What are the advantages and disadvantages of steel piles?

What is a steel pile?

Steel pipe piles are a simple type of pile. Prefabricated steel pipe structures are usually driven into the ground or underwater using large impact hammers. Piles remain in place primarily by friction with the soil. All pipe ends shall be equipped with plain ends. Pile design will vary depending on ground conditions and support requirements, allowing the pile system to be adapted to any specific needs. Because steel pipe piles can withstand extremely heavy loads, and the right steel material can make them virtually impervious to environmental conditions.

What are the advantages of steel piles?

1. Various specifications

Steel piles have a variety of options. At present, the steel pipe piles on the market are produced in a variety of specifications. In terms of diameter, the maximum is 2500mil and the minimum is 316mm. In terms of wall thickness, the maximum is 25mill and the minimum is 6.5mm. During the construction period, the most suitable application can be selected from a variety of specifications based on the actual stress conditions, so that the strength of the steel pipe column can be fully exerted to meet the safety and economic requirements of the project.

2. Strong carrying capacity

Most of the steel pipe columns used in project construction at this stage are low carbon steel. This material has strong capabilities in many aspects such as shear strength, tensile strength, and compression resistance. After being processed into a steel pipe, it has excellent bending resistance. It has a high level and is suitable for application in geological environments with strong bearing layers, so that its stress characteristics can be fully utilized to optimize the bearing capacity of single piles, reduce the size of the foundation cap, and reduce the total number of piles.

3.Easy to adjust pile length

The conventional length of each section of steel pipe column is 6m, which is extended by welding. If the burial depth of the bearing layer changes, the steel pipe pile can be welded or cut according to the pile sinking situation. The steel pipe pile is cut out from the steel pipe column. Some of them can also be used in the welding of other steel pipe columns, which avoids waste of resources. It can also accurately control the design elevation of the pile top, which is conducive to the progress of construction operations.

What are the disadvantages of steel piles?

The disadvantages of steel pipe piles are the large amount of steel, high project cost, complex pile driving equipment, high vibration and noise, poor protection of pile materials and easy corrosion, etc. Therefore, the appropriate steel pipe pile should be selected according to the actual situation.

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