regular dredging. More recently the port has faced a shortage of
dumping sites for the dredged material. These arguments made
the construction of a new deepwater port unavoidable.
Northport, a joint venture between Northland Port Corporation
and Port of Tauranga, teamed up with Australasia’s largest forest-
products company, Carter Holt Harvey, for land operations at the
planned new port. Following nearby construction of a very large
laminated veneer lumber plant aimed principally at the export
market, Carter Holt Harvey undertook a firm commitment to
ship one million metric tons of wood and derivative products
from the new port in its first five years of operation. A growing
range of other exports were soon handled by the port. The
annual cargo volume reached 2.8 million metric tons in 2005
including agricultural produce, fertilisers, cement and containers
The project’s design lifetime of 50 years called for two layers
of tar-free epoxy coating. as well as wood.
Thorough studies concerning hydrographic and environmental
aspects of the site had already been carried out in the 1970s.
The area where the new port was built is situated between two
inactive faults; its favourable geological conditions facilitated the
construction works. The soil consists of alluvium, essentially sand,
with rare peaty areas, all overlying deep greywacke and argillite
bedrock. This meant not only that reclamation could go ahead
without any preparatory dredging but also that the dredged soil
from the turning basin could be used as backfill material: several
million cubic metres of sand were placed behind a 1,700-m
embankment standing between 3 and 16 metres high. The
embankment was also built from readily available local materials,
mainly sand, and was protected by heavy rocks. Consolidation
The main retaining wall was driven from a Flexifloat S-70 jack-up barge.
of the structure was achieved by loading the top of the
embankment up to a height of two metres with backfill material
before levelling it off to build the pavement.

125
 Proper alignment of the piles was achieved with a template. Corrosion-protection tape was wrapped around the anchors.

Construction of the new deepwater port began in October

2000. Less than two years later, in June 2002, the first ship was
able to dock at Northport. The second berth was completed
only a few months after the first berth came into service. The
project was built under a NZ$ 30 million fixed-price design-
and-build contract. The new port includes a 50-ha cargo-
marshalling area (32 of which were to be on reclaimed land)
and a 390-m wharf with two mooring spots able to handle
65,000-t bulk carriers with maximum lengths of 230 m and
maximum draughts of 13 m. Fletcher Construction Company Ltd
The driving gear consisted of a vibratory hammer... was the design-and-build contractor, with Beca Carter Hollings
and Ferner the designer. Initially an HZ/AZ combined sheet pile
wall was proposed for the retaining wall to both contain the
adjacent reclamation and support the rear of the wharf deck.
The deck consists of a cast-in-place reinforced-concrete flat slab
supported on the seaward side by two rows of concrete-filled
steel pipe piles. However, BCHF’s final design substituted the
combined sheet pile wall with a more cost-efficient AZ 36 wall.
The design takes account of the high loads present (dead load of
85 kN/m, live load of 240 kN/m). The considerable width of the
AZ piles chosen (1.26 m per double pile) is an advantage in terms
of construction productivity. Although manufactured on the
... and a hydraulic hammer. other side of the world, the 3,000 t of sheet piles used for the
Northport project were supplied to the site within 3 months.
The 30-m-high main retaining wall made of AZ 36 sheet piles
was driven 16 m into the prevalent sand, the lower five metres
of which are of a very compact nature. Two 15-m-high retaining
Owner:
Northland Port Corporation,
walls connect the main quay wall to the backfilled embankments.
Port of Tauranga and Carter Holt Harvey The AZ 36 sheet piles were anchored by 26-m tie rods to a
7.5-m-high deadman wall made of double AZ 26 sheet piles.
Designer:
Beca Carter Hollings & Ferner Limited (BCHF) The main retaining wall and the deadman wall were connected
Contractor: by 60-mm-diameter steel tie rods provided by Anker Schroeder,
FIetcher Construction Company Ltd consisting of two 13.45-m bars joined by a threaded coupler.
Steel grade: Continuous steel-channel walers were bolted to the sheet piles
S 430 GP by a team of divers who also installed the tie rods.
Sheet piles: The site’s geology and the depths involved meant there were
AZ 36, L = 30 m; AZ 26, L = 7.5 m no particular problems regarding pile driving. The main retaining
Total quantity of sheet piles: wall was driven from a Flexifloat S-70 jack-up barge using a
3,000 metric tons PTC 50 HL vibratory hammer operated with a P&H 5100 crane.
In case of refusal prior to design penetration into the compact
sand, a 9-t Junttan hydraulic hammer was used to complete the
driving process.

126
Several exporting companies soon began to use the new port, making further expansion plans unavoidable.

A guide frame with two supporting levels 8 m apart guaranteed

the required alignment. The template was held in place with
steel tubes that were driven until refusal with the same driving
gear that installed the sheet piles. Nine pairs of AZ 36 piles were
inserted into the guide frame and driven in panels to ensure the
required verticality was achieved. The deadman’s AZ 26 sheet
piles did not require driving: they were simply set up from the
embankment and propped until enough sand had been placed on
both sides.
With a design life of 50 years, special care was taken to provide
adequate corrosion protection of the wall’s most critical parts:
the intertidal zone and the top of the immersion zone, which
coincides with the level of the tie rods. The sheet piles were
coated with two 175-µm layers of a tar-free epoxy coating
known as Altra Tar. Once assembled, the tie rods were wrapped
with Denso Ultraflex corrosion-protection tape, with heat-shrink
The 390-m wharf was completed with sleeves around the couplers.
returning walls at each end.
Right from the outset, plans were made for two further berths
drawing 14.5 m. Construction of Berth No 3 started at the
end of 2005 using a combined sheet pile solution delivered by
ArcelorMittal.

Due to the success of

the Northport project,
ArcelorMittal also
supplied the sheet piles
for the 2005/2006
construction of the port’s
new Berth No 3.

127
 Disclaimer:

The data and commentary contained within this steel sheet piling document is for general information purposes only. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
ArcelorMittal Commercial RPS S.à r.l. shall not be held responsible for any errors, omissions or misuse of any of the enclosed information and hereby disclaims
any and all liability resulting from the ability or inability to use the information contained within. Anyone making use of this material does so at his/her own risk. In no event will
ArcelorMittal Commercial RPS S.à r.l. be held liable for any damages including lost profits, lost savings or other incidental or consequential damages arising from use of or inability
to use the information contained within. Our sheet pile range is liable to change without notice.

Edition 2021 - Printed on FSC paper.

The FSC label certifies that the wood comes from forests or plantations
that are managed in a responsible and sustainable way
(the FSC principles promote the social, economical, environmental
and cultural needs of today’s and the next generations).
www .fsc .org

128
ArcelorMittal Commercial RPS S.à r.l.
Sheet Piling
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