Suzhou Dehong subcontracted the piling work for berths at Blue Ocean Wind’s Nantong Base. The site is freshly reclaimed from the sea and consist of sandy soil layers. Cold rolled 750mm Z sheet piles with a length of up to 29m are driven by vibro. Cold rolled sheet piles are cost effective, but the interlock and stiffness of the pile are of lower grade than that of hot rolled piles, making the piling job more challenging. The sandy soil also poses a challenge, it requires more energy to liquify and the hammers amplitude even risks densifying the soil further during driving.

The client chose the 1412C + 900P for the job, but because of high demand for this model at year end, was upgraded to the ICE 36RF + 1000P. The 36RF has a variable moment and offers a great range of RPM and amplitude and allows for more control of the piling process. Most of the piles were installed within 30 minutes.

Good pile verticality to minimize interlock friction, and continuous driving are the key to installing this type of 1500mm wide Z-sheet piles to depth. Contact ICE for advice for your next project!