Pultruded composite sheet piling replace degraded wood pilings

Creative Pultrusions Inc. (Alum Bank, Pa.) has developed a tough composite sheet piling system that is lighter in weight and more corrosion resistant and environmentally stable than wood, concrete or steel piling material. Interlocking 5-mm/0.2-inch thick SuperLoc profiles (pat. pend.) are pultruded with polyester resin and more than 100 core fiberglass rovings, plus two plies of 450 gm/m² (1.5 oz/ft²) continuous strand mat for additional strength in the transverse (90°) direction. SuperLoc is the only all-composite piling system available in the market.

The 0.5m/18-inch wide, 100-mm/4-inch to 150 mm/6-inch deep profiles have two webs and two flat flanges made with integral interlocking edges that allow adjacent sheets to slide together to form a continuous barrier wall. Pultruded corner connectors are available that enable the design of angled walls. The piling system can be finished with a top cap and a waler fastening channel that allows the piling to be fastened to the shore with tieback rods.

SuperLoc is marketed in the U.S. exclusively by Lee Composites (Spring, Texas), and has been installed in more than 20 shoreline applications to date. A recent project at the Marshall Ford Marina on Lake Travis, near Austin, Texas, involved installation of a 71.3m/234-ft long floating breakwater. The 4.9m/16-ft and 5.5m/18-ft long Series 1560 profiles were interlocked, then floated out and mechanically attached to an anchored steel structure designed by Austin-based Maritech Engineering Inc. The zigzagged composite piling wall (bottom photo) replaced a deteriorated wooden version (top photo) designed to be a wave attenuator for the small craft harbor. SuperLoc also has been successfully jackhammered into place, without damage or warping. In one case, over 1,220m/4,000 ft of 3m/10-ft and 3.7m/12-ft SuperLoc profiles were waterjetted and jackhammered into position to provide an erosion barrier around an entire island near Ingleside, Texas.