Marine Pile Connections
Connections are needed between marine piles and pre-assembled superstructures, for example:
- Caissons
- Pile caps
- Tube connections
- Fender piles
A practical connection system is needed to account for the pile driving tolerances, difficult access, and marine constructability challenges.
Grouted Pile Seal Solution
The system forms a concrete seal to piles, allowing a concrete infill of piles or stitching concrete pours to the connecting element. The fabric formwork system is flexible to accommodate piling tolerance while maintaining an intimate seal.
Installation
The formwork seal can be pre-fixed to precast concrete element recesses or steel tubes usually in a protective recess on land for ease of marine construction and installation. These are placed over the piles, and the grout bag is filled in situ with highly fluid neat cement grout to form a grouted stopend, enabling a concrete pour above. The system can be filled remotely without the need for divers, above or below the water line.
The pile seal system is purpose engineered to suit the project tolerances and construction challenges. Our engineers can assist at the design stage to optimise element design with respect to:
- Protective recess for seal fixing
- Filler and vent access
- Fixings and RC concrete cover consideration
An on-site trial is often undertaken to ensure the project specific constraints are managed and provide installation training for the Contractors team.
Advantages
- Forms robust concrete seal
- Pre-installed for construction ease
- Accommodates large tolerances
- Formwork ensures grouting control
