Reliability Comparison for Sheet‐Pile Cellular Structures

Abstract

A sheet‐pile cellular structure is constructed by arranging straight web sheet piles in a cylindrical shape and filling the enclosed volume with soil. The structure may be used singly as a mooring structure in a harbor, or several may be interconnected to form a retaining structure or cofferdam. The results of a reliability study on sheet‐pile cellular structures are reported and a sensitivity analysis is conducted. The study is based on design and instrumentation data from four cell structures representing the current state of the art for cell structure design. Each structure is analyzed for performance with regard to the bursting, vertical shear, and sliding failure modes. The results indicate that bursting is the most likely failure mode for cell structures that are designed according to the present state of the art. Further analysis indicates that the results are sensitive to changes in several of the input parameters, but that the basic findings are unchanged within the range of changes in the sensitivity analysis.