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Art.

2 WALL TYPES AND DRAINS 5

Article 2. TYPES OF RETAINING WALLS


AND BACKFILL DRAINS

Introduction. The shape of the cross section, or profile, of a re


taining wall may be determined by the prevailing conditions, but
usually retaining walls are of four general types: the solid gravity
wall, the semigravity wall, the cantilever or T-wall, and the counter
fort wall. The buttressed wall is used occasionally under special con
ditions. In this country, most retaining walls are constructed of
plain or reinforced concrete, although stone or brick masonry is
sometimes used. Occasionally, concrete walls may be faced with
brick or stone.
Solid Gravity Wall. The simplest profile for solid gravity walls is
the trapezoid shown in Fig. 2-1a. This form is rarely used. The most

(a)
Hi "a (b) (c)
-5
(d)
Fig. 2-1. Forms of solid gravity walls.

common forms are shown in (6) and (c), which have small toe pro
The wall in (c) also has a heel projection. The concrete for
jections.
all except very low walls is commonly poured in two or more oper
ations. Such a wall is illustrated in (c). When possible, the concrete
for the lower portion, called the base or footing, is poured in an ex
cavated trench and allowed to set. The forms for the upper portion
are erected with the base as a support. The horizontal projection
on the back provides support for the back form. Also,
a convenient
the portion of the top surface of the toe, adjacent to the face, is often
made horizontal to support the face form. One or more keys, whose
combined horizontal area occupies from one-third to one-fourth of the
horizontal section, are provided to resist the tendency for the upper
portion to slide on the base because of the lateral thrust of the re
tained earth. The contact surface may be roughened to accomplish
this result. Solid gravity walls are so proportioned that tensile

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