Physical design problem questions.

79 physical design problem questions from the bank, ready to practice out loud.

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Loads, margins & factors of safety STAR and CARL: structuring your story Material selection: environment, lifecycle & failure modes

All 79 questions

Pedestrian bridge over highwayWalk me through how you'd approach designing a pedestrian bridge over a busy highway.Structural reasoningMid–senior

Steel versus reinforced concreteWalk me through how you'd choose between steel and reinforced concrete for a parking structure.Materials selectionMid–senior

Load analysis for retrofittingWalk me through how you'd analyze loads on a building you're retrofitting for additional floors.Load and constraint analysisSenior–leadership

Safety factors for unique designWalk me through how you'd decide on safety factors for a one-of-a-kind structural design.Safety factor judgmentSenior–leadership

Over-specified design cost reductionWalk me through how you'd handle a design that's structurally over-specified but the client wants to cut cost.Cost vs robustness tradeoffsSenior–leadership

Cantilever with unusual supportWalk me through how you'd design a cantilever feature that requires unusual support.Structural reasoningSenior–leadership

Material selection for marine environmentsWalk me through how you'd select materials for a marine-environment installation.Materials selectionSenior–leadership

Wind-load analysis for tall towersWalk me through how you'd handle wind-load analysis for a tall, slender tower.Load and constraint analysisSenior–leadership

Challenging code-mandated safety factorsWalk me through how you'd respond when code-mandated safety factors feel either too conservative or too risky for your case.Safety factor judgmentSenior–leadership

Balancing maintainability and initial costWalk me through how you'd balance maintainability against initial cost in a long-life design.Cost vs robustness tradeoffsSenior–leadership

Roof design for snow loadWalk me through how you'd design a roof for a region with significant snow load.Structural reasoningMid–senior

Material selection with uncertain supplyWalk me through how you'd choose materials when the supply chain is uncertain.Materials selectionSenior–leadership

Seismic load analysis for buildingsWalk me through how you'd analyze seismic loads on a building in a moderate-seismic region.Load and constraint analysisSenior–leadership

Redundancy over safety factorsWalk me through how you'd handle a design where redundancy is preferred over higher safety factors.Safety factor judgmentSenior–leadership

Value engineering without sacrificing safetyWalk me through how you'd value-engineer a design without sacrificing core safety.Cost vs robustness tradeoffsSenior–leadership

Steel beam to concrete columnWalk me through designing a connection between a steel beam and a concrete column.Structural reasoningMid–senior

Evaluating new composite materialsWalk me through how you'd evaluate a new composite material proposed by a vendor for an existing structural use.Materials selectionSenior–leadership

Fatigue analysis on cyclic loadsWalk me through how you'd handle fatigue analysis on a cyclically-loaded structure.Load and constraint analysisSenior–leadership

Disagreeing on safety factorsWalk me through how you'd handle a peer review that disagrees with your safety-factor selection.Safety factor judgmentSenior–leadership

Aesthetic feature adds complexityWalk me through how you'd handle a client who wants an aesthetic feature that adds structural complexity.Cost vs robustness tradeoffsSenior–leadership

Designing temporary structuresWalk me through how you'd approach designing a temporary structure with a defined lifespan.Structural reasoningMid–senior

Material selection for century-long serviceWalk me through how you'd choose materials for a structure that will be in service for over 100 years.Materials selectionSenior–leadership

Construction loads exceed in-serviceWalk me through how you'd handle a design where construction loads exceed in-service loads.Load and constraint analysisSenior–leadership

Poorly characterized load environmentsWalk me through how you'd handle a structural element whose load environment is poorly characterized.Safety factor judgmentSenior–leadership

Justifying expensive design choicesWalk me through how you'd justify a more expensive design choice to a project manager.Cost vs robustness tradeoffsSenior–leadership

Progressive-collapse resistance in buildingsWalk me through how you'd think about progressive-collapse resistance in a building design.Structural reasoningSenior–leadership

Sustainable versus conventional materialsWalk me through how you'd compare sustainable-material options against conventional ones for a project.Materials selectionSenior–leadership

Dynamic response more criticalWalk me through how you'd analyze a structure where the dynamic response is more important than the static.Load and constraint analysisSenior–leadership

Failure modes with different consequencesWalk me through how you'd handle a design where one mode of failure has catastrophic consequences and another doesn't.Safety factor judgmentSenior–leadership

Justifying design outside preferenceWalk me through how you'd document the engineering basis for a design choice that's outside the client's first preference.Cost vs robustness tradeoffsSenior–leadership

Residential retaining wall designWalk me through how you'd design a simple retaining wall for a residential backyard with a 6-foot grade change.Structural reasoningEntry–mid

Material selection for outdoor stairsWalk me through how you'd select between wood, steel, and aluminum for an outdoor staircase in a public park.Materials selectionEntry–mid

Calculating floor loadsWalk me through how you'd calculate the dead load and live load for a residential floor system.Load and constraint analysisEntry–mid

Safety factor for building columnsWalk me through how you'd determine an appropriate safety factor for a standard office building column.Safety factor judgmentEntry–mid

Standard versus custom beamsWalk me through how you'd decide between using standard catalog beams versus custom-fabricated ones for a warehouse.Cost vs robustness tradeoffsEntry–mid

Foundation design on clay soilWalk me through how you'd design a foundation for a small storage shed on clay soil.Structural reasoningEntry–mid

Galvanized versus stainless handrailsWalk me through how you'd choose between galvanized steel and stainless steel for outdoor handrails.Materials selectionEntry–mid

Thermal expansion in concreteWalk me through how you'd account for thermal expansion in a long concrete driveway design.Load and constraint analysisEntry–mid

Verifying supplier beam capacityWalk me through how you'd verify that a supplier's quoted beam capacity is adequate for your application.Safety factor judgmentEntry–mid

Repair or replace concrete slabWalk me through how you'd decide whether to repair or replace a cracked concrete slab in a commercial building.Cost vs robustness tradeoffsEntry–mid

Sizing deck footingsWalk me through how you'd size the footings for a residential deck attached to an existing house.Structural reasoningEntry–mid

Concrete strength by use caseWalk me through how you'd select concrete strength for a standard sidewalk versus a heavy vehicle loading dock.Materials selectionEntry–mid

Mass timber versus steel framingWalk me through how you'd evaluate mass timber (CLT) against steel framing for a six-story office building — structural behavior, fire performance, and the code approval path.Materials selectionSenior–leadership

Reducing embodied carbonA client has set a hard embodied-carbon budget for their new building. Walk me through where you'd hunt for the biggest reductions without compromising structural performance.Sustainability and embodied carbonSenior–leadership

EV charging in parking structuresAn owner wants to dedicate two levels of a 1990s parking structure to electric-vehicle fleet parking with chargers. Walk me through the structural and services questions you'd resolve before signing off.Load and constraint analysisSenior–leadership

Flood elevation with outdated mapsYou're designing in a flood zone where the historical flood maps clearly no longer reflect observed events. Walk me through how you'd set the design flood elevation and justify it.Safety factor judgmentSenior–leadership

Converting office to residentialA developer asks whether a 1980s office tower can be converted to residential apartments. Walk me through the structural and building-systems issues that decide feasibility.Structural reasoningSenior–leadership

High-replacement concrete mixesA ready-mix supplier proposes a concrete mix with 50% cement replacement to cut embodied carbon on your foundation pour. What would you verify before approving it?Materials selectionMid–senior

Adding rooftop solar arraysWalk me through how you'd check whether a rooftop solar array can safely be added to an existing single-family house.Load and constraint analysisEntry–mid

Removing load-bearing wallsA homeowner wants to remove the wall between their kitchen and living room. Walk me through how you'd determine whether it's load-bearing and what the fix is if it is.Structural reasoningEntry–mid

Steel canopies in extreme heatWalk me through how you'd account for sustained extreme-heat events in the design of a long, exposed steel pedestrian canopy — movement, connections, and comfort.Load and constraint analysisMid–senior

Designing for disassemblyA client wants their building designed for disassembly so the structure can be reused in thirty years. Walk me through what changes in your connections, materials, and documentation.Sustainability and embodied carbonSenior–leadership

Diagonal cracks above doorsYou're sent to inspect a building where occupants report new diagonal cracks above several door frames. What would you look for on the site visit, and what would worry you most?Structural reasoningEntry–mid

Battery storage in buildingsAn owner wants to install a grid-scale battery energy storage system inside an existing industrial building. Walk me through the structural, fire, and siting questions you'd work through.Safety factor judgmentSenior–leadership

Foundations on expansive clayWalk me through how you'd design foundation systems for a building on expansive clay soil.Structural reasoningMid–senior

Rebar corrosion in concreteWalk me through how you'd evaluate whether to repair or replace aging concrete infrastructure showing signs of rebar corrosion.Cost vs robustness tradeoffsSenior–leadership

Cladding materials for seismic high-risesWalk me through how you'd select cladding materials for a high-rise in a seismic zone.Materials selectionMid–senior

Thermal expansion in long-spanWalk me through how you'd approach thermal expansion joints in a long-span structure exposed to extreme temperature swings.Structural reasoningMid–staff+

Retaining walls with groundwater constraintsWalk me through how you'd design a retaining wall for a site with high groundwater and limited space for excavation.Load and constraint analysisMid–senior

Embodied carbon reduction on budgetWalk me through how you'd specify materials to minimize embodied carbon in a warehouse while meeting budget constraints.Sustainability and embodied carbonMid–staff+

Beam depth conflicts with architectWalk me through how you'd handle conflicting opinions between the structural engineer and architect on a beam depth that affects ceiling height.Cost vs robustness tradeoffsSenior–leadership

Shoring near historic buildingsWalk me through how you'd design temporary shoring for excavation adjacent to an occupied historic building.Safety factor judgmentSenior–staff+

Pre-cast versus cast-in-place concreteWalk me through how you'd choose between pre-cast and cast-in-place concrete for a multi-story residential project on a tight schedule.Materials selectionMid–senior

Pedestrian bridge crowd dynamicsWalk me through how you'd analyze dynamic loads for a pedestrian bridge known to attract large crowds during events.Load and constraint analysisSenior–staff+

Fasteners for fatigue-loaded connectionsWalk me through how you'd approach fastener selection for steel connections in a structure subject to fatigue loading.Materials selectionMid–senior

Laboratory floors with vibration limitsWalk me through how you'd design a floor system for a laboratory with heavy equipment and strict vibration limits.Structural reasoningMid–staff+

CLT versus steel for net-zeroWalk me through how you'd determine whether to use cross-laminated timber or structural steel for a mid-rise office building aiming for net-zero carbon.Sustainability and embodied carbonSenior–staff+

Rooftop equipment on existing structuresWalk me through how you'd assess whether an existing structure can support new rooftop solar panels and mechanical equipment.Load and constraint analysisMid–senior

Connections for modular on-site assemblyWalk me through how you'd design connections for a modular building system that must be assembled on-site quickly.Structural reasoningMid–senior

Protective coatings for chemical facilitiesWalk me through how you'd decide on protective coatings for structural steel in a chemical processing facility.Materials selectionMid–senior

Designing beyond outdated building codesWalk me through how you'd adjust your design approach when local building codes lag behind current best practices for resilience.Safety factor judgmentSenior–leadership

Stadium roofs for snow scenariosWalk me through how you'd design a stadium roof to handle both snow accumulation and rapid snow-shedding scenarios.Load and constraint analysisSenior–staff+

Concrete durability in freeze-thaw climatesWalk me through how you'd balance durability and cost when selecting concrete mix designs for a parking structure in a freeze-thaw climate.Cost vs robustness tradeoffsMid–senior

Wind turbine on soft soilWalk me through how you'd design foundations for a wind turbine on soft soil with variable water table.Structural reasoningSenior–staff+

Recycled content in structural materialsWalk me through how you'd specify recycled content in structural materials without compromising performance or code compliance.Sustainability and embodied carbonMid–staff+

Blast resistance in urban buildingsWalk me through how you'd evaluate blast resistance requirements for a building in an urban area with security concerns.Safety factor judgmentSenior–staff+

Designing for inexperienced contractorsWalk me through how you'd design for constructability when the contractor has limited experience with your chosen structural system.Cost vs robustness tradeoffsSenior–leadership

Uplift forces in hurricane-prone regionsWalk me through how you'd analyze uplift forces on a lightweight structure in a hurricane-prone region.Load and constraint analysisMid–senior

Materials for salt-exposed bridgesWalk me through how you'd approach material selection for a bridge in an area where deicing salts are heavily used in winter.Materials selectionMid–senior