Corrosion of Steel Sheet Piles in Port Structures

A two‐staged analysis of service reserves of sheet piles has been developed and proposed for design of marine wharves. The discussion is based on the results of bulkhead inspections, carried out in the ports of Israel during 1976–1981. First, the conventional structural approach, currently used in design practice and based on an estimation of the allowable loss of thickness, is considered. Specific inspection findings related to the structural calculations, such as asymmetrical corrosion of flanges and real distribution of corrosion rates, are also examined. In the analysis stress is placed on the fact that maintenance problems on inspected wharves began during a relatively early stage of their service life due to the leakage of fill through corrosion holes. Description of typical corrosion perforations, as well as an estimation of their possible rates, engineering consequences and methods of repair are given. It is shown that complete verification of service reserves of sheet piles may be accomplished only when both their structural and their containment functions are taken into account. The study concludes with suggestions as to how engineering decisions, such as the choice of sheet pile section type and pile cap design may be utilized to increase the service life of the wharves.