Pile Mooring - Strengthening

[enahs]

My small sailing club have some pile moorings that are made from 5 or so peices of the pile welded (I guess) together to gain the height. They would like to take measures to strengthen these somehow. What can we do to make these stronger? I guess it would involve filling them somehow! Thanks

 

[DaveVikingPE]

Are you saying that the mooring structure is a single circular pipe pile? What's the problem?

 

[enahs]

Hi Dave

The mooring piles are indeed of hollow circular construction, made up of 5 or so peices of the tube to gain the height. I am researching what can be done to strengthen them as there are so many joins, hopefully to make them stronger and preventing one from failing.

 

[DaveVikingPE]

If the joints are full-penetration groove welds the final assembly will be just as strong as a single pipe pile. If that's not enough then you can add stiffening elements to the pipe's exterior. Blodgett's "Design of Weldments" has some excellent examples that can be extrapolated to your problem.

 

[TJCHAMPION]

THE ASSUMPTION THAT A SMALL SAILING CLUB WOULD HAVE HIRED A SMALL CONTRACTOR LEADS ME TO THINK THAT YOUR PILES WERE IN ALL LIKELYHOOD NOT WELDED TO ANY KNOWN SPEC.,BUT WERE ASSEMBLED FROM "CUT OFFS" IN ORDER TO REDUCE COST TO THE CLUB. YOU DID NOT MENTION IF YOUR CLUB HAS ALREADY HAD A PILE FAILURE. ALSO HOW MANY SPLICES THAT EXIST AT OR BELOW THE TIDE LINE