Need advice on sheeting and shoring design
Need advice on sheeting and shoring design
(OP)
I have recently been given the assignment of helping a local contractor with temporary sheeting and shoring design. It's been a few years since I have worked in this area of engineering and I'm just looking for some helpful hints to get me on the right track. When tackling a new design process the first step I like to take is getting all the best references and computer program. I have done my own research and I have found some old text books and the AASHTO guides "construction handbook for bridge temporary works" and "guide design specifications for bridge temporary works". I have also done some research into computer programs and have recently found a program called ct-shoring that I am thinking about purchasing. The bottom line is I am looking for some good hands on practical design examples and a good computer program to help me out. Can anyone out there give me some advice on this topic? If it helps here is some more specific info on the job: it's for a contractor doing bridge work in PA on a PENNDOT project. Any help would be appreciated!





RE: Need advice on sheeting and shoring design
RE: Need advice on sheeting and shoring design
A word of caution, as you may know from your previous experience, desiging sheeting is a different process than desiging other retaining walls. I would urge you to spend some time reviewing the sheeting design manual before you start and having an engineer who is familar with this type of work review the design when you finish.
Good Luck!
RE: Need advice on sheeting and shoring design
Although I have both programs, I would recommend CT-Shoring over SPW911. SPW911 is not really intended up for soldier beams and lagging. It is basically a sheet pile design program. It does, however, handle C-Phi soils while CT-Shoring handles only cohesionless soil unless you manually calculate and enter the pressure diagrams for the cohesive soils. I agree with DRC1 about reading the program's manual. You need to know the methods and assumptions used in the program.
I've done many, many sheeting designs for PENNDOT projects. Be careful. PENNDOT usually tells you what soil values to design with. PENNDOT also usually specifies using the LRFD method for design. I am not aware of any sheeting design program that works with LRFD.
Are you using steel sheeting? Soldier beams? Braces? Tieback anchors? Where in PA is the project? What is the S.R. number?
RE: Need advice on sheeting and shoring design
RE: Need advice on sheeting and shoring design
There is no consistency between PennDOT Districts for sheeting design but the trend is toward LRFD. I am not aware of any available LRFD sheeting design manuals or programs. You are treading on relatively new ground. FHWA and AASHTO are pushing the design method. Don't forget what I said about the PennDOT specified soil design properties. Good luck.
RE: Need advice on sheeting and shoring design
An easy prediction - either:
- FHWA and AASHTO will develop a rational design method for LRFD, or
- FHWA and AASHTO will back off the LRFD push after some well-publicized wall failures.
I'm counting on the second one, myself.Please see FAQ731-376 for great suggestions on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora.