Eiffel Trading 101: Cover Plated Sheet Pile

There are several variations of sheet pile sections manufactured today. You have PZ, AZ, PZC, NZ, Hoesch and several other types of sheet pile. Each manufacturer has designed sheet pile to meet a wide range of section modulus'. There are sheet pile with low section modulus and sheet pile with high section modulus. What happens when your design calls for a high section modulus, but you can't find a sheet pile section that can meet the design? One solution is to weld a cover plate to the face of the sheet pile.

A cover plate is a strip of steel plate that is welded onto the front face of the sheet pile. The plate extends the range of the sheet pile by increasing the moment capacity in the area where the design moment exceeds the capacity of the sheet pile. A thicker plate will typically increase the section modulus of your sheet pile. The length of the plate is dependent upon the moment curve.

You will need to consult with your engineer to figure out the specifics for the exact dimensions of the plate needed to increase the section modulus of your sheet pile. The engineer will design the plate size (thickness, length, width) and weld detail. As mentioned above, the thickness of the plate is where your section modulus increase will come from.

From time to time we have used sheet pile listed with cover plate already attached. You can view our steel plate and sheet pile inventory anytime. If you have any questions or would like additional information, please call 1-800-541-7998 or email us at sales@eiffeltrading.com.

Cheers,

Andrew

Andrew Norman is one of the co-founders of Eiffel Trading. His background is in Heavy-Civil and Marine Construction in Project Management and Procurement. He has worked extensively with sheet pile during wastewater treatment plant, dam and flood protection construction.