Platform on concrete and steel in construction
The dike along the Hollandsche IJssel protects the Krimpenerwaard from flooding. To ensure this protection continues into the future, the dike is being reinforced and raised as part of the “Krachtige IJsseldijken Krimpenerwaard” (KIJK) project. This project involves the first-ever use in the Netherlands of a special foundation technique: a continuous sheet pile wall combined with stabilizing pipes, both of which are installed with minimal vibration. The sheet piles are statically driven into the ground using a Silent Piler. The steel pipe piles are screwed into the ground using the Gyro Piler. Between 2025 and 2029, ArcelorMittal Projects will supply over 19,000 metric tons of tubular piles and 9,000 metric tons of sheet piling for a total of 10.5 kilometers of dike.
In many other dike reinforcement projects, sheet piles are often used on their own, but for KIJK, a deliberate choice was made to use a combination of sheet piles and tubular piles, which increases the macro-stability of the dike and prevents the dike body from sliding during high water, explains Patrick Mulders of ArcelorMittal Projects. “The technique is still new in the Netherlands, but it has been used successfully in Japan for decades. The Gyro Piler was developed by the Japanese company Giken. The machine does not drive the tubular piles into the ground by hammering or vibrating, but rather screws them into the soil. In doing so, the pipes already in place are used to provide the reaction force needed to install the next pipe. As a result, there is virtually no vibration or noise pollution. In addition, only a limited workspace is required, because the rig moves over its own work area. This is precisely what makes this technique highly suitable for use along dikes, where space is very limited and the surrounding area is sensitive to vibrations.”
In the Netherlands, the Gyro Piler has previously been used in Amsterdam and The Hague to renovate inner-city quay walls. “Gebroeders De Koning has gained a great deal of experience with this, including in Amsterdam along the Singel,” Mulders notes from experience. “What makes the KIJK dike reinforcement project unique, however, is the scale of the work and the diameter of the pipes: whereas pipes of approximately 500 mm were previously used, pipes with a diameter of 1,016 mm are being used here. Pipes of this size have never before been installed in the Netherlands using a Gyro Piler.” ArcelorMittal Projects supplies the pipe piles and sheet piles directly to the general contractor KIGO, a joint venture between Boskalis and Van Hattum en Blankevoort. A subsidiary of Van Hattum and Blankevoort, VSF, is driving the sheet piles using its own Silent Piler. Gebroeders De Koning, in turn, is responsible for installing the tubular piles with the Gyro Piler. “Over a five-year contract period, from 2025 through 2029, we will manufacture and supply approximately 2,500 tubular piles and 4,500 sheet pile panels for the route.”
The tubular piles are not installed end-to-end, but at a specific distance from one another. “That is sufficient to counteract the failure mechanism known as macro-stability: the large-scale slippage of the dike body,” says Mulders. “At locations where extra protection against high water is needed, a traditional sheet pile wall is installed in front of the pipe wall to serve as a water-retaining structure.” Each tubular pile is fitted with special components required for the Gyro Piler technique at the ArcelorMittal Projects factory in Moerdijk. “At the bottom of each pile, we weld on a ring bit with cutting teeth, which allows the pipe to cut through soil, debris, and even concrete fragments. In addition, we install water lines with spray nozzles inside the pipe so that water can be injected during the driving process. This temporarily weakens the soil, allowing for more precise and efficient installation. All pipes are tested under high pressure beforehand to ensure that no leaks occur during installation.”
Because space is limited at the construction site, ArcelorMittal Projects operates on a semiannual planning cycle. Mulders: “We manufacture the pipes in Heijningen and Moerdijk, after which they are transported just-in-time to the dike route. The specifications for the pipe piles are largely fixed for the entire project. For example, the diameter of 1,016 millimeters remains constant, but wall thicknesses and lengths can be optimized annually as the detailed design progresses. That flexibility makes this project unique from both a technical and logistical standpoint.”
