Geotehnic

- curs 88Conf. Dr. Ing. Ana Nicu

Ziduri de sprijin
A retaining wall is a wall that provides lateral support for a vertical or
near-vertical slope of soil.
It is a common in many construction projects and the most common
types of retaining wall may be classified as follows:
- Gravity retaining walls
- Semi gravity retaining walls
- Cantilever retaining walls
- Counter fort retaining walls
Gravity retaining walls depend on their owned weight and any soil
resting on the masonry for their stability.
In a many cases, a small amount of steel may be used for the
construction of gravity walls, this walls find are referred to as semi gravity
walls.
Cantilever retaining walls is economical up to a height of about 8 m
and are made of reinforced concrete that consists of a thin stem and a base
slab.
Counter fort retaining walls are similar to cantilever walls except for
the fact that, at regular intervals, they have thin vertical concrete slabs known
as counter forts that tie the wall and the base slab together.

Gravity Retaining wall types

Cantilever retaining Wall Types

The design of retaining walls

Approximately dimensions for various components of retaining wall.

(min 0,3m)

back fill

b'

butter
1:2 1:10

front face
back face

Df

Toe

Heel

0.12 to
0.17 H
0.5 to 0.7 H
a)gravity wall

0.12 to
0.17 H

Df

0.1 H
0.1 H
0.5 to 0.7 H
b)cantilever wall

Stability Checks
To check the stability of a retaining wall, the following
steps are necessary:
1. Check for overturning about its toe
2. Check for sliding failure along its base
3. Check for bearing capacity failure of the base
4. Check for settlement
5. Check for overall stability
Failure due to:
Sliding

Overturning

Loos of
overall stability

Shear Failure

Forces Acting on a Retaining Wall

The figure presented below shows the forces acting on a gravity
and cantilever retaining wall witch the assumption that the Rankine active
pressure is acting along a vertical plane AB trawl through the heel. Pp is
the Rankine passive pressure; its magnitude can be given as.

b'

1
1
c1=0

1
1
c1=0
Pav

Pa

Pav

Pa
Pah

Pah
Df

Pp
C
qtoe
B
a)gravity wall

B
2
qheel 2
c2

Pp
C

B 2
qheel

qtoe
B
b)cantilever wall

2
c2

H'

Check for overturning

The factor of safely against overturning about the toe that is,
about point C, can be expressed as:

where :
= sum of the moments of forces tending to overturn about
point C;
= sum of the moments of forces tending to resist overturning
about point C.

Check for Sliding Along the Base

The factor of safety against sliding may be expressed by the equation

Fl

=
F

f 1, 3

Where:
F = sum of the horizontal resisting forces
F = Sum of the destabilization forces
R

1(kN/m 3)
o
1( C)
c 1=0 (kPa)
Ws 1
Pah

Ws 2
Pp

D'
R'
B

Check for the concrete section

Check for section 1 1
a

Pav
Ws1
W1
Pp
Df

Pa
Pah
section1-1

1 .0 m

Ws2 1 W 2

o1
B'

W3

o1

B'

Check for Bearing Capacity Failure

The vertical pressure as transmitted to the soil by the base slab of
the retaining wall should be checked against the ultimate bearing capacity of
the soil.

1
1
Ws''
W

2
2 Df Ws' 1 2

a''

1.0
m

a'

Pah

3 1

02

B
C
p1=pmax=ptoe

o2

p4
p3

B/2

pmin=pheel=p2

p1>0

p2<0
p2=0
p2>0

The pressure distribution under the base slab can be determined

by using the simple principles of mechanics of materials:

Reinforcing of the abutment wall