Small soldier-pile or ‘berlin’ wall
The small soldier-pile wall is a technique often considered cumbersome. They are gnerally only employed for supporting projects (propert, infrastructure) including high earthworks and sizeable excavations. They are often used on soft ground and where there is need for obvious supports for earthworks to progress..
This technique is close to soil nailing. However, there is a difference in the work to be done beforehand of a micropile ‘comb’ implanted on the future cut line of the ground for earthworks.
The triple purpose of micropiles
- Carrying out earthworks with greater ease on the face to be treated by the presence of micropiles. It’s enough just to follow with the bucket. The micropiles and the profile anticipated are attained through this.
- Help to hold the rear ground during outflow and before boring / iron works / projection of concrete in a dry way.
- The support works need to be considered on the basis of punctual stops at the higher level. It would be tie-rodded at the higher level and, at the lower, at the foundation or bedrock of the works.
This technique is more expensive. It takes longer to implement than soil nailing due to the additional presence of micropiles. However, it also offers more stability during the provisional phases.
In certain cases, when a support is initially recommended, a soil-nailing solution can be developed via a subtle approach of cutting heights for earthworks and where the opportunity presents itself.