US’ ASTM’s geosynthetics committee (D35) has approved a new standard that will help engineers and specifiers who work with vinyl sheet piling. Applications for such piling include the construction of seawalls, retaining walls, and chemical cut-off walls. The new standard (D8427) covers material and testing requirements for polyvinyl chloride sheet piling.   

“The new specification will standardise the materials used and it will allow producers to meet the United States Army Corp of Engineers’ requirements for vinyl sheet piling. It will standardise the maximum design stress, when stating the allowable moment. The new standard includes the use of recycled materials, which use less energy to produce. The vinyl sheet piling is inert in the environment in use,” ASTM member Steve Hargrave said in a media statement.

Hargrave also notes that the standard can be used to mitigate environmental issues like water flow and contamination and that transportation energy is reduced when using materials covered in the standard.