Abstract
The IGF project 21438/1480 "Three-dimensional load bearing behaviour of combined steel sheet pile walls " was conducted from January 1, 2021, to March 30, 2024. The research project was subdivided into five work packages (WP) and was executed together with the Institute of Structural Design (University of Stuttgart, FE 1) and the Institute of Geotechnical Engineering and Construction Management (Hamburg University of Technology, FE 2).
The design methods for steel sheet pile walls required optimization on both the load and resistance sides. On the load-bearing side, the formation of horizontal and vertical arching effects had not been sufficiently considered. Simultaneously, there was a need for practical clarification in the design process regarding earth pressure and structural resistance, particularly in both vertical and horizontal directions.
The Institute of Structural Design undertook a series of numerical and experimental investigations to evaluate the influence of the stiffness of infill sheets on the overall system stiffness, as well as to examine the plate bending behaviour of the infill sheets under non-uniform load distribution. The findings indicated that, by accounting for the uneven load distribution across the infill sheets, significantly higher load-bearing capacities could be achieved for the local design compared to conventional design methods. This resulted in substantial optimization potential within the design process. Furthermore, modifications to the simplified interaction equation for buckling under combined bending and axial loading, as well as to the M-N interaction for Z-shaped infill sheets, were analysed. These findings have been incorporated into the latest Eurocode generation (EN 1993-5). Specifically, the M-N interaction for Z-shaped steel sheet piles was revised, and the application of more favourable buckling curves was implemented.
The Institute of Geotechnical Engineering and Construction Management conducted extensive investigations into the three-dimensional load distribution behind the combined sheet pile wall, the arching effects of earth pressure induced by quay plate piles, and the mechanisms of resistance in vertical load transfer into the ground.
Numerical simulations and prototype testing indicated the formation of both vertical and horizontal arching mechanisms. A computational model and a surface-based approach were developed to precisely quantify the vertical resistance, and a model for the arching effect was also formulated.
Project Team
Research Center 1:
University of Stuttgart
Institute of Structural Design
Pfaffenwaldring 7, 70569 Stuttgart
Tel.: +49 711 / 685-66245
Head of Institute: Univ. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ulrike Kuhlmann
Research Center 2:
Hamburg University of Technology
Institute of Geotechnical Engineering and Construction Management
Harburger Schloßstraße 20
21079 Hamburg
Tel.: +49 (0)40 / 42878-3762
Head of Institute: Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jürgen Grabe
Project Funding
Funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action based on a resolution of the German Bundestag. Research associations: FOSTA e.V. / AIF.
Project Duration
2021-2024
Note
The final report will be available at FOSTA shortly.