Drilled Pile Walls
A unique drilling mechanism
Over the past ten years, there has been the development of a method of drilling interconnected pipes with a down-the-hole hammer. The goal is to replace the Larsen walls that are difficult to install to a rocky ground with sheet pile walls that can also be used as permanent structures. Sheet pile walls are used especially in cases when supporting walls or other watertight wall structures are installed to rocky grounds and/or they are inserted into a rock from the bottom.
Participation in the development
Sotkamon Porapaalu has taken part in the development work since the start and has drilled with different sheet piles of different sizes in the test phase. Making a good sheet pile wall requires, if possible, drilling to the desired depth without lengthening pieces. Lengthening pieces are slow to make and sources of risk. In the machines of Sotkamon Porapaalu there is a mechanism to lock the sheet pile in order to prevent the pole from twirling to secure the position of the wall. The drilling rig can be positioned at any angle to the wall.
Sotkamon Porapaalu is known for its high-quality drilled pile wall references as the company has – as well as the drilling components designed for this purpose – also special drilling bits. The control of the circulation of air is particularly important because otherwise the uncontrolled circulation of air opens the free space needed for the drilled pipes’ o-pile interlock which causes sinking of the ground and enables diversions in the position and inclinations of the wall. Drilling with a circle crown ensures that the sheet pile wall does not remain open from the bottom which would cause lacking in the rinsing of the drilled pipe, the twisting of the pipe and the inclination of the whole wall towards the direction of the works.
