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By Walter Kaeck

In a recent upgrade of their system, Amtrak converted a bascule type draw bridge over the Thames River to a vertical lift structure supported by the existing piers. During the bridge replacement, significant settlement occurred on one of the piers and movement continued thereafter. Construction was stopped as Amtrak became concerned as to how much the subsequent construction activities would cause the pier to further settle and tilt, not only impacting the operation of the existing bridge, but also jeopardizing the new lift span. Mueser Rutledge was engaged at this time to help understand and solve the problem. A remedial grouting program was developed to arrest the settlement. As a subcontractor to Cianbro Corporation, Pittsfield, ME, The Judy Company was hired to perform the remedial grouting work. Work platforms were constructed around the pier for support of the drilling equipment. A dual string drilling system was used to install sleeve pipes at depths of up to 185? below the water level. Ultrafine cement grout stabilized with additives was placed at 2.5 foot intervals through the depth of the sand and gravel stratum below the bottom of the pier. Logistics were difficult and the schedule was severely impacted by the remedial work, necessitating working six 12-hour shifts per week and working in the river through the winter months. After four months of drilling and grouting, movement of the pier stopped. At the conclusion of the remedial work, more than a million gallons of ultrafine cement grout were placed. Confirmation borings recovered completely solidified material with compressive strengths ranging from 500 to 1500 psi. The bridge replacement was then completed and is functioning. Continued monitoring through July 2009 shows negligible movement.

Jan 1, 2009

By Kiyotaka Ohno, Nobushige Yasuoka, Yosuke Hioki

"The diameter of improved columns adopted by the original DJM Method had been 1000 mm, however, in order to comply with the social need for construction cost reduction, the Expanded Dry Jet Mixing (EX-DJM) Method with maximum column diameter expanded to 1300 mm was developed between 1998 and 2001 and has been widely applied since then. From the first application of EX-DJM in January 2002 for a first construction project, the total volume of improved soil has reached 325,000 m3 in 17 projects up to September 2014. Because of the advantages of the EX-DJM such as reduction of construction costs and periods leading to reduction in the number of improved columns, adoption of this method is expected to increase in the future. This paper describes the advantages of the EX-DJM, its construction results and case examples including those applied to restoration projects after the Great East Japan Earthquake, 2011.1. BACKGROUND OF DEVELOPMENTThe Dry Jet Mixing (DJM) Method is a soil stabilization method in which a powdery or granular binder is pneumatically fed into and mixed with soft soil to induce chemical reactions that stabilize and strengthen the soil. It was developed by government - private collaboration in Japan between 1977 and 1979. Up to March 2014, the total volume of soil improved by DJM method reached 33,500,000 m3. The initial diameter of improved columns of the original DJM Method was 1000 mm. In order to comply with the social need for construction cost reduction, the Expanded Dry Jet Mixing (EX-DJM) Method with maximum column diameter 1300 mm was developed between 1998 and 2001.2. ADVANTAGES OF EX-DJMThe construction equipment for the EX-DJM consists of two major parts, which are DJM machine and binder plant are shown in Fig. 1.The construction machine is of double mixing-shaft type with its column diameter expanded to 1200mm or 1300mm. In association with the increase in the column diameter, the binder feeder has also increased its discharge rate by approximately 1.69 times. Same as the increase rate of the area of original diameter 1000mm to diameter 1300mm are shown in Fig. 4."

Jan 1, 2015

By Uwe Hess

For the Danish landworks for the coming fixed link between Denmark and Sweden across the Øresund the focus has been on the environmental aspects of the construction and operation of the facilities. This paper describes how the environmental objectives pertaining to the project have influenced the design and construction of one of the major elements of the Danish landworks, i.e. the tunnel in Sydhavnsgade and under Sydhavn Station. The chosen construction methods for the construction pit bracing and the groundwater lowering will be described along with the observed effects on the environment as shown by simulated or measured values for noise impact, settlements, pumped groundwater and extension of the drawdown cone.

Jan 1, 1996

By Stephan A. Jefferis

I presume that the questioner is not asking about the reduction of sulfate in groundwater to hydrogen sulfide as a result of biological activity promoted by organics in the grout hardener and that the question relates to sulfate attack on cementitious grout systems. For the project in Spain presented in my paper, we used a very high pulverized fuel ash (PFA) content in the cementitious material. This gives good sulfate resistance and indeed the chemical interaction will actually cause the permeability to drop for about 50 years without any question of sulfate attack and damage to the whole thickness of the grout - of course there will be attack at the exposed face of the grout where it is in contact with the contaminated groundwater. The mix had over 75% PFA, and also a very high overall cementitious content. The mix was the contractor's design and showed excellent behavior in laboratory proving trials. In grouts as distinct from concrete, PFA gives significantly better sulfate resistance than ground granulated blast furnace slag which is often used in Europe as a component of bentonite-cement mixes for slurry trench cut-off walls.

Feb 10, 2003

By Brian Koch

Michels installed 242 drilled shafts to support the piers for a new basket-handle, true-arch twin bridge across the Mississippi River from Moline, IL to Bettendorf, IA. The installation of the drilled shafts was completed with the simultaneous use of two Liebherr LB36 and one IMT 300 drill rigs. Utilizing barges, 233 drilled shafts were installed in the river. Michels crews also installed 7-ft to 10-ft permanent steel casing into the bedrock, and drilled to depths of 60 feet for each shaft. Despite working in strong currents, freezing temperatures and on rocking barges, Michels crews placed the shafts within 3 inches of plan position. Since the drilled shafts are the key piece in supporting the bridge structure, Michels provided cross-hole sonic logging to verify the integrity and strength of the concrete within the shafts and to add another level of quality control for the owner/customer. Extensive planning took place each day to ensure that tugboats, the linchpin of the project, were being efficiently utilized to shift the barges and materials daily. On any given day, Michels transported five concrete trucks by barge from shore to shaft sites to pour between 40 and 240 cubic yards of concrete. The Michels environmental team was diligent with preparing, discussing and implementing a water treatment plan that was accepted by all state and federal agencies and adhered to strict environmental regulations. Grain hopper barges were rented to control and treat the water that was used in the drilling operations. Another challenge crews ran into was the discovery of caverns when drilling into some parts of the bedrock. Michels worked with the engineer to develop a plan to construct the drilled shafts that encountered the caverns.

Jan 1, 2019

By Joram M. Amir

During recent years, the integrity testing of piles has made considerable progress. With the availability of portable and powerful computers, practically all integrity testing equipment is now digital. Using sophisticated software for data acquisition and analysis, today's testing systems can provide owners with important information regarding both the length and integrity of piles and drilled shafts. This sophistication carries a price: Very few clients, including experienced engineers, do understand the strange-looking graphs adorning the reports they get. In fact, most of them will never ask, some because they are too busy to care and others because they are ashamed to show their ignorance. This situation is well exploited by a few shrewd operators of test equipment. Facing strong competition and falling revenues, they simplify their task and cut their expenses by the following means: 1. Using old equipment until it falls apart, and then some, 2. Hiring under-qualified personnel, 3. Staying on site as little as possible, 4. Eliminating the analysis and evaluation stage altogether, 5. Confirming as-made lengths and reporting no defects.

Jan 1, 1999

By Stefano Pirrello

"Sydney’s booming real estate market has pushed property developers to invest in historically “no-go” areas, which were previously too expensive to develop. These areas are usually near rivers where the sites are underlain by deep alluvial and estuarine sediments. In these ground conditions conventional bored pile techniques are often not competitive. Contiguous Flight Auger (CFA) and Drilled Displacement Piles (DD) techniques are on the other hand suitable for these ground conditions. This paper deals with the design and construction challenges encountered with these piling techniques for a series of high-rise towers in Sydney’s West. The advantages of DD over CFA piles such as reduced overall spoil with substantial cost savings and achievable rock sockets in medium strength bedrock are discussed. Design validation through interpretation of real-time data from the piling rigs’ on-board computer data, and low and high strain pile dynamic testing (PDA) is discussed. Testing data is presented as CAPWAP (Case Pile Wave Analysis Program) analyses for different concrete grades.INTRODUCTIONThe booming real estate market in Sydney has pushed property developers in investing in historically “no-go” areas, which were previously too expensive to develop. These areas are usually near rivers where the sites are underlain by deep alluvial and estuarine sediments. In these ground conditions conventional bored pile techniques are often not competitive. Contiguous Flight Auger (CFA) and Drilled Displacement (DD) Pile techniques are on the other hand suitable for these ground conditions and were utilised using concrete injection methods. This paper deals with the design and construction challenges encountered with these piling techniques for a series of high-rise towers in Sydney’s West.GEOLOGY & GEOTECHNICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF THE SITEThe Sydney 1:100 000 Geological Series Sheet shows that the site is underlain by man-placed filling and alluvial/estuarine sediment. The sediment comprises silty to peaty sand, silt and clay. Shell layers are also expected to be present within the soil profile. The Prospect/Parramatta River 1:2500 Acid Sulphate Soil Risk Map shows the site as ‘Disturbed Terrain’ in which soil investigations are required to assess acid sulphate soil potential. Several Cone Penetration Tests and Boreholes were carried out during the geotechnical investigation. All boreholes were extended to bedrock and NMLC-sized diamond core drilling was used to obtain 50mm continuous core of the rock, enabling unconfined compression strength testing to be carried out on selected samples. A summary of the ground conditions encountered on this site and inferred from the CPTs can be described as follows:"

Jan 1, 1900

By Yazn Khasawneh Ph. D. P. E., Will Tjaden, Spencer E. Ness P. E., Mohammed Nasim Ph. D. P. E.

Wind turbine components undergo many loading cycles during their operational life. Additionally, wind turbines may undergo extreme loading conditions from natural hazards, mechanical failures, or emergency stops. Current design practice for the foundations of wind turbines accounts for these complex loading conditions through a simplified pseudo-static approach based structural loading combinations. A rotational stiffness for the foundation is estimated from the pseudo-static analysis and then compared to an acceptable minimum rotational stiffness provided by the turbine manufacturer. These minimum rotational stiffnesses are based on dynamic analysis of the tower and nacelle system with the foundation represented as linear springs. This approach provides a reasonable approach to the foundation design but does not accurately capture the true dynamic performance of the entire soil-foundation-tower-nacelle system. This becomes especially important for pier-type foundations, which are being more commonly used to support modern and future generations of larger turbines. Additionally, the dynamic performance of the foundation will vary as the adjacent soil undergoes a large number of loading cycles of varying strain magnitudes. In this study, the full turbine-tower-foundation-soil system was modeled using finite element methods. An advanced non-linear soil constitutive model and dynamic loading time histories were used to investigate changes in stiffness of the soil, and the possible impact on the dynamic response of the system. Results were compared to conventional design methodologies with the goal of reducing foundation capital costs while avoiding increases in O&M costs and which can lower the LCOE of wind energy.

Oct 1, 2022

By Carlandrea Albonico, Salvatore Miranda

After a brief introduction of the whole Project, the paper describes two special geotechnical engineering solutions provided within the scope of the Galataport Project, in Istanbul, Turkey. The first refers to the new quay of Salıpazarı, which is a combination of retaining structure and ground improvement, formed by a combiwall, a reinforced concrete diaphragm wall and a soil improvement by deep soil mixing (Turbojet). The second, refers to the soil improvement works executed underneath three existing buildings. Single-fluid jet grouting columns had the scope of improving the mechanical properties of the bearing soil and reducing the associated risk of liquefaction. A set of underpinning micropiles was installed in order to allow the excavation of a partial basement inside two of these three buildings. All activities were conducted from inside the existing buildings, with reduced headroom. The paper highlights the importance of employing cutting-edge technologies within the foundation engineering field and state-of-the-art electronic control devices, in parallel with the essential human expertise, in order to obtain the desired results in this high-profile Project.

Nov 1, 2022

Jan 1, 1993

By Jon Huff, Jeffrey Donville, Hannah Iezzoni, Dan Stevenson

Occasionally, in the design of deep foundations for a structure, a single deep foundation element may be used to support a building column. The most common type of element used in such cases is a drilled shaft (also referred to as a drilled pier, caisson, or bored pile). However, as installation capabilities have improved, large diameter augercast piles are increasingly more common. While drilled shafts and augercast piles differ significantly in construction methods, in the eyes of the International Building Code (IBC), both are treated as cast-in-place deep foundations and must comply with many of the same code provisions. Deep foundations are required to be braced such that lateral stability is provided in all directions, however isolated, cast-in-place elements that have a diameter (D) of at least 2-feet and a length (L) not more than 12 times the diameter can be an exception. In response to the concerns raised by some member professionals, the Deep Foundations Institute’s (DFI) Augered Cast-in-Place Pile and Drilled Displacement Pile Committee took a closer look at the code and its applications, the historical development of the code language through the years and performed analytical modeling to evaluate the impact of this ratio on a pile’s stability. The question is whether the limiting ratio included in the IBC 2018 code provisions is justified, or whether different criteria should be used to determine when isolated deep foundation members are allowed.

Sep 8, 2021

By Alessandro Bertero, Stefano Valagussa, Filippo Maria, Wesley Schmutzler, Leoni

"Abstract The Deep Mixing Method (DMM) represents a viable solution to improve the adverse geotechnical properties of foundation soils. Differences and the importance of performing pre-construction laboratory and field tests will be highlighted. Comparative analyses and interpretations between the various lab and field stages, along with accumulated information about soil properties and QC results, allowed fine-tuning of the production parameters throughout almost the entire project.Two projects where the US Army Corps of Engineers selected the Deep Mixing Method (DMM) for the required stabilizations, and a third project completed in Italy, will be illustrated:•,?the LPV 111 Project (New Orleans - LA – USA); DMM was used for groundimprovement/foundation strengthening and consequently stabilize and support the burden of the new levee.•,the Rio Puerto Nuevo Project (San Juan - PR - USA); DMM was applied to improve the soils adjacent to a 90” forced sewer main relocation and to improve the soils for the base of a new drainage channel•,the new Italian high speed railway project (Florence Italy); DMM technology was applied to realize a a TBM break in/break out, foreseen originally by jet-grouting.IntroductionThe Deep Mixing Method (DMM) represents a viable solution to improve the adverse geotechnical properties of foundation soils. The effectiveness of working parameters depends largely on the physical and mechanical properties of the soil to be treated. Therefore, well designed laboratory and field test programs, aimed to disclose the interaction between the site-specific soils and the mixing parameters, are essential to achieve the desired end product."

Jan 1, 2014

By John S. Civetta, Seth Martin, Marc J. Gallagher, Arthur J. Alzamora, Ronald Peralta

The Crown Building, built circa 1921, is a 26-story iconic building located at West 57th Street and Fifth Avenue in the heart of Manhattan. The paper highlights collaboration between the geotechnical engineer and foundation contractor to develop economical and practical solutions to foundation design and construction challenges associated with this complex redevelopment project. The project includes both below-grade and above-grade expansion of the occupied building, and required undermining the existing foundations, and essentially doubling the foundation loads. The below-grade expansion required surgical foundation work including drilling minicaissons, shoring columns, underpinning, and excavating 20 feet of rock.

By Andrew Budek

"Analytical and experimental work has shown that achieving the full inelastic lateral capacity of a pile may require the formation of a plastic hinge below ground level, in the pile shaft. The confining action of soil about the pile shaft was further been shown to greatly enhance the ductility capacity of the pile. An experimental program was therefore undertaken to build in the effect of external confinement through the addition of a GFRP jacket to the subgrade plastic hinge region. Two piles were thus modified, and compared to an unjacketed pile in a test rig which simulated a subgrade moment pattern and soil confinement. The ductility achieved by the jacketed piles was found to be substantially lower than an unjacketed control specimen. Failure mode of the jacketed specimens was also undesirable, involving complete tendon rupture and sudden loss in capacity IntroductionSeismic loading of concrete pile shafts can result in a demand for inelastic response. In the case of a superstructure supported by a single pile (i.e., a pile-column forming a single-column bridge pier, in which there is no rotational restraint at the top of the pile}, a plastic hinge will form below grade, at a depth which varies with soil properties and above-grade height of the center of seismic mass.In the case of a superstructure supported by multiple piles, there is rotational restraint, and the connection will experience inelastic action first. However, development of the full lateral inelastic capacity of the pile may call for the formation of a second, subgrade plastic hinge (fig. 1 )."

Jan 1, 2005

By Mahdi Soudkhah, Akhter Hossain

Vertical micropiles are generally considered to be low in lateral resistance. Therefore, battered micropiles are often used when additional lateral load carrying capacity is required. However, battering of micropiles can sometimes be restricted due to existing adjacent structures or utilities, especially in highly urbanized areas. For example, presented in this paper are lateral load test data from a 43-story building project in New York City where vertical micropiles were used due to proximity to adjacent structures. Three static lateral load tests were conducted on micropiles consisting of 13.375-in-outside diameter and 25- to 51-ft-long casings, and socketed 10 to 12.6 ft into the bedrock (gneissic schist). The subsurface profile above the bedrock consists of loose to very dense, mostly sandy and silty soils. The design load for the three test piles was 14,000 lb and the maximum load applied during the tests was 200% of the design load. Lateral load- displacement behavior of the free pile heads from the load tests are compared with the results of p-y analyses based on a widely used p-y method for sandy soils and using a lower and an upper bound estimates of soil index properties and strength parameters. Since the existing p-y curves were formulated for larger diameter driven piles at a specific geographic location, major differences are observed between the results of the load tests and the p-y analyses. In general, the lateral displacements estimated based on the p-y analyses using upper bound soil parameters are relatively closer to the results of the field load testing. Modified p-y curves specific to the sandy and silty soils representative of the general subsurface conditions of New York City matched with the lateral load tests are presented in this paper. INTRODUCTION Micropiles generally are limited in lateral load carrying capacities due to their relatively higher slenderness ratios (ratio of depth to diameter) compared to more conventional deep foundation alternatives, such as driven piles and drilled shafts. So, micropiles are not typically considered as deep foundation solutions when significantly high lateral loads are expected on the substructures. Various means to increase the lateral resistance of micropiles include battering and installing an oversized casing in the top portion of the piles (FHWA 2005; and Richard and Rothbauer 2004). However, it is often not possible to install micropiles in a battered position in highly urbanized areas due to existing adjacent structures or utilities. Installation of oversized casing is often restricted by limited space availability and concerns of losing lateral capacities due to closely spaced group of piles. Thus, estimation of lateral resistance of vertical micropiles can become highly important for geotechnical engineering projects in urban areas when a small to moderate amount of lateral resistances are expected from the substructures, often to withstand seismic and wind loads.

Jan 1, 2019

By John C. Niedzielski, A. Frances Ackerman

The existing US-70 Bridge over the Gila River at Bylas, Arizona is planned to be replaced due to its current poor condition. The replacement bridge is planned to be a 15-span, 1,904-foot (580 meter) long bridge, the third-longest bridge in the state highway system. Within the Gila River floodplain, granular alluvial soil is underlain by cohesive lacustrine soil; bedrock was expected due to nearby terrain but not encountered within the geotechnical exploration depth of 166.5 feet (51 meters) or less. Based on the anticipated loading conditions, design scour depths and the soil conditions, the full structural loads are carried by large diameter drilled shafts; therefore accurately determining the axial capacity of the proposed drilled shafts has important practical and safety implications. The conventional methods for axial capacity determination may be overly conservative to use for design in the site’s layered granular and hard clay soils. An Osterberg cell load test was performed to obtain detailed information on the load transfer from the drilled shaft in side friction and base resistance to allow optimization of the bridge foundation design. The fullscale field test played a significant role in the design of the project’s deep foundations, notably, by incorporating the specific subsoil properties and consequently, an exact prediction of the load-settlement behavior under loading. This paper provides the results of the geotechnical site investigations, drilled shaft load testing procedures, and shaft load distribution from the load test results. Comparisons were developed between predicted axial capacities of drilled shafts using several design methodologies and the axial capacity measured from static load testing. The load test results showed that underestimation of the axial capacity is evident using conventional methodologies. The exact prediction of the load-settlement behavior under loading combined with a site-specific design approach, resulted in a substantial reduction of foundation costs due to reduced drilled shaft dimensions.

Jan 1, 2017

By Alan D. Fisher

Amtrak made a decision to replace an aging bascule bridge with a vertical lift bridge for their crossing of the Thames River in New London, Connecticut. The new lift bridge occupies the same alignment and shares the same foundations as the bascule span. During construction the deep foundation caisson supporting the bascule span settled and tilted. Investigation into possible reasons revealed interesting historical facts, both of the construction of the innovative open well caisson foundations and of the state-of-the-art in tremie concrete placing methods in use at the turn of the century. This paper describes both of these topics.

Jan 1, 2013

By George Filz, Morales, Carlos, Bertero, Filippo Maria, Alessandro, Leoni

"The Deep Mixing Method (DMM) represents a viable solution to improve adverse geotechnical properties of foundation soils for many practical applications. A pre-construction soil investigation campaign is necessary to assess soil properties and to retrieve samples of different soil layers for a laboratory Bench Scale Testing program (BST). The BST has to be designed using various binder types, binder contents, and water/cement ratios in each of the soil types. Following the laboratory program, a full scale Field Test (FT) is typically necessary to verify the results of the BST. This paper will highlight the differences and the importance of performing both pre-construction laboratory tests and field tests to ascertain the proper mixing parameters in the different soil layers. Comparative analyses and interpretations between the lab and field stages, along with accumulated information about soil properties and quality control (QC) results, allow fine-tuning the production parameters throughout a project. Three Deep Mixing Method projects, where both laboratory and field tests were executed, are illustrated: (1) The LPV 111 Project (New Orleans, LA, USA): DMM was used for ground improvement/foundation strengthening to stabilize and support the burden of a new levee raise; (2) The Rio Puerto Nuevo Project (San Juan, PR, USA): DMM was applied to improve the soils adjacent to a 90"" forced sewer main relocation and to improve the soils for the base of a new drainage channel; and (3) State Road 83 (US 331) over Choctawhatchee Bay project (Walton County, FL, USA): DMM was applied to stabilize the causeway sections of the bridge enhancement project. Data recorded during laboratory and field tests for these projects were analyzed and interpreted to select the most appropriate construction parameters to provide a final high-quality product.INTRODUCTIONThe Deep Mixing Method (DMM) represents a viable solution to improve adverse geotechnical properties of foundation soils in many situations. The effectiveness of working parameters depends largely on the physical and mechanical properties of the soil to be treated. Therefore, well designed laboratory and field test programs, aimed to disclose the interaction between the site-specific soils and the mixing parameters, are essential to achieve the desired end product.Generally a pre-construction soil investigation campaign has to be performed to assess soil properties and to retrieve samples of different soil layers for the laboratory Bench Scale Testing programme (BST). The BST has to be designed using various binder types, binder contents (or cement factors - CF), and grout water/cement ratios (W/C) in each of the soil types; the selection of the different combinations and dosages for the BST is based on past extensive experiences on similar materials. Following the laboratory programme results, a full scale Field Test (FT) has to be designed and executed, installing several DMM elements to verify the results of the BST and fine tune the construction parameters, with the appropriate binder type and dosage and the most effective equipment and tool configuration."

Jan 1, 2015

By Andy Boeckmann

In early 2021, DFI formed a Foundation Reuse Task Force due to concurrent and coincidental discussions of this topic during meetings of the Subsurface Char- acterization for Deep Foundations and Testing and Evaluation committees. Interested members from both commit- tees, as well as of the Sustainability Com- mittee, joined forces to form the task force. The task force mission is to promote foundation reuse by leveraging experi- ence among DFI members and collabo- rating across pertinent committees. General goals of the task force are to identify, assess and reduce risks associated with reuse; to educate owners and decision-makers about reuse; and to improve the investigation, design, construction and testing practices associated with reuse. One of the first orders of business for the task force was to organize a roundtable discussion of foundation reuse for DFI's 46th Annual Conference on Deep Foundations in Las Vegas. Last fall's discussion was framed as a continuation of the successful "Horses for Courses" session of SuperPile '21, which also focused on foundation reuse. However, whereas the SuperPile session focused on technical content, the annual conference panel on October 13, 2021, was envisioned as a less technical conversation that emphasized audience participation while addressing approaches to decisions about foundation reuse issues. The roundtable consisted of five panelists: • • • Bryan Hartnagel, Ph.D., state bridge engineer, Missouri DOT (MODOT) Tom Bradley, project director, Stanhope, London Hilary Shields, senior geotechnical engineer, Arup, London Jim Mackey, vice president/chief marketing officer, McGee Group, London Susan White, attorney, Benesch, Cleveland The roundtable was moderated by Andy Boeckmann, Ph.D., P.E., a senior engineer who works in Dan Brown and Associates' Missouri and Illinois offices, and is an article co-author.

Feb 1, 2022

By Clarissa Aguiar, Seok hyeon Chai, Thamer Yacoub, Sina Javankhoshdel

Sheet piles are used as an excavation support for soil retention. They are interlocked systems to form a wall for earth support along with anchors to provide an extra lateral support in excavations. The earth pressure against a sheet pile structure is not unique for each soil, but rather a function of soil-structure system. Movements of the structure with respect to the soil are primary factor in developing the pressure and thus the problem becomes indeterminate. In order to model a sheet pile wall for the analysis, structural element/interface can be used for the sheet pile. However, the use of the structural element with soil model alone is insufficient to simulate this soil-structure system as it fails to capture the slip condition between the sheet pile and the retained soil. In order to capture this slip condition, an interactive element can be used between sheet pile and soil to allow slip to occur. There have been many case studies where this method was used to analyze the response of the retained soil. Numerical studies have shown a good agreement with experimental results, but this stiffness is often not a well-known parameter, due to its complexity in nature of interactive behavior between soil and sheet pile walls. Also, many case studies are carried out with twodimensional analysis of the foundation, where three-dimensional analysis may be more suitable in some practical applications. In this paper, the interactive behavior of the element between sheet pile and soil is investigated with case studies for staged excavation using sheet piles and anchors. Then, investigation of a three-dimensional model is carried out by comparing with two-dimensional analysis.