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Message from the Chair

Welcome to the autumn 2018 issue of the Steel Piling Group newsletter. We have refreshed the newsletter format so you’ll find it more interesting and easier to read. We’ll be sending out a couple of issues per year to keep members updated with SPG activities. Feel free to forward on to colleagues.

Firstly, I would like to thank Colin Jacobs as out-going Chair of the Steel Piling Group for his drive and hard work leading the relaunch of the group. We have achieved much in the last year and I am enthusiastic about the activities we have for the year ahead.

I warmly welcome Myles Bethell (BAM), Mathew Howells (Tony Gee) and Fraser Dick (Doran) to the SPG committee. Also, I thank Andrew Bond (Geocentrix), Rob Mould (BAM) and Dave Rowbottom (British Steel), who have stepped down from the committee, for all their valued contributions over many years. The committee also recently welcomed POSCO as a new member of the SPG. POSCO is the fifth-largest steel producer in the world and headquartered in Pohang, South Korea.

The steel piling industry continues to innovate. At our AGM meeting SPS Energy GmbH gave an insightful presentation on the research and field trials they have undertaken in Germany for thermal activation of sheet pile walls for heating and cooling adjacent to water bodies. Also, recently at the EFFC-DFI Rome 2018 conference I met with the inventor of a new vibrationless steel piling installation method that uses a high frequency piston cylinder to oscillate the steel pile at its natural frequency. I’ve invited the European distributor to present at our November meeting.

We are also continuing to develop our website as a portal of steel piling knowledge and are soon to be adding a Downloads page with our technical advisory notes and reports freely available to the industry. Do have a look at these documents and let us know if there are any other technical areas where an independent and reviewed advice would be helpful.

Next year will be an important year for the evolution of Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures - Part 5: Piling. To fully engage with the Working Group and represent the UK’s interest, we have set up a SPG Mirror Group. More on this below.

Upcoming Events

Meeting Title: SPG Meeting
Date: Thursday 8th November 2018

Our next meeting is at the Royal College of Physicians, Regents Park, London. The meeting will run alongside the SCI UK Steel Construction Day with presentations from industry experts and opportunities to network with the SCI event participants. Recent projects from the steel construction industry will showcase steel solutions transforming construction techniques to dramatically improve efficiency, deliver cost, time and energy savings through innovations in manufacturing and digital technologies. Further details of how to book a place at this seminar will be available on the SCI website.

Featured Case Study

Dawson Construction Plant Ltd

River Wall Strengthening Works

Location: Thames Tideway Worksite, Fulham

Silent, vibration-free sheet pile installation methods were used to construct a river wall through terrace gravels and into London clay as part of the Thames Tideway works in London.  Read about how this was done and see other case studies on the SPG website.

Forthcoming Publication

The Steel Piling Group will soon publish a revised and updated edition of their report on the Durability of Steel Piles.

This document is intended to provide background information on the performance of steel piles when subject to corrosion, best practice worksheets for the design of structures where durability is an important factor and a review of the corrosion phenomenon, as well as protection and prevention methods. In the majority of circumstances steel piles can be used without the need for corrosion protection but in more aggressive environments, protection may be required to ensure that the design life of the structure is achieved in the most economic manner. This document gives an overview of the corrosion process, outlines the corrosion performance of steel piling in various environments, and reviews the protective measures that can be taken to increase the life of steel piles where necessary. This report will be available from the SPG website.

Advisory Notes

Over the years the SPG have produced a number of guidance and technical notes to inform the industry on aspects of steel piling. Since the launch of the new SPG website a programme of review and updating of these has been started. The first results are a series of Technical Advisory Notes that were developed in response to the review of Eurocode EN1993-5 that occurred in 2007 and the publication of a corrigendum in 2009. These are now publicly available on the SPG website Download page.

We will periodically add more guidance in the future, any suggestions for topics would be welcome, email SPG

Eurocode EN 1993-5 Mirror Group

We have recently set up a SPG Mirror Group to support the United Kingdom’s representation on the CEN/TC 250/SC3/WG 18 Evolution of EN 1993-5 – Piling Working Group which next meets on 5th October in Berlin, Germany. The SPG Mirror Group’s first meeting was on the 7th September where there was an active discussion of the comments currently being reviewed by the Working Group.

Group Member David Coyle will become a UK representative on the EN1993-5 Working Group adding to the work done by David Rowbottom.

The group heard the current status of the second generation of Eurocodes and discussed some of the technical issues; this included an in-depth review of the use and determination of factors accounting for the possible reduction of the section modulus of U-piles due to insufficient shear force transmission in the interlocks (so called β values).

The group also heard about the progress of the revision of related standards EN10248 Hot rolled sheet piling of non alloy steels, and EN12063 Execution of special geotechnical work. Sheet pile walls.

The members of the Mirror Group are:
Dave Rowbottom (British Steel)
David Baxter (ArcelorMittal)
Nancy Baddoo (SCI)
Graham Potts (Sheet Piling UK)
Rob Moulds (BAM Nuttall)
Colin Jacobs (ASDO)
David Coyle (Volker)
Fraser Dick (Doran Consulting)
Mathew Howells (Tony Gee & Partners)

Newsletter Subscription

If you wish to subscribe to future newsletters please email secretary@steelpilinggroup.org – we will not use your email address for any other purposes, our privacy policy can be seen here.

Our Sponsors

The Steel Piling Group is a non-profit industry organisation that has developed into a forum that provides a platform for discussion and an outlet for dissemination of steel piling knowledge to the UK industry. The group’s activities are supported by our sponsors whose contact details can be found at the link below. If you would like to join the SPG or become a future sponsor please email Chris Barker at chair@steelpilinggroup.org

Contact Us

For further information, visit our website or connect with us on LinkedIn

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