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Why can steel sheet-pile quay walls be curved in plan?
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Harbors and sea works
Yachting harbor at Lorient, France.
Steel sheet-pile quay walls can be curved in plan because of the design of the interlocking joints, known as clutches, that connect the individual piles. These clutches provide a measure of flexibility that allows for angular deviation between adjacent piles. This feature is highly convenient for engineers when developing the layout of a series of wharves or quays.1