PIPING FAILURES IN SAND CUTS.

Sheet piling is used for cuts in sand and the excavation must be dewatered by pumping from the bottom of the excavation. Sufficient penetration below the bottom of the cut must be provided to reduce the amount of seepage and to avoid the danger of piping.

Piping is a phenomenon of water rushing up through pipe-shaped channels due to large upward seepage pressure. When piping takes place, the weight of the soil is counteracted by the upward hydraulic pressure and as such there is no contact pressure between the grains at the bottom of the excavation. Therefore, it offers no lateral support to the sheet piling and as a result the sheet piling may collapse. Further the soil will become very loose and may not have any bearing power.

It is therefore, essential to avoid piping. For further discussions on piping.

Permeability and Seepage. Piping can be reduced by increasing the depth of penetration of sheet piles below the bottom of the cut.