Designing of piles according to Eurocode 7

Abstract

Eurocode 7 is going to replace the current geotechnical design code BS8004 soon. Inevitably, due to the complexity of Eurocode 7, there will be a lot of confusions and questions about the new standard. This report focuses on piling design, which compares several different piling design codes like CP4 and NAVFAC with Eurocode 7. The piling design according to Eurocode 7 is mainly based on limit state design with partial factors. There are three Design Approaches, which involves the principles of Material Factor Approach and Resistance Factor Approach. Approach as 1 and 2 apply partial factors on actions and resistances; Design Approach 3 applies partial factors on actions and characteristic material properties. Finally, two design examples were analyzed: one for calculation and the other for testing. In addition, comparisons were discussed and settlements were computed by using Plaxis to assess the reliability of Eurocode 7.