When the depth of the sheet piles are very large they need to be laterally supported by horizontal

struts. This supported sheet pile walls are called Braced Cut.

Uses of Braced Cut

Braced cut is used for different purposes.

1. It is used to resist the lateral pressure.

2. It provides safety to the construction work
3. It enables deep excavation.

Types of Braced Cut

There are mainly two types of braced cut that is generally used under normal circumstances.

1. Sheet pile
2. Wooden board

Design Basis:
In braced cuts all the loads are carried by the struts only. The active earth pressure comes to the
sheet and then transferred to the struts through wales.
So, the strut is the load bearing element in braced cuts and it is in compression.
To calculate the compressive force coming to the strut we need to know:

1.The center to center distance of the strut to calculate the effective area.
 
2.The intensity of the active earth pressure in this effective area zone.
 
Say effective area is A and pressure intensity is p.
Then force coming to the strut is P=p(A)
After knowing the length of the strut, we can determine its size as we do it in case of a column
under axial load.