Sheet pile driving or vibrating: when do you choose which method?

A sheet pile can be driven into the ground in various ways. The two most common methods are vibrating and pressing. Below you can read what the methods entail, what soil and environment they are suitable for, and how a final choice is made.

Wat is het verschil tussen damwand drukken en damwand trillen? 

The difference lies in the way the sheet pile is driven into the ground. A sheet pile can be installed in the ground by vibratory driving, pressing, or hammering. Each method is suited to a different soil type and environment. 

• Vibration piling A vibratory hammer clamps onto the sheet pile and shakes it rapidly back and forth, temporarily reducing the friction between the steel and the ground. This causes the pile to sink to depth. Fast and cost-effective, especially in sandy soil.
• Sheet pile pressures A hydraulic machine presses the sheet pile calmly and statically into the ground, without impact or vibration. This method is often chosen when vibrations or noise need to be minimised as much as possible. Think of inner-city construction pits, existing quay walls, railways and sensitive adjacent buildings.
• Driving sheet piles (piling) A pile driver brings the pile to depth with successive blows. Needed in hard, dense layers, but with the most vibration and the most noise of the three. 

A distinct variant of vibration is the resonance technique: a vibration method that operates at high frequency and is therefore virtually vibration-free. This is used when the speed of vibration is required, but the vibrations need to be limited.

In brief: when vibrating, execution speed is often central. When pressing, controlling vibrations and environmental risks is more often central. The final choice depends on several factors such as soil, depth, wall profile, environment, and project specifications.

Sheet pile vibration: how does it work and when is it applicable?

When vibrating, a vibratory hammer clamps onto the plank and moves it up and down very quickly. In loose, water-saturated sand, the grains momentarily lose their grip, allowing the plank to sink. High-frequency vibratory hammers rotate at approximately 2,000 to 2,800 revolutions per minute. 

A quieter variant, the resonance technique, works at 100 to 180 Hz and is almost vibration-free, but it remains a vibration method: you use it where pressing would otherwise be necessary, for example, in the city centre, alongside railway lines and near monuments.  

Trillingen hebben drie aandachtspunten.

• Does it comply with the vibration directive? The vibrations go into the ground and the area of influence often extends to tens of metres. Whether it is permitted, you test against the SBR Vibration Guideline A. The target value depends on the property: adjacent to masonry in good condition around 15 mm/s, adjacent to a monument or property in poor condition around 8 mm/s, and adjacent to well-reinforced concrete up to 40 mm/s. Sheet pile driving counts as continuous vibration, with stricter values than short-term work.
• Settling in loose sand. The shaking can compact loose sand. This can cause the ground under a neighbouring property or paved area to subside slightly, and a few centimetres is enough to cause damage.
• Stalling in dense layers. If the plank encounters a dense sand or gravel layer, it won't advance easily. Pre-drilling, water flushing, or hammering is then necessary.

Good to realise: vibratory piling is mainly the standard in open terrain on sandy soils. In precisely the urban, sensitive and track-related projects where anchoring is involved, vibratory piling often falls by the wayside, in favour of pressing or resonance piling.

Example: temporary coffer dam on open ground. A construction pit on a business park, in loose and wet sand, with ample clearance from buildings and pipes. Vibrating is often the quickest and cheapest choice here. The wall is quickly installed, after which the excavation can commence in phases. 

Sheet piling: how does it work and when is it applied? 

When pressing, a machine gently pushes the sheet pile into the ground. No bangs, no shaking. The machine clamps onto the existing sheet piles and uses them as counterforce. This way, it presses the next sheet pile into depth and moves itself step by step along the wall. This is called the walk-on-pile principle.  

Because no vibration or impact is involved, printing is virtually vibration-free and quiet. Modern printing techniques achieve noise levels below approximately 66 dB. Therefore, quiet zones are preferred in the city, next to monuments or hospitals, and along the railway line.

Pushing is effective in soft and lightly cohesive soils and in confined spaces. However, it has its limits: in very dense layers, the pushing force is insufficient. Press-in machines can generally be used up to a tip resistance of approximately 20 MPa. Above this, pre-drilling or fluidisation is required: flushing the ground with water so that the sheet pile can be driven in more easily.  

The downside: printing is generally slower than vibrating and requires specialised equipment. This often means higher costs. The trade-off is therefore simple to state, but not always easy to make: managing nuisance versus speed and cost.

Example: retaining wall half a metre from homes. A wall immediately next to existing homes, in a thick sand layer with a cone resistance locally exceeding 20 MPa. In a documented pilot study (Cement magazine) was printed there with a water pressure of 75 bar to penetrate the dense layer, without burdening the homes with vibrations.

Sheet pile driving or vibrating: how to choose

The method arises from the combination of ground, surrounding environment and final depth. It is an implementation choice, but one that you already take into account during the design phase. The wall, the subsoil, the required depth and the impact on the surrounding environment are all part of this. 

This comparison helps with the choice between vibratory piling, pressing and impact driving:

The dB values are indicative levels near the source (Volandis, A-sheet Noise and vibrations during foundation work) and not facade values. The actual level at a neighbouring building depends on equipment, soil, distance and shielding, and will be determined on a project-specific basis in a noise forecast (Circular Construction Noise, Buildings Decree Environmental Quality). The level below 66 dB for pressing is a manufacturer's specification.

Common misconceptions about sheet pile driving and vibration

The choice between pressing and vibrating is full of rules of thumb that are often used too absolutely. Four of the most common misunderstandings:

“Pushing is always better than vibrating”
That is not correct. Compaction restricts vibrations, but is not always technically, practically or economically the most logical choice. Under favourable environmental conditions, vibrating can actually be an efficient method.

“A driven sheet pile does not need to be anchored.”
The installation method does not state whether a sheet pile needs to be anchored. Anchoring depends on soil and water pressure, excavation depth, load, deformation requirements, and service life.

“Vibrations can never occur in inner-city areas”
That's also absolutely true. In an urban environment, vibration does require careful assessment of vibrations, adjacent buildings, pipelines, and nuisance. In some projects, monitoring or additional measures are necessary.

“The method of execution determines the type of ground anchor.”
The execution method influences the project context, but the type of anchor is determined by design load, soil structure, duration of use, corrosion protection, and project-specific requirements.

To make the trade-offs practical, the decision tree below can help.

Decision Tree: Drive Sheet Piles or Vibrate Sheet Piles

1. Is the environment sensitive to vibrations? Consider easements, monuments, tracks or pipelines. If so, research pressure or resonance techniques.
2. Is the ground sandy, wet, and is there space? Damping is often the fastest and cheapest option, provided the vibrations are manageable.
3. Is there a dense layer in the way? (high cone resistance)? Count on pre-drilling, fluidising or ramming for the final metres.
4. Does the wall belong to a deep excavation? Assess whether a brace or anchor is needed.

The table and the decision tree provide an initial direction. In practice, the choice is determined by a combination of geotechnical investigation, environmental analysis, structural design, and implementation plan. The executing party makes the final choice, often combining methods. ArcelorMittal describes, for example, that a vibratory hammer works well in sand and gravel, but doesn't reach the last few metres in clay or a very dense sand layer. For that last section, an impact hammer or pre-drilling comes into play.  

The choice that truly matters: anchoring 

No matter how the sheet pile is driven into the ground, one question remains that is crucial for the construction. Can the sheet pile withstand the pressure of the soil and water on its own, or not?

The first question in this regard is whether it can be unanchored, or if one or more anchor layers are needed, and if so, at what depth. The deeper the excavation, the sooner multiple anchor layers or props will be required. An anchor transfers the tensile force to a stable soil layer behind the wall, beyond the slip plane. The decision tree below helps in making a choice.

For sheet pile anchors, frequently mooring anchors an efficient solution: a lot of power in a slim profile and a clear construction pit, without props in the way. Deepro delivers ETA-certified string anchors, where the entire system is assessed as a whole, not as separate parts. For railway applications, where stray currents are a factor, an electrically insulated version exists.

Are you involved in a sheet pile construction project where anchoring is part of the design? Contact Deepro for technical advice.

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