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D. Adam:
"Retaining Structures in Challenging Ground Conditions - Case Studies from Europe";
Keynote Lecture: XIVth National Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Bucharest (invited); 2021-06-02 - 2021-06-03.

Piles, structures made of piles, and pile-like structures, socket foundations etc. are useful structural elements to support deep excavations and cuts in slopes, and to retain creeping or sliding slopes, not uncommonly in seismic areas. Depending on the static system and the dimensions the structural elements transfer forces mainly by shear ("dowel") and/or mainly by bending ("beam") to the ground. In numerous cases they are particularly effective in combination with other structural measures like (pre-stressed) anchors and/or drainage systems. The paper presents case histories including piles and pile-like structures, which are applied for retaining structures in slopes. The main focus is on infrastructure projects in creeping slopes. Several case histories from Austria and Slovenia are presented in detail. Miscellaneous projects from European countries concentrating on various aspects complement the contribution.

Retaining structure, creeping slopes, challenging ground conditions