The sheet pile wall is a temporary or permanent shoring system made of interlocking steel profiles (sheet piles) that secures excavation pits against earth pressure and groundwater. The piles are driven into the ground using vibration or impact hammers and interlock via locks (profile edges) — the wall is thus watertight and load-bearing.
Typical profile shapes: U-profiles (wide piles, high section modulus), Z-profiles (narrower, more flexible application), and flat profiles (for light shoring). Pile lengths range from 6 to 30 meters, wall thicknesses from 8 to 24 mm. Leading manufacturers are ArcelorMittal, ThyssenKrupp, and Salzgitter Mannesmann.
In hydraulic engineering (riverbank walls, harbor walls, flood protection), sheet pile walls remain permanently in the ground. In excavation pit construction, they are often extracted after completion of the structure (dismantling) and reused. The combination with struts and braces or ground anchors enables excavation depths exceeding 20 meters even in soft, water-bearing soil.