Page 4 - BULETIN GEOTEKNIK 2023

SILENT PILING

An Environmentally Friendly

Approach towards

Sustainability Development

Penulis : Ir. Eng Boon Cheng,

Ir. Nazurah Binti Sulaiman

Introduction

As commonly knows, projects involving upgrading

existing infrastructure in densely populated urban areas

can present numerous challenges to engineers and construction

professionals. Among the challenges are being able to plan and

build within the limited space with the least disturbance to the

existing structures, neighbouring building or residents.

Most of the time, sheet piles have been adopted for soil retaining purposes in order

to maximize the useable space, where slopes are not feasible to be construct due to space

constraint. Therefore, carefully consider these factors and select the appropriate installation method based

on the specific site conditions, environmental concerns, and the need to minimize disruptions is vital

importance. However, the traditional sheet piles’ installation method is vibratory driving method which can

create significant vibrations and noise, potentially causing disruptions to nearby structures, residents and

the environment. Thus, it is crucial to look for a sheet piles’ installation method that is more environmentally

friendly, called silent piling. Silent piling refers to a technique of piles installation particularly for installing

sheet piles which is a non-dynamic method utilises hydraulic rams to push the piles into the ground. It is

commonly marketed as ‘silent piling’, as the process of installation is vibration free and very minimal noise

generated. Hence this method is obviously suited to urban environments with various constrains and

sensitivities.

Principle

The Silent Piling is a method utilises hydraulic

rams to press the piles into the ground, which

is vibration free. The machine derives the

reaction required to install piles from gripping

previously installed piles, and subsequently

press-in the adjacent pile using the hydraulic

static load at the same time as shown in Figure

1. The machine is normally called as a Silent

Piler, which is very small, light weighted and

can self-move on top of piles. The Silent Piling

term is apt in describing the noise-free

installation process as this method does not

use any kind of hammering force.

2 Figure 1: Press-In Mechanism