● 1. List design tasks for the design of a deep excavation. Classify then into ULS and SLS states.

● 2. What are the three possible design methods of a retaining wall?

Load due to the earth pressure is assumed “a priori”

● Assumption: wall displacement is large enough to mobilize active and passive earth
pressure on either side of the wall, depending on the direction of movement.

→ wall structure and anchor must be designed for internal forces from these “a priori” passive
and active earth pressure.

Analysis as a beam on elastic foundation

 ● The surrounding soil is modeled as a horizontal, linear spring with constant stiffness

→ the wall is considered the beam on an elastic foundation.

→ active and passive earth pressure is sought that it satisfies the equilibrium condition and
simultaneously result in the same deformed shape for the wall and the soil, i.e compatibility
condition

→ it is tough to choose right spring constant and lateral soil stiffness, which affects the reliability
of result.

Finite element method

● We can model actual ground condition, realistic retaining wall, mechanical behaviour of soil,
construction stages and adjacent building. The horizontal and vertical displacement is calculated along
side the internal forces of the structure.
● The use of hardening soil model results in more accurate and reliable vertical and horizontal
displacement calculation than the linearly elastic - perfectly plastic mohr-colomb soil model.

● 3. Give examples for the structure of a retaining wall.

● 4. What are the factors influencing the bearing pressure of raft foundations?
● Properties of loaded footings:
○ Stiffness of the load footing
○ Stiffness of entire building
○ Depth of the foundation level
○ Size of the footing (width)
○ Shape of the footing
● Properties of the soil:
○ If the soil is granular or cohesive (stress concentration factor), it’s deformation parameter and
shear strength,
○ Time-dependent deformation parameter and shear strength
 ○ Homogeneity and stratigraphy of soil and it’s potential for lateral displacement
○ Groundwater level and it’s fluctuation
● Loading and preloading:
○ Amount of loading
○ Load distribution
○ Point of load application

● 5. Draw the bearing pressure and settlement distribution of infinitely rigid and infinitely flexible rafts for
distributed loading.

● 6. What is the modulus of subgrade reaction and what methods exist to determine its value?
● 7. What approximate approaches exist to determine the modulus of subgrade reaction?
● 8. What parameters have the most significant influence on the modulus of subgrade reaction and how
they affect the value of it?
● 9. What are the pile foundation methods?
● 10.What are the ways to determine the bearing capacity of a single pile?

● 11.What is the required ground investigation for pile foundation?

 - If information about piles in the locality are not available or reliable, it may be necessary
to drive a test pile and correlate with soil data.
- Standard penetration test (SPT) to determine the cohesion (and consequently the
adhesion) to determine the angle of friction (and consequently the angle of friction
between soil and the pile and also the point of resistance) for each soil stratum of
cohesion less soill.
- Static cone penetration test (CPT) to determine the cohesion (and subsequently the
adhesion) for soft cohesive soils and to check with SPT result for fine to medium sands.
Hence for strata encountering both cohesive and cohesion less soils, both SPT and CPT
tests are required.
- Vane shear test for impervious clayey soils.
- Undrained triaxial shear strength of undisturbed soil samples (obtained with thin walled
tube samplers) to determine cohesion (c) and angle of internal for clayey soils (since
graphs for correlations were developed based on undrained shear parameter). In case of
driven piles proposed for stiff clays, it is necessary to check with the c from remoulded
samples also. Drained shear strength parameters are also determined to represent
in-situ condition of soil at end of construction phase.
- Self boring pressure meter test to determine modulus of sub-grade reaction for
horizontal deflection for granular soils, very stiff cohesive soils, soft rock and weathered
or jointed rock.

● 12.How to calculate the bearing capacity of the pile based on laboratory test?
● 13.How to calculate the bearing capacity of the pile based on SPT test?
● 14.How to calculate the bearing capacity of the pile based on CPT test using EuroCode7?

● 15.Please list the limitation of the base and the shaft resistance recommended by Szepeshazi
 Shaft resistance – Recommendation for technological factors (Szepesházi)

● 16.Explain the way of static plie load test!

○ Static Load Tests measure the response of a pile under an applied load and are the most
accurate method for determining pile capacities. They can determine the ultimate failure load of
a foundation pile and determine its capacity to support the load without excessive or continuous
 displacement. The purpose of such tests is to verify that the load capacity in the constructed pile
is greater than the nominal resistance (Compression, Tension, Lateral, etc.) used in the design.
○ The test procedure involves applying an axial load to the top of the test pile with one or more
hydraulic jacks. The reaction force is transferred to the anchor piles that go into tension in the
case of a static load test in compression; or into compression in the case of a static load test in
tension. Various forms of instrumentation are installed onto the test and anchor piles so that an
accurate measurement of the test pile displacement can be obtained. (LAST TWO NOT FROM
SLIDES)

○
 ○

○
● 17.Explain the results of static plate load test!
● 18.Explain the way of dynamic pile load test! (PG. 280,
○ Dynamic Pile Load Testing is performed by attaching reusable, high quality sensors to the pile
wall and monitoring the response in terms of force and velocity of a stress wave imparted into
the pile head by a suitable falling weight.
 ○ The pile is loaded dynamically (with a hammer or falling weight)
■ The pile head is equipped with a sensor and we measure the displacement, the velocity
and the force. Using the theory of wave propagation, the force induced in the pile and the
settlement is „back-calculated”.
■ The static load-settlement curve is determined using empirical factors.
■ It is an economical alternative to static load tests.

■
● 19.Explain the way of statnamic plie load test! (Pg 283)
○ The force applied to the pile is produced by accelerating a mass by use of a rapid-burning
propellant fuel within a combustion chamber. During the loading cycle, over 2000 readings are
taken of load and displacement
 ○
○ The weight placed on the pile head is lifted by an explosion – the same force acts on the pile
downward. Sensors are measuring the applied force and the displacement. Interpretation of
results is similar to that of dynamic load test.
● 20.How to separate the base and the shaft resistance of the pile bearing capacity? (PG.380)

○
○
○ Using the osterberg cell
○ The seperation of load components can be accomplished by the VUIS pile load test

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 ■
● 21.How to calculate the bearing capacity of pile-groups? (PG 403,350)
○ We talk about pile groups if the distance between the pile axis are smaller than 5D, the
minimum di3D. In critical cases it can be 2.5D however smaller distances require special
analyses about teh pile interactio to eachother.
○ Resistances of pile groups
■ Resiatnce of a single pile in the group
■ The limit of the soil resistance under the pile group, which is the ultimate bearing capacity
of the soil at the level of the toe of the piles based on shallow foundation equations.
Because of the shaftresistance the base is a bit bigger, than the soil mass rounded by the
piles.
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 ■
● 22.How to calculate the settlements of single pile and pile-groups? (PG 443, 398,405)
○ Single Pile
■ The settlement comes from the compression of a 2D thick soil layer under the pile,
generally this is quite a small value because of the following points
● In case of skin friction piles the dominant resiatnaceis the shaft resistance, this results
in approx. 1cm settlements
● In the case of end bearing piles, the end of the pile is always placed into high bearing
capacity layers
● The experience of the pile load test shows that the settlements are around 5-10mm at
the sls load.

●
● These Curves should be used for teh design
 ●
■ Pile groups

●
 ●
● 23.What is the design procedure of the piles?
○ 1. Define and analysis the base data
■ Base data is the type of structure, geotechnical conditions and GWL
○ 2. The selection of the pile
■ The type, diameter, length, and the number required
○ 3. Draft calculation
■ Compareing the estimated load and the restances
○ 4. The formation of the pile foundation
■ The layout of piles, construction requirements, and the foundation-pile relation
○ 5. Construction Plans
■ The type, geometry, reinforcement, layout, number of piles, technological requirements
○ 6. Supervising of the construction
■ Pileing protocol, integrity measuring, and the pile load test.
● 24.What is the criteria for pile selection? (PG 408)
○ soil and GWL conditions of the site, including the known or possible barriers
○ generated stresses by the pileing;
○ possibilities to preserve and control the integrity of the pile will be made;
○ the effect of the pileing technology and order on the piles already built, the adjacent structures
and and public utilities;
○ tolerances to be reliably enforced during pileing;
○ unfavorable effects of chemicals in the soil;
○ the possibility of interconnection of different groundwaters;
○ handling and transportation of piles;
○ the effects of piling on the surrounding structures;
○ the distance between the piles in the pilegroup;
○ movements or vibrations caused by pileing in surrounding structures;
○ the type of vibrating device or vibrator to be used;
○ the dynamic stresses caused by the driving of the piles;
○ in case of slurry casing, the need to keep the slurry level, to prevent the falling peaces from the
borhole and the hidraulic faiulre of the base;
 ○ clean the pile base and ‐ in some cases, especially using bentonite slurry – tha shaft to remove
loose scrap;
○ the local disruption of the borehole wall during concreting, which interrupts the pile continuity;
○ the penetration of soil or groundwater into the concrete of the pile body and the possible
interfering effects of the flowing water in the concrete;
○ extracting water from the concrete by the unsaturated sand layers surrounding the pile;
○ unfavourable effect of chamicals in the soil to the hidraulic bindigs of the concrete
○ soil compacting effect of displacement piles;
○ disruption of the soil caused by pile drilling.
● 25.What are the limit states to be considered at design of pile foundation? (PG 410)
○ ULS
■ Loss of overall stability
■ Bearing resistance failure of the pile foundation
■ Uplift or insufficient tensile resistance of the pile foundation
■ Failure in the ground due to transverse loading of the pile foundation
■ Structural Failure of the pile in compression, tension, bending, buckling or shear
■ Combined failure in the ground and in the pile foundation
■ Combined failure in the foundation and in the structure
○ SLS
■ Excessive settlements
■ Excessive heave
■ Excessive lateral deformations
■ Unacceptable levels of vibration
● 26.What is the downdrag? (PG 412)
○ Downdrag refers to the phenomenon in which a pile (or a pile-group) foundation is subjected to
negative (downward) side shear stresses imposed by the grounds surrounding the pile length
when settling (or moving downward) more than the pile. (THIS DEF IS NOT FROM SLIDES)
○ (1)If ultimate limit state design calculations are carried out with the downdrag load as an action,
its value shall be the maximum, which could be generated by the downward movement of the
ground relative to the pile.
○ (2) Calculation of maximum downdrag loads should take account of the shear resistance at the
interface between the soil and the pile shaft and downward movement of the ground due to
self-weight compression and any surface load around the pile.
 ○ (3) An upper bound to the downdrag load on a group of piles may be calculated from the weight
of the surcharge causing the movement and taking into account any changes in groundwater
pressure due to ground-water lowering, consolidation or pile driving.
○ (4) Where settlement of the ground after pile installation is expected to be small, an economic
design may be obtained by treating the settlement of the ground as the action and carrying out
an interaction analysis.
○ (5) The design value of the settlement of the ground shall be derived taking account of material
weight densities and compressibility
○ (6) Interaction calculations should take account of the displacement of the pile relative to the
surrounding moving ground, the shear resistance of the soil along the shaft of the pile, the
weight of the soil and the expected surface loads around each pile, which are the cause of the
downdrag.
○ (7) Normally, downdrag and transient loading need not be considered simultaneously in load
combinations
● 27.What is heaving in case of piles? (PG 415)
○ Heave or it can simply be understood as the upward loads which can be generated along the
pile shaft. In this case the movement of the ground can be treated as the action.
■ Can be a result of: Unloading, excavation, frost action, driving of adjacent piles.
Furthermore can be caused by an increase in ground water content of the soil as a result of
tree removal, cessation of aquifer extraction, evatoparation prevention, and accidents.
■ Heave may occure during the construction and before the piles are loaded by the structure,
this can causeuplift and structural failure of the piles.
■ In case of tensiel piles, more pile load tests are required. In case of numerous tensile piles,
min. 2% of test piles are required.
 ■

■
● 28.How to calculate the lateral bedding of lateral loaded piles?
● 29.What is the min. reinforcement of piles? (PG 438)

○
● 30.How many cm is the concrete cover of the piles? (PG 438)