Evaluation of Representative Groundwater Pressure according to Eurocode 7

Sammanfattning

Accurate assessment of groundwater pressure is critical for geotechnical design, yet it is often overlooked due to its temporal variability and the lack of clear guidance in the first generation of Eurocode 7. The upcoming second-generation Eurocode addresses this gap by introducing a revised framework for defining representative groundwater pressures, incorporating probabilistic methods and partial safety factors to derive design values.This thesis applies the updated methodology to a case study using both long-term and short-term groundwater level measurements from a Swedish geotechnical project. Representative piezometric levels are first determined through statistical extreme value analysis, in accordance with the updated Eurocode 7, and through the traditional Chalmers model, which employs short-term observations and regional reference data. These representative levels aresubsequently transformed into design groundwater pressures for use in an uplift ultimate limit state verification.The study evaluates how differences in representative level estimation influence the resulting design pressures and their implications for ultimate limit states— particularly failure by uplift. By comparing methodologies and quantifying pressure variability, the findings provide insight into the practical application of the second-generation Eurocode 7 and support more reliable groundwater modelling in geotechnical design.