Journal of Constructional Steel Research 60 (2004) 401410 www.elsevier.

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Analysis of reduced modulus action in U-section steel sheet piles

M.P. Byeld , R.W. Mawer
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Southampton University, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK

Abstract U-section steel sheet piles are commonly used for constructing retaining walls in marine environments and have been in widespread use throughout the world for most of the 20th century. Relatively recently, concern has been raised about the bending strength of this pile section, because U-section piles are connected together by interlocking joints located along the pile wall centreline. As the piles resist bending moments, inter-pile movement can signicantly increase bending stresses. When this occurs, the wall is said to have exhibited reduced modulus action (RMA), reducing the bending strength and stiness below the fully composite values normally assumed during design. In view of this concern, the recently introduced Eurocode 3: Part 5 has introduced strength reduction factors to account for the eect of RMA during design. The work presented herein has been carried out in order to provide more information as to the values that should be selected for these reduction factors. The work is based on the experimental testing of one-eighth-scale miniature piles. # 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Codes of practice and standards; Piles and piling; Reduced modulus action; Retaining walls; Steel structures; Substructures; U-section piling

1. Introduction Steel sheet pile walls are used extensively around the world. The two main sections used in the industry are the Larssen or U-section and Frodingham or Z-section piles. Both types are connected together by interlocks running the length of the pile, which allow the sections to be slotted together to form continuous walls. The introduction of Eurocode 3: Part 5 by CEN [1] has raised concern about the

Corresponding author. Tel.: +44-23-805-946-51; fax: +44-23-806-775-519. E-mail address: mpb@soton.ac.uk (M.P. Byeld).

0143-974X/$ - see front matter # 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/S0143-974X(03)00119-6

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occurrence of slippage along the interlock of U-section piles. If the sections are allowed to move relative to one another, the bending strength of the pair will fall. This is called reduced modulus action (RMA) and can reduce the elastic bending strength by 70% of the strength of the composite pair. The earliest work referenced concerning the reduced bending strength caused by RMA in U-section steel sheet piles was by Lohmeyer in 1934 [2]. The paper proposes a mathematical model that attempts to quantify the eect that the incomplete transfer of shear caused by inter-pile movement has on bending strength. The theory and calculations are inuenced by similar work carried out around the same time by Blum in 1931 [3]. Lohmeyers model applies conventional elastic long beam theory to U-section piles and considers two boundary cases for shear transfer. These are the full shear transfer condition (Fig. 1A) and zero shear transfer (Fig. 1B). This approach recognised that in reality interlock friction will result in the partial transfer of shear in the interlocks, producing a stress distribution lying within the region bounded by the full and zero shear transfer conditions (Fig. 1C). Lohmeyers analysis provides a reasonable approach to quantifying how the transfer of shear force to adjacent piles is proportional to their strength, but fails to determine if RMA is a regular feature of U-section pile walls and the conditions under which it may occur are left undened. Whilst the model does not attempt to predict the conditions in which RMA is likely to occur, it is observed that the most likely cause of failure is insucient driving. Lohmeyers method was reintroduced more recently by Williams and Little [4], whose eld observations of bending stresses in full-scale piles conrmed the presence of RMA. Further work in this eld was carried out by Schillings and Boeraeve [5], Wolersdorf [6], and most notably

Fig. 1. Cases of shear transfer in pile sections.

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by the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, where a large-scale eld test was carried out by Hartmann-Linden et al. [7]. The British Standard BS8002 [8] denes a range of soil conditions that are likely to lead to RMA. In situations dened as prone to RMA, engineers are advised to drive the piles in crimped pairs. Crimping involves the pressing together of the common pair interlocks to preventing inter-pile movement. Structural testing of crimped U-section piles by Hartmann-Linden has identied a phenomenon known as oblique bending. This occurs due to the asymmetric shape of a crimped pair of piles and can lead to a 24% loss of bending strength. These results have led to an inclusion in the Eurocode of an allowance for oblique bending which downgrades bending strength. Recent research by Crawford and Byeld [9] provides a method for predicting the bending stresses in crimped pairs of U-piles, and shows that the eects of oblique bending can be largely ignored where piles are restrained against sideways movement. It is often easier to install piles in singles, rather than crimped pairs. For this and other reasons, it has been common practice in many countries including in the UK to ignore RMA during design. The anecdotal evidence from this widespread practice is that problems from RMA are rare and isolated to a well-dened set of circumstances, such as those that are clearly dened in BS8002 [8]. However, this anecdotal evidence from practice runs contrary to evidence from ` the laboratory. Experimental tests carried out at the University of Liege in Belgium [5] clearly showed that interlock friction has only a minor eect on bending strength. These tests were carried out in three-point bending and the specimens were fabricated from steel plate or section onto which the clutches from piles were welded, thus forming miniature pile sections, see Fig. 2. These piles were tested elastically to investigate the eect that interlocks lled with sand had on bending strength. The tests demonstrated that the frictional eect of sand raised the bending stiness of the piles by between 2% and 14%, depending on the density of the sand pressed into the interlocks. However, it can be argued that these tests provide only a partial model of the behaviour of restrained U-pile walls because: (a) The specimens were smaller than conventional U-section piles, being only 1 m long, whereas in practice piles are typically 15 m in length. The depth of the test piles was also signicantly less than found in practice. The combination of short length and shallow depth produced relative displacements between the

` Fig. 2. Sketch of tests carried out to investigate RMA at University of Liege [5].

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Fig. 3. Realistic loading arrangement for permanent steel sheet pile wall.

(b)

(c)

(d) (e)

piles of less than 1 mm. This is in contrast to the several centimetres of displacement that a full-scale pile wall should be expected to develop during the development of RMA. The small relative displacements may have been insufcient to generate the full frictional force in the sand introduced into the fullscale interlocks tested. The loading arrangement used three-point bending (Fig. 2). This is signicantly dierent to the loading conditions typical in practical retaining walls, in which a complicated arrangement of active and passive pressures (Fig. 3) creates two or three points of contra-exure. Furthermore, the position of maximum shear force is typically located away from the ends of the piles, whereas the maximum shear forces from three-point bending are adjacent to the free ends of the specimens. Therefore, three-point bending may present a situation more conducive to RMA than that found in practical pile walls. Practical restrained steel sheet piles usually have a capping beam at the head of the piles. Capping beams are commonly formed from reinforced concrete and ` will in eect prevent inter-pile movement at the pile head. The Liege tests did not assess if the resulting restraint against inter-pile movement has a signicant inuence on strength. The eect of friction between the surface of the piles and the soil is not assessed, but is likely to inuence the development of RMA. The eect of corrosion at the interlocks on the transmission of shear between the piles is not assessed.

Fig. 4. Dimensions of test specimens.

M.P. Byeld, R.W. Mawer / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 60 (2004) 401410 Table 1 Section properties of test specimens shown in Fig. 4 Single pile Area (mm2) Second moment of area (mm4) Elastic section modulus (mm3) 341.57 41,390 1807

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Non-composite pair Composite pair of of piles piles 683.15 82,780 3614.3 683.15 339,441 12,011.7

` Because of these factors, it is likely that the Liege tests provide a lower-bound estimate of the potential that interlock friction has for moderating the eect of RMA. Despite this potential conservatism, the results have been used as the basis of substantial strength and stiness reduction factors applied to U-pile design for the recently introduced Eurocode 3: Part 5. The resulting factors lead to a reduction in bending strength of up to 45% and a reduction in stiness of up to 65%. Clearly, this downgrading in performance has implications on the economic viability of U-section steel sheet piles. This paper presents results from the testing of one-eighth-scale piles extruded from aluminium. The scale pile tests simulate the complex bending eects found in practical pile walls and thus attempt to discover if some of the factors listed (a)(e) signicantly eect the bending strength of U-section piles.

2. Experimental testing U-section piles are amongst the largest hot rolled sections available. A single pile is typically 600 mm wide and lengths range up to 30 m. Given the resulting diculties associated with full-scale testing, the tests reported herein were carried out using scale model piles. The cross-section of the test specimens is sketched in Fig. 4 and the geometric properties are dened in Table 1. The test piles were designed to interlock to form a box section so that no interlocks are left unconnected. Free interlocks were avoided because local buckling of the free interlocks would have initiated premature failure in the piles.

Fig. 5. The loading arrangement used during the experimental testing.

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Fig. 6. Dimensions of loading arrangement.

The general arrangement of the test set-up is sketched in Fig. 5, with the exact positions of the loading points shown in Fig. 6. Load was applied to a primary loading beam that was supported by two secondary beams, both of which had PVC reaction points that loaded a total of four nal loading beams. PTFE bearings between the four nal loading beams and the test specimens were used to achieve low friction bearings. This loading system produced a triangular distribution of loads similar to that found in an actual steel sheet pile retaining wall, see Fig. 7. The corresponding distribution of bending moments for a total load of 1 kN is sketched in Fig. 8. A photograph of the test set-up is shown in Fig. 9, in which a total of four vertical lateral restraints can be seen. These stabilise the loading arrangement without signicantly introducing friction sites, because PTFE strips cover the interface

Fig. 7. Load distribution per 1 kN of total load applied centrally.

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Fig. 8. Distribution of bending moments (for 1 kN of applied load).

between the supports and the loading beams and test specimens. In total, ve sets of tests are reported. These include: Test 1Interlocks greased. Test 2Plain sections. Test 3Interlocks lled with ungraded sand. Test 4Interlocks lled with ungraded sand and riveted at the head of the piles (a total of six 4 mm diameter pop rivets passing through 4.1 mm holes drilled through the interlocks to prevent slippage and simulate the eect of a capping beam).

Fig. 9. View of test set-up.

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Fig. 10. Load vs. deection.

Test 5Interlocks riveted (3.2 mm diameter rivets passing through 3.2 mm holts drilled through interlocks on both sides at 100 mm centres).

3. Results and discussion The load vs. deection responses recorded during the tests are shown in Fig. 10. Furthermore, the ultimate bending strengths and stinesses (recorded during the initial linear elastic region) are listed in Table 2. A brief inspection of these results shows that a signicant improvement in stiness has been achieved by the addition of sand to the interlocks. In addition, RMA did not signicantly aect ultimate bending strength. Test 1 (greased interlocks) provides the benchmark test. Comparison between the expected and observed deections showed that the grease was successful in removing interlock friction, thus allowing the full eects of RMA to develop. Test 2 was carried out on plain (ungreased) aluminium piles. Whilst the piles were free to slide along the interlocks, friction was responsible for a 16% increase in stiness
Table 2 Test results Load/displacement (N/mm) Test 1: Greased interlocks Test 2: Plain interlocks Test 3: Sand lled interlocks Test 4: Sand and rivets at pile head Test 5: Riveted interlocks 137.68 159.92 164.61 220.04 386.12 Ultimate load capacity (kN) 15.33 17.40 19.87 15.54 16.35

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(in comparison with Test 1). Tests 3 and 4 were carried out with sand introduced into the interlocks. Test 3 showed that the sand increased the bending stiness by 20%. Test 4 was carried out with the interlocks riveted at the head of the piles to simulate the eect of a capping beam and stiness was observed to be 60% higher than that for Test 1. The original tests by Schillings and Boeraeve [5], carried out to assess the eects of interlock friction on the development of RMA, showed that sand introduced into the interlocks is capable of increasing the bending stiness by between 2% and 12%. Tests 24 may have demonstrated higher stinesses because of the triangular distribution of load used during the tests, which more accurately models the loading commonly found in practice, in which the active and passive pressure distributions may in eect help to clamp the base of the piles (Fig. 3). This clamping eect will raise the reactions between the piles and therefore generate relatively high friction forces. This conclusion is justied from observations made during the tests. No interlock slippage was observed at the toe of the piles during Test 2, although signicant inter-pile movement was observed at the pile head. Furthermore, zero movement in the interlocks was observed at either the head or toe of the specimen during Test 4. Thus, the tests presented herein provide an explanation as to why the tests carried out in support of the development of Eurocode 3: Part 5 showed only a marginal impact on RMA from interlock friction. As would be expected, Test 1 (greased sections) showed the lowest ultimate bending strength of all the tests. Test 2 (plain sections) showed a 13.5% increase in ultimate bending strength. Test 3 (sand lled interlocks) produced the highest ultimate bending strength, showing an increase of 30% over the greased sections. However, both Tests 4 and 5 produced bending strengths similar to that for Test 1. The sections tested were relatively slender in cross-sections and failed due to local buckling of either the ange or the web. U-section piles are generally class 1 or 2 in classication. It is therefore not possible to make direct conclusions concerning the eect of RMA on the plastic moment of resistance. However, RMA should have reduced the bending strength of the test piles because the ratio between the elastic bending strength of the pair of piles acting compositely vs. the non-composite elastic strength of the pair is 3.3 to 1 (see Table 1). Therefore, RMA should theoretically have led to signicant reduction in strength. The absence of any signicant strength reduction may help to explain why RMA has a clear impact in theory, but has rarely been observed in practice.

4. Conclusions This paper presents data from scaled tests on U-section piles. These are used to assess the eect that dierent interlock conditions have on the strength and stiness of U-section piles. The testing builds on similar tests [5] carried out in support of the development of Eurocode 3: Part 5, in which the presence of sand in the interlocks was shown to increase stiness by between 2% and 12%. The present work provides evidence that the previous research may have provided a conservative esti-

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mate of the stiening eect of sand in the interlocks. The test results presented herein reveal that there is a great advantage in preventing slippage at the head of a pile wall, for example by a reinforced concrete capping beam. Tests demonstrate that considerable interlock friction is developed at the toe of the pile by the clamping eect of active and passive pressures simulated during the experiments. This eectively prevents relative movement at both ends of the piles and leads to a 60% increase in stiness in comparison with greased sections. References
[1] CEN Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures, Part 5: Piling. BSI, London, UK, 1996. [2] Lohmeyer E. Discussion to Analysis of sheet pile bulkheads by P. Baumann. Proc Am Soc Civ Eng 1934;61(3):34755. [3] Blum. Einspannungsverhaeltnisse bei Bohlwerken. Berlin: Wilhelm Ernst & Sohn; 1931. [4] Williams SGO, Little JA. Structural behaviour of steel piles interlocked at the centre of gravity of the combined section. Proc Inst Civ Eng Struct Bldg 1992;94(2):22938. [5] Schillings R, Boeraeve P. Design rules for steel sheet pilesECSC Project 7210-SA 127/523/840. ` CRIF Department of Steel Construction, Liege, Belgium, 1996. [6] von Wolersdorf PA. Verformungsprongnosen fur Stutzkonstruktionen. Germany: Universitat Fri dericiana in Kalrsruhe; 1997. [7] Hartmann-Linden R, et al. ECSC-Project 7210-SA 127/523/840: nal report. Development of rules for steel sheet piles and introduction into Eurocode 3: Part 5. RWTH Aachen, Germany, 1997. [8] BS8002: Earth retaining structures, BSI, London, 1994. [9] Crawford RJ, Byeld MP. A numerical model for predicting the bending strength of Larssen steel sheet piles. Proceedings of the Conference on Structural Engineering, Mechanics and Computation (SEMC), Capetown. 2001, p. 393400.