ABSTRACT
It is aimed to provide reliable numerical modeling and design of the system “sheet pile-soil media”. It is necessary to note the difference between intervals of loads and pile displacement for the stage of piles installation and for the stage of structure operation. For the last one, piles displacement may be limited by a few millimeters or centimeters under more or less stable loading. During installation, steps of loading as well as pile displacement are increased ten times. So full-scale physical modeling is the most suitable to assess pile behavior during the installation period. Concerning the assessment of the operating stage, it also is useful to apply precise laboratory tests. Some earlier laboratory and numerical modeling studies (Juaristi 1998; Doubrovsky 1999) may be useful to evaluate interlock-soil interaction for the operation period of the sheet piling wall. However, a wider range of soils and pile sections must be considered.
