The characteristics and advantages of steel pipe piles

Date:2024-06-18Tags:seamless steel pipe, welded steel pipe piles, SSAW steel pipe

Steel pipe piles, also known as steel piles, can be made into various sections that are conducive to improving bearing capacity according to load characteristics. The pile ends of tubular and box-shaped piles are often made open to reduce the soil squeezing effect during the pile sinking process. When the axial compressive strength of the pile wall is insufficient, the soil squeezed into the tube and box can be excavated and poured with concrete. Steel pipe piles, as a pile foundation material widely used in foundation engineering construction, have been widely used in buildings, bridges, tunnels and other fields due to their unique structural and material advantages. This article will discuss the advantages of steel pipe piles in detail from multiple angles.


Types and characteristics of steel pipe piles

There are two main types of steel pipe piles: seamless steel pipe piles and welded steel pipe piles. Seamless steel pipe piles have higher integrity and strength due to the lack of welds, and are suitable for engineering environments with high strength requirements. The most commonly used welded steel pipe is SSAW steel pipe. Welded steel pipe piles have been widely used in some projects with low strength requirements due to their low manufacturing cost and high production efficiency.


The main features of steel pipe piles include:

Various specifications: The specifications of steel pipe piles can be customized according to the needs of the project. The diameter of common steel pipe piles on the market ranges from 316mm to 2500mm, and the wall thickness ranges from 6.5mm to 25mm, which meets the requirements of different projects for pile foundation size.

Strong bearing capacity: Steel pipe piles are usually made of low-carbon steel materials with excellent tensile, compressive and shear strength. After processing and forming, steel pipe piles have excellent bending resistance and are suitable for geological environments with strong bearing layers. They can effectively optimize the bearing capacity of single piles, reduce the size of foundation caps, and reduce the total amount of pile foundations.

Easy to adjust the pile length: The length of steel pipe piles can be adjusted by welding or cutting. The conventional length of each section of steel pipe pile is 6m, and the pile length can be flexibly adjusted according to the depth change of the bearing layer. This flexibility not only improves the economic benefits of the project, but also ensures the accurate control of the design elevation of the pile top.

Minor soil squeezing effect: Most steel pipe piles adopt an open design with an opening at the lower end of the pile pipe, so that the soil can enter the pile pipe during the pile sinking process, forming a soil plug effect. Compared with solid piles, steel pipe piles greatly reduce the amount of soil extruded during the piling process, cause less disturbance to the surrounding foundations, and reduce the impact on adjacent buildings (structures).

steel pipe piles

Advantages of steel pipe piles

Light weight and good rigidity: Compared with other pile foundation materials, steel pipe piles are light weight and good rigidity. This makes steel pipe piles more convenient during loading, unloading, transportation and stacking, not easy to be damaged, and improves construction efficiency.

High bearing capacity: The high-strength material and optimized design of steel pipe piles make them not easy to be damaged when driven into hard soil layers, and can obtain a large single pile bearing capacity. Especially in projects that require high bearing capacity, steel pipe piles perform well.

Flexible construction: The length of steel pipe piles can be extended or cut as needed, which greatly improves the flexibility of construction. Especially when encountering changes in the depth of the bearing layer, the pile length can be adjusted quickly to ensure smooth construction.

Little impact on the surrounding environment: The open design of steel pipe piles makes it squeeze less soil during the pile sinking process, reduces the disturbance of the surrounding foundation, and avoids soil uplift and displacement of surrounding structures. This characteristic of steel pipe piles is particularly important especially when close to existing buildings or structures.

Simple joint connection: The joints of steel pipe piles can be welded by electric welding, which is simple to operate, high in strength and safe to use. This connection method not only improves construction efficiency, but also ensures the strength of the joints and ensures the quality of the project.

Reliable project quality and fast construction speed: During the construction of steel pipe piles, the operation is relatively simple and the construction speed is fast, which can effectively shorten the project cycle. At the same time, the high strength and high-quality materials of steel pipe piles ensure the reliability of project quality.


Application of steel pipe piles

Steel pipe piles have been widely used at home and abroad, especially in some special geological conditions, such as coastal and inland alluvial plains. These areas usually have soft soil layers as thick as 50~60m. When the upper structure load is large, conventional pile foundations are difficult to meet the requirements. Therefore, steel pipe piles, as an efficient pile foundation material, have become the preferred solution for foundation reinforcement in these areas.

Construction engineering: In the foundation engineering of high-rise buildings, steel pipe piles can effectively cope with complex geological conditions and provide reliable foundation support with their high bearing capacity and construction flexibility.

Bridge engineering: In bridge foundation engineering, steel pipe piles can withstand large loads with their excellent compression, tension and bending resistance, ensuring the stability and safety of bridge structures.

Tunnel and subway engineering: Steel pipe piles are also widely used in tunnel and subway engineering. Due to its flexible construction and small soil squeezing effect, it can effectively reduce the impact on the surrounding environment during construction and ensure the smooth progress of the project.

Port and wharf engineering: In port and wharf engineering, steel pipe piles serve as foundation support structures that can withstand greater water pressure and loads, provide reliable foundation support, and ensure the safe operation of ports and wharves.


Disadvantages of steel pipe piles

Although steel pipe piles have many advantages, they also have some disadvantages:

Large amount of steel and high project cost: Steel pipe piles use a large amount of steel, resulting in a relatively high project cost.

Complicated piling equipment: Steel pipe pile construction requires more complex piling equipment, which increases the difficulty and cost of construction.

High vibration and noise: During the piling process, the vibration and noise of steel pipe piles are large, which may affect the surrounding environment.

Easy to corrode: If the steel pipe piles are not well protected, they are prone to corrosion, which affects their service life. Therefore, anti-corrosion measures need to be taken during use.


Conclusion

Steel pipe piles have been widely used in construction, bridges, tunnels and other projects due to their high bearing capacity, flexible construction and small soil squeezing effect. Although there are disadvantages such as large steel consumption and high project cost, these problems can be effectively overcome through reasonable technical and economic analysis, giving full play to the advantages of steel pipe piles and improving project quality. With the continuous advancement of technology, the application prospects of steel pipe piles in engineering construction will be broader.

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