GATE CE case studies

GATE CE · Put your knowledge to work in context.

GATE 2025 is the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering, a national-level computer-based examination that tests comprehensive understanding of undergraduate-level subjects across Engineering, Technology, Architecture, Science, Commerce, Arts and Humanities. The Civil Engineering (CE) paper is one of 30 test papers offered in 2025, and candidates may appear for one or two papers from the allowed two-paper combinations. The GATE CE case studies are 5 cases and about 5,026 words.

Honeycombed Column: Core Results Pass but the Sampling Does Not

At the first-floor level of a G+6 office building, de-shuttering of a 400 mm × 400 mm column of M30 concrete (Fe500, 8–20 mm bars, 40 mm clear cover) reveals a honeycombed patch about 350 mm × 250 mm and 60 mm deep on one face, 1.2 m above the floor slab, with two links exposed. The contractor proposes to plaster the patch and proceed with the upper floors.

966 words, about 5 min 2

Soft Clay Approach Embankment: Reading the Monitoring Data

A 6 m high approach embankment (fill unit weight 19 kN/m³, side slopes 1V:2H) is being built over 12 m of soft marine clay resting on impermeable rock. Clay properties: saturated unit weight 16.5 kN/m³, undrained shear strength 22 kPa, coefficient of consolidation 2.5 m²/yr (single drainage, rock at the base), water table at ground level.

982 words, about 5 min 3

Spillway Adequacy on a High-Hazard Earth Dam

A 45 m high homogeneous earth dam impounds a reservoir with a surface area of about 9 km² at full reservoir level (FRL). The gated ogee spillway has a published rating: at El 142.00 (FRL) it passes 900 m³/s, at El 142.50 about 1380 m³/s, and at El 143.00 about 1930 m³/s.

1,017 words, about 5 min 4

Nitrification Failure in Winter: SRT, Alkalinity or Biomass?

A 20 MLD activated sludge plant treats domestic sewage with influent BOD5 250 mg/L, TKN 42 mg/L, ammoniacal nitrogen 34 mg/L, alkalinity 210 mg/L as CaCO3 and pH 7.2. The aeration tank volume is 5000 m³, MLSS 3000 mg/L, SRT 5 days, dissolved oxygen 1.2 mg/L, and the wastewater temperature is 20 °C in summer and 14 °C in winter.

1,017 words, about 5 min 5

Which Treatment for a Five-Year-Old Flexible Pavement?

A five-year-old two-lane state highway (3.75 m lanes, 1.5 m shoulders) in a clayey subgrade area (soaked CBR 5%) has a 40 mm bituminous concrete surfacing over 150 mm of wet mix macadam and 200 mm of granular sub-base. It was designed for 10 million standard axles.

1,044 words, about 5 min