Imprinted
man. date
Figure 55. Ten-year-old sheet piling in Houma, Louisiana. Note the imprinted dates (left
bottom) and staple gun impact test (right bottom) showing no cracks.
Figure 56 shows the clear superiority of PVC over steel for durability. Here, both the steel
and the PVC sheet piles were installed about six years ago. The steel sheet pile had rusted
severely, whereas the PVC sheet pile did not show any signs of degradation. Figure 57 shows a
relatively newly installed steel pile showing the onset of rusting at the edges where the rust-
inhibiting paints have possibly was removed during driving.
Figure 58 shows one installation where clearly the design of the sheet pile did not take into
account the anticipated load; as a result, the pile web has excessively buckled, and the bulkhead
line have flexed onto the waterside. This emphasizes the need for proper design of the system
with accurate estimated loads.
Figure 56. Clear superiority of PVC over steel for durability. Both were installed six years
ago at 228 Esquinance Street , Mandeville, LA. The steel sheet piles on the right show
advanced corrosion.
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