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1.4 SCOPE OF THE GUIDELINES. These guidelines apply to the types of Retaining Walls discussed in Section 1.4.1 Retaining Walls Covered In These Guidelines below. The focus of these guidelines is on the geotechnical aspects of Retaining Wall design; however, some regulatory and structural issues are also discussed.
- APPENDIX
- Index About the authors . . .
- For The User
- Why It Was Written
- Evolution of Retaining Structures
- Definition:
- Types of Retaining Structures
- Masonry or concrete walls
- Buttress retaining walls
- Gravity retaining walls
- Stacked and mortar-bonded stone, rubble, or rock walls
- Gabion or crib walls
- Wood retaining walls
- Tilt-up concrete retaining walls
- Segmental retaining walls (SRWs)
- Bridge abutments
- Sheet pile and bulkhead walls
- Restrained (Non-yielding) retaining walls
- Anchored (tieback) walls
- What the Terms Mean:
- The Four Primary Concerns for the Design of Nearly any Retaining Wall are:
- Design Criteria Checklist
- Step-By-Step Design of a Restrained Retaining Wall
- What Building Code(s) Apply To This Project?
- Determination of Loads and Forces
- Lateral Earth Pressures
- The Rankine Equation
- Seismic Design Background
- Dowels from Footing into the Stem
- Proportioning Pointers
- Piles, Piers, and Caissons
- When to Use Piles or Piers?
- Proportioning
- Design Overview
- Filler Wall Design
- Description
- Dual Function Walls
- 22. WHY RETAINING WALLS FAIL AND COST EFFECTIVE FIXES
- Here are Twelve Things That Can Go Wrong and Signal Distress:
- Compaction
- Inspections
- The Investigation
- Forensic Investigations
About Retaining Walls; Terminology Design Procedure Overview Soil Mechanics Simplified Building Codes and Retaining Walls Forces on Retaining Walls Earthquake (Seismic) Design Soil Bearing and Stability Designing the Cantilever Wall Stem Footing Design Pier and Pile Foundations Counterfort Retaining Walls Cantilevered Tilt-Up Walls ...
HUGH BROOKS has been a consulting structural engineer for over 40 years and is a licensed civil and structural engineer in California. He has managed Retain Pro Software for over fifteen years and has authored four engineering and construction related books. He writes and resides in Newport Beach, California. JOHN P. NIELSEN , Ph.D, is a licensed c...
This book is intended to cover and explain design practices and building code requirements for the design of earth retaining structures. It is for both the practicing engineer who has become a bit rusty on this complex subject, and for the engineering student who has already acquired a basic knowledge of statics, soil mechanics, and the design of ...
The design of retaining walls is not an every-day design task. During my many years of providing technical support for Retain Pro software it became increasingly apparent that many engineers infrequently design retaining walls and need some brushing-up, particularly on code requirements. It is also for the civil/structural engineering student to su...
In the year one-million BC, or thereabouts, an anonymous man, or woman, laid a row of stones atop another row to keep soil from sliding into their camp. Thus was constructed an early retaining wall, and we've been keeping soil in place ever since...... with increasingly better methods and understanding. The early engineers in the ancient cultures ...
retaining wall is any constructed wall that restrains soil or other material at locations having an abrupt change in elevation.
There are many types of structures used to retain soil and other materials. Listed below are the types of earth retaining structures generally used today. The design of these will be discussed in later chapters.
The stem of a masonry wall is usually constructed of either 8” or 12” deep concrete masonry block units. The cells are partially or solid grouted, and are vertically reinforced. An eight-inch block is generally adequate to retain up to about six feet, and a twelve-inch block up to ten to twelve feet. The stems of a concrete wall must be formed, a...
These are similar to counterfort walls, but the wings project from the outside face of the wall. Such walls are generally used in those cases where property line limitations on the earth retention side do not allow space for the large heel of a traditional cantilevered retaining wall.
This type of wall depends upon the dead load mass of the wall for stability rather than cantilevering from a foundation.
These are usually gravity walls relegated to landscaping features with retaining less than about four feet high. Engineering for such walls is limited, or none at all, and rules-of-thumb prevail (such as a retained height not more than two or three times the base width). Higher walls need engineering to evaluate overturning, sliding, soil bearing a...
A gabion wall is a type of gravity wall whereby stones or rubble are placed within wire fabric baskets. Crib walls are a variation of the gabion method whereby mostly steel bins are filled with stone or rubble. Another variation is to stack a grillage of timbers and fill the interior with earth or rubble. Precast concrete crib walls are also widely...
Wood is commonly used for low height retaining walls. Wood retaining walls usually consist of laterally spaced wood posts embedded into the soil, preferably into a drilled hole with the posts encased in lean concrete. Horizontal planks span between the upward cantilevering posts. Pressure treated wood is used, but even with treatment deterioration ...
Tilt-up concrete construction has been successfully used for retaining walls, either cantilevered or restrained at the top. These site-cast panels are set on concrete pads at panel ends, with the reinforcing projecting out from the bottom. A continuous concrete footing is then cast under the wall to complete the construction. Tilt-up walls are econ...
Many manufacturers offer various systems of stacked segmental concrete units, steel bins, or other devices that retain soil by stacking individual components. Most are patented systems that are typically battered (sloped backward), primarily to reduce lateral soil pressure, thus requiring a minimal foundation. Reinforced concrete footings, steel re...
These support the end of a bridge and retain the earth embankment leading to the bridge. Bridge abutments usually have angled wing walls of descending height to accommodate the side slope of the embankment. Abutments are designed as cantilever walls, with girder bearing support free to slide at one end to accommodate horizontal expansion movement o...
These are generally waterfront structures such as at docks and wharves, but steel sheet piling is also used for temporary shoring on construction sites. Steel sheet units configured for stiffness or concrete panels are driven into the soil to provide lateral support below the base of the excavation or the dredge line. Sheet pile walls cantilever up...
Also called “basement walls” (for residential and light commercial conditions) or “tie-back” walls. These walls are distinguished by having lateral support at or near the top, thereby with less or no dependence for fixity at the foundation. Technically, these walls are classified as “non-yielding” walls because the walls cannot move laterally at th...
Anchors or tiebacks are often used for higher walls where a cantilevered wall may not be economical. Restraint is achieved by drilling holes and grouting inclined steel rods as anchors into the zone of earth behind the wall beyond the theoretical failure plane in the backfill. The anchors can be placed at several tiers for higher walls, and can be ...
Backfill: The soil placed behind a wall. Backfill slope: Often the backfill slopes upward from the back face of the wall. The slope is usually expressed as a ratio of horizontal to vertical (e.g. 2:1). Batter: The slope of the face of the stem from a vertical plane, usually on the inside (earth) face. Dowels: Reinforcing steel placed in the footin...
That it has an acceptable Factor of Safety with respect to overturning. That it has an acceptable Factor of Safety with respect to sliding. That the allowable soil bearing pressures are not exceeded. That the stresses within the components (stem and footing) are within code allowable limits to adequately resist imposed vertical and lateral load...
Before establishing specific design criteria, the following checklist should be used before starting your design: What building codes are applicable? Do I have the correct retained height for all of my wall conditions? Is there a property line condition I need to know about? Is there a fence on top of the wall, or does the wall extend above the ret...
Similar to the above with some additional steps (italicized): Establish all design criteria based upon applicable building codes. (See checklist above). Compute all applied loads (at-rest earth pressures, seismic, wind, axial, surcharges, impact, or any others. Select “height” to lateral restraint. Select restraint – level and base of stem design a...
Always check with the Building Department having jurisdiction over the project to determine the code(s) adopted by the jurisdiction and if any local amendments apply. The following codes are most often adopted or cited. Building Codes
The design of retaining walls may include any or all of the following (each will be discussed in the text that follows): Lateral earth pressure Axial loads Adjacent footing loads Surcharge loads Impact forces Wind on projecting stem *Seismic wall self-weight forces and seismic earth pressure force *Discussed in Chapter 6
The purpose of a retaining wall is to retain soil and to resist the lateral pressure of the soil against the wall. Most lateral pressure theories are based upon the sliding soil wedge theory. This, in simple terms, is based upon the assumption that if the wall is suddenly removed, a triangular wedge of soil will slide down along a rupture plane, an...
If a problem is evident, or suspected, an independent engineer may be retained to investigate the problem. This will involve a review of the design, particularly to determine if the site conditions match the design criteria (e.g. a wall designed to retain eight feet, and actually retaining ten feet). The plans will be reviewed for clarity and confo...
If a problem is evident, or suspected, an independent engineer may be retained to investigate the problem. This will involve a review of the design, particularly to determine if the site conditions match the design criteria (e.g. a wall designed to retain eight feet, and actually retaining ten feet). The plans will be reviewed for clarity and confo...
If a problem is evident, or suspected, an independent engineer may be retained to investigate the problem. This will involve a review of the design, particularly to determine if the site conditions match the design criteria (e.g. a wall designed to retain eight feet, and actually retaining ten feet). The plans will be reviewed for clarity and confo...
If a problem is evident, or suspected, an independent engineer may be retained to investigate the problem. This will involve a review of the design, particularly to determine if the site conditions match the design criteria (e.g. a wall designed to retain eight feet, and actually retaining ten feet). The plans will be reviewed for clarity and confo...
If a problem is evident, or suspected, an independent engineer may be retained to investigate the problem. This will involve a review of the design, particularly to determine if the site conditions match the design criteria (e.g. a wall designed to retain eight feet, and actually retaining ten feet). The plans will be reviewed for clarity and confo...
If a problem is evident, or suspected, an independent engineer may be retained to investigate the problem. This will involve a review of the design, particularly to determine if the site conditions match the design criteria (e.g. a wall designed to retain eight feet, and actually retaining ten feet). The plans will be reviewed for clarity and confo...
If a problem is evident, or suspected, an independent engineer may be retained to investigate the problem. This will involve a review of the design, particularly to determine if the site conditions match the design criteria (e.g. a wall designed to retain eight feet, and actually retaining ten feet). The plans will be reviewed for clarity and confo...
If a problem is evident, or suspected, an independent engineer may be retained to investigate the problem. This will involve a review of the design, particularly to determine if the site conditions match the design criteria (e.g. a wall designed to retain eight feet, and actually retaining ten feet). The plans will be reviewed for clarity and confo...
If a problem is evident, or suspected, an independent engineer may be retained to investigate the problem. This will involve a review of the design, particularly to determine if the site conditions match the design criteria (e.g. a wall designed to retain eight feet, and actually retaining ten feet). The plans will be reviewed for clarity and confo...
If a problem is evident, or suspected, an independent engineer may be retained to investigate the problem. This will involve a review of the design, particularly to determine if the site conditions match the design criteria (e.g. a wall designed to retain eight feet, and actually retaining ten feet). The plans will be reviewed for clarity and confo...
If a problem is evident, or suspected, an independent engineer may be retained to investigate the problem. This will involve a review of the design, particularly to determine if the site conditions match the design criteria (e.g. a wall designed to retain eight feet, and actually retaining ten feet). The plans will be reviewed for clarity and confo...
If a problem is evident, or suspected, an independent engineer may be retained to investigate the problem. This will involve a review of the design, particularly to determine if the site conditions match the design criteria (e.g. a wall designed to retain eight feet, and actually retaining ten feet). The plans will be reviewed for clarity and confo...
If a problem is evident, or suspected, an independent engineer may be retained to investigate the problem. This will involve a review of the design, particularly to determine if the site conditions match the design criteria (e.g. a wall designed to retain eight feet, and actually retaining ten feet). The plans will be reviewed for clarity and confo...
If a problem is evident, or suspected, an independent engineer may be retained to investigate the problem. This will involve a review of the design, particularly to determine if the site conditions match the design criteria (e.g. a wall designed to retain eight feet, and actually retaining ten feet). The plans will be reviewed for clarity and confo...
If a problem is evident, or suspected, an independent engineer may be retained to investigate the problem. This will involve a review of the design, particularly to determine if the site conditions match the design criteria (e.g. a wall designed to retain eight feet, and actually retaining ten feet). The plans will be reviewed for clarity and confo...
If a problem is evident, or suspected, an independent engineer may be retained to investigate the problem. This will involve a review of the design, particularly to determine if the site conditions match the design criteria (e.g. a wall designed to retain eight feet, and actually retaining ten feet). The plans will be reviewed for clarity and confo...
If a problem is evident, or suspected, an independent engineer may be retained to investigate the problem. This will involve a review of the design, particularly to determine if the site conditions match the design criteria (e.g. a wall designed to retain eight feet, and actually retaining ten feet). The plans will be reviewed for clarity and confo...
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An unreinforced gravity wall can be used in normal soil environments with concrete blocks that are about one-third of the wall height in depth. As an example, a 12-inch-deep block (as measured from face to tail) can be used to construct walls up to about 36inchesin height; a 20-inch-deep product can be used to construct walls up to about 60inches
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On the Retaining Wall Solutions website, the technical section has downloadable PDF and DWG technical drawings of the various concrete blocks supplied by us. Call today for a comprehensive design and build. Call 0151 428 9270 to order your walls.
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Introduction. This document has been prepared to provide guidance when designing retaining walls using Elite Precast Concrete Limited’s interlocking concrete blocks. It is intended to assist civil/structural engineers and architects in the best practice of designing these types of gravity retaining structure.
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- Ling, H, etal: “Large Scale Shaking Table Tests on Modular-Block Reinforced Soil Retaining Walls”, Journal of the Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering ASCE, April 2005 - Kliethermes, J., K. Buttry, E. McCullough, and R. Wetzel. "Modular Concrete Retaining Wall and Geogrid Performance and Laboratory Modeling."
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Figure. Photo of concrete retaining wall Figure. Types of gravity retaining walls Classification of retaining walls: Following are the different types of retaining walls, which is based on the shape and the mode of resisting the pressure. 1. Gravity wall-Masonry or Plain concrete 2. Cantilever retaining wall-RCC (I nverted T and L) 3.
