This week we are sharing a retaining wall project that uses box piles. This type of retaining wall is not so common in China and we hope you enjoy the introduction and the pictures.

Box piles offer exceptional lateral strength and are often selected for demanding permanent retaining walls needed in a shipyard’s dry dock. The box piles are made of two AZ or U-profiles welded back-to-back, and they are interlocked in the same way sheet piles are. Box piles offer excellent water tightness. The installation of box piles is a job for experienced contractors. Compared to sheet piles or other types of combi-walls, verticality requirements are high, and the relatively great pile weight and length also add to the challenge.

Suzhou Dehong took on the job of installing 29.5m long CAZ26-700 box piles at Qidong. 

The box piles will form the walls of a newly constructed dry dock at Cosco Shipping’s expansion project. The main contractor for the job is China Railway Construction Port and Shipping Authority Group. The dry dock will measure 210 x 120 meter and offer a depth of 14.3m.

Suzhou Dehong chose an ICE 1412C for the pile installation. The high frequency of the hammer in combination with the large amplitude avoids the build-up of a plug at the toe pile, this improves the installation speed significantly and allows the contractor to meet the developer’s daily production quota. A compact sand layer is present halfway the pile where the 1412C works at 80% power slowly driving the pile into the layer, after passing this layer installation accelerates again, with the installation completed inside 20 minutes. The 1412C has 230t driving force and forced lubrication that keeps the hammer from overheating during the work.

If you would like to learn more about installing box or other types of retaining walls, please don’t hesitate and calls us today! Our team is ready to take your call!