APPENDIX A - BULKHEADS AND SEAWALLS
SHEET PILE BULKHEADS
Wave Height Range: Above five feet.
Runup Characteristic: Vertical (all materials).
Sheet pile bulkheads consist of interconnecting or very tightly spaced sheets of material driven
vertically into the ground with special pile-driving equipment. The sheeting can be made of steel,
aluminum, or timber (Figures A-1, A-2, and A-3). Sheet pile structures are either cantilevers or anchored
(braced).
A cantilever bulkhead is a sheet pile wall supported solely by ground penetration, making it
susceptible to failure from toe scour. The sheet piling must be driven deep enough to resist overturning,
which usually requires penetration to a depth two to three times the free standing height, including the
anticipated scour depth (usually about one wave height below the existing bottom).
An anchored or braced bulkhead is similar to a cantilever structure, but gains a
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