Analysis of cold formed steel sheet pile for earth retaining wall.

Abstract

Failure loads of sheet pile having various profiles such as U, Z and Omega/Hat profiles under compression was carried out by using equations of strength of materials and compared the failure load under various modes such as Euler’s buckling, torsional buckling and failure load due to yielding. Compared the strength of various profiles under flexure by using finite element analysis. Sheet pile can be analyzed as a unit cell for the simplified finite element analysis. For selecting the unit cell sheet pile with omega/Hat section was analyzed for profile containing one to eight numbers and checked the convergence of bending stress and maximum lateral deflection. Interlocks were analyzed for three different conditions such as plane interlock, interlock filled with bitumen and welded interlock. Location of interlock and neutral axis of the wall will affect the stability of the structure. Sheet piles with various cross sections were analyzed and studied the shear stress and bending stress along the cross section. From the structural performance of various cross sections omega/hat section can be considered as the most efficient cross section for the cold formed steel sheet pile because of its more load carrying capacity under compression and high torsion resistance and less bending stress. Results from the finite element analysis for the selection of unit cell shows that the stress and deflection value was converge at the sheet pile having 6 numbers of profiles.