PE Geotechnical case studies
PE Geotechnical · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) Civil: Geotechnical exam is one of the more than 20 PE exams NCEES offers. It tests for a minimum level of competency in geotechnical engineering and is designed for engineers who have gained a minimum of four years of post-college work experience in the discipline. The PE Geotechnical case studies are 5 cases and about 3,909 words.
1Refusal at 7.5 m and Two Groundwater Readings at a Warehouse Site
A 60 m by 45 m single-story warehouse is planned on a site underlain by about 2 m of gravelly fill of unknown compaction over glacial outwash. Three borings were advanced with hollow-stem augers.
700 words, about 4 min2A Consolidation Prediction That Overshot Field Settlement by a Factor of Five
A 6 m thick soft to medium clay is to be surcharged by 4 m of granular fill. An oedometer test on a 75 mm tube sample from 8 m depth gave e0 = 1.15, Cc = 0.38, and a Casagrande preconsolidation pressure of 130 kPa.
714 words, about 4 min3Square Footing on a Stiff Crust Over Soft Clay
A 1.8 m square isolated footing carries 800 kN dead plus 400 kN live with its base 1.2 m below grade. Profile: 0 to 2.5 m, stiff desiccated clay crust, cu = 90 kPa, unit weight 19 kN/m3; 2.5 m to 11 m, soft to medium clay, cu = 30 kPa, saturated unit weight 17.5 kN/m3, Cc = 0.30, Cr = 0.05, OCR about 1.2, e0 = 0.95; below 11 m, dense sand.
960 words, about 5 min4Twelve-Meter Cut Slope Above a Proposed Apartment Block
A 12 m high cut slope was excavated 30 years ago at 1.5H:1V into stiff residual silty clay. A 1.5 to 2 m colluvial mantle covers the slope face, and a thin perched aquifer sits on the weathered rock surface about 4 m below the crest.
806 words, about 4 min5Trench Base Boiling in Sand Over Clay
A 40 m long, 6 m deep sewer trench is being excavated through loose to medium fine sand with groundwater at 2.5 m. Steel sheet piles are driven to 7.0 m, stopping 1 m above a stiff clay layer at 8.0 m.
729 words, about 4 min