Concrete Sheet Pile Capping Beam

Steel sheet pile quay walls utilise certain concrete components namely the capping beam and fender cope.

Concrete sheet pile capping beam.

Achieving a neat concrete cap finish to the top of rows of sheet piles is very difficult particularly so quickly and without damaging the sheet pile wall. They may also be used as a support for a railing or safety barrier. Capping beams are also suitable for distributing the weight of a load bearing wall or of close centred columns to a line of piles. Sheet pile capping beam formwork systems using timber formwork creates an unsafe method of working in most applications due to the lack of structural calculations and no handrails and rival systems are heavy and need a crane and lifting plans and only form the soffit of the sheet pile capping beam formwork system fast form provides one full sheet pile capping formwork system complete with.

It is designed solely for use on sheet piles. Sheet piles are generally capped for aesthetic purposes. It can also be a highly technical job with a great deal of manpower required and considerable material wastage to say nothing of difficulties of access on harbour works and similar situations. Pile caps can also be linked together with reinforced concrete to create a capping beam.

The cap is required to transmit lateral loads along the wall. The concrete cap serves to mask the inevitable irregularities in sheet pile length penetration depth and line. Welding or cutting of piles is not necessary. The fender cope serves to support the fender units and in addition can act as a cladding for the steel piles in the tidal zone to protect them against corrosion.