RETAINING WALLS

MTYANA, H.J
PhD. Structural Engineering - on progress

Ass. Lecturer
Dept. of Structural and Construction Engineering
College of Engineering and Technology
University of Dar es salaam, Tanzania
Email: [email protected]
 Earth pressure on retaining walls
Active soil pressure
(i) Cohesionless soil, c=0:
The pressure at any depth z is given by

1−𝑠𝑖𝑛∅
𝑝= 𝛾𝑧
1=𝑠𝑖𝑛∅
where 𝛾 is the soil density and ϕ is the
angle of internal friction

The force on the wall of height H1 is

1 2 1 − 𝑠𝑖𝑛∅
𝑃 = 𝛾𝐻1
2 1 + 𝑠𝑖𝑛∅
 Cantilever Wall
• In a cantilever wall the wall
slab acts as a vertical
cantilever. Stability is provided
by the weight of structure and
earth on an inner base or the
weight of the structure only
when the base is constructed
externally.
 Earth pressure on retaining walls
Active soil pressure
(ii) Cohesion soil, C≠0 and :
The pressure at any depth z is given by

𝑝 = 𝛾𝑧 − 2𝐶
where 𝛾 is the soil density and C is the
soil cohesion
This expression gives negative values
near the top of the wall.
In practice, a value for the active earth
1
pressure of not less than 𝛾𝑧 is used.
4
Retaining Wall Design:
Proportioning
Wall Joints
Construction Joints:
Vertical or horizontal joints are
placed between two successive
pour of concrete. To increase
shear resistance at the joints,
keys may used as shown
Contraction Joint:
These are vertical joints placed in
the wall (from top of base slab to the
top of wall) that allow the concrete to
shrink without noticeable harm.
The groove may be 6-8mm wide, 12-
16mm deep 8-12mm deep, and they
are placed at 8 m
spacing.
Expansion Joint:
These vertical joints are provided in large retaining
walls to allow for the expansion of concrete due to
temperature changes and they are usually extended
from top to bottom of the wall.
These joints may be filled with flexible joint fillers.
Horizontal reinforcing steel bars running across the
stem are continuous through all joints.
However, the current thinking is that the large
resistance to expansion/contraction on the back
face of wall from lateral pressure + the friction
resistance of the base, these joints are practically
useless. (Challenge that need solution!!!!!)
(b) Wall stability
Referring to Fig. the vertical loads are made up of:
• the weight of the wall and base
• the weight of backfill on the base. (Front fill on the outer base
has been neglected).
Surcharge would need to be included if present.

Stability against overturning

If the center of gravity of these loads is x from the toe of the wall,
The Stabilizing moment, 𝑊𝑥 with beneficial partial safety factor,
𝛾𝑓 =1.0.
The overturning moment due to the active earth pressure is
𝐻
1.4𝑃1 with adverse partial safety factor 𝛾𝑓 =1.4.
3
The stabilizing moment from passive earth pressure has been
neglected.
 Design procedure
The steps in the design of a cantilever retaining wall are as follows.
1. Assume a breadth for the base. This is usually about 0.75 of the wall height.
2. The preliminary thicknesses for the wall and base sections are chosen from
experience. A nib is often required to increase resistance to sliding.
3. Calculate the horizontal earth pressure on the wall. Then, considering all
forces, check stability against overturning and the vertical pressure under the
base of the wall. Calculate the resistance to sliding and check that this is
satisfactory.
A partial safety factor of 1.4 is applied to the horizontal loads for the
overturning and sliding check. The maximum vertical pressure is calculated
using service loads and should not exceed the safe bearing pressure.
4. Reinforced concrete design for the wall (for ultimate loads).
The partial safety factors for the wall and earth pressure are each 1.4.
Surcharge if present may be classed as either dead or imposed load
depending on its nature.
(a) For the wall, calculate shear forces and moments caused by the
horizontal earth pressure.
• Design the vertical moment steel for the inner face and check the shear
stresses. Minimum secondary steel is provided in the horizontal direction
for the inner face and both vertically and horizontally for the outer face.
(b) The net moment due to earth pressure on the top and bottom faces of the
inner footing causes tension in the top and reinforcement is designed for this
position.
(c) The moment due to earth pressure causes tension in the bottom face of
the outer footing.
5. Design of Wall drainage system
Wall Drainage
Accumulation of rain water in the
back fill results in its saturation,
and thus a considerable increase
in the earth pressure acting on the
wall.
This may eventually lead to
unstable conditions.
Two of the options to take care of
this problem are the following:
• Provision of weep holes w/o
geo-textile on the back-face of
wall
• Perforated pipe draining system
with filter
Weep Holes:
They should have a minimum diameter of
100mm and be adequately spaced
depending on the backfill material.
Geotextile material or a thin layer of some
other filter may be used on the back face of
wall for the full height in order to avoid the
back fill material entering the weep holes
and eventually clogging them.
Perforated Pipes: Excessive hydraulic pressure head is
These are provided not created in the soil due to low
horizontally along the back permeability.
face of wall at the bottom of
stem. The filter material
around the perforated pipe
should satisfy the following
requirements.
The soil to be protected
should note wash into the
filter.
 Worked example
Design a cantilever retaining wall to support a bank of earth 3.5 m high.
The top surface is horizontal behind the wall but it is subjected to a dead
load surcharge of 15kN/m2. The soil behind the wall is a well-drained
sand with the following properties:

• Density γ=1800 kg/m3 =17.6 kN/m3

• Angle of internal friction ϕ =30°
• The material under the wall has a safe bearing pressure of 100 kN/m2.
The coefficient of friction between the base and the soil is 0.5. Design
the wall using grade 30 concrete and grade 460 reinforcement.
The wall and base thickness are assumed
to be 200mm.
A nib has been added (600mm) under the
wall to assist in the prevention of sliding.
Consider 1 m length of wall.
The surcharge is equivalent to an
additional height of 15/17.6=0.85m.
The total equivalent height of soil is
3.5+0.25+0.85 = 4.6m

The horizontal pressure at depth Z from

the top of the surcharge is:

𝛾Z((1−𝑠𝑖𝑛∅))/(1+𝑠𝑖𝑛∅))

=17.6Z(1−0.5)/(1+0.5) = 5.87Z𝑘𝑁/𝑚2

The horizontal pressure at the base is

5.87×4.6=27kN/m2
 Stability Calculations
Horizontal Forces (kN) Vertical Forces (kN) Lever Restoring Overturning
Arm (m) Moment Moment
(kNm) (kNm)

Surcharge-horizontal 4.99 x 3.75 = 18.71 `- -1.875 -35.0823

Backfill-horizontal ½ x22.01 x 3.75 = 41.27 - -1.25 -51.5875
Stem - 3.50 x 0.25 21.00 -0.50 -10.50
x 24=
Nib - 0.60 x 0.25 3.60 -0.50 -1.80
x 24=
Base - 2.85 x 0.25 17.10 0.0 0.00
x 24=
Backfill-vertical - 1.8 x 3.5 x 110.88 0.525 58.212
17.6 =
Surcharge-vertical - 1.8 x 15 = 27.0 0.525 14.175

Total 59.98 179.58 72.387 -98.970

Maximum soil pressure Maximum soil pressure
The base properties are 𝝈𝟏,𝟐 = 𝟔𝟑. 𝟎𝟏𝟏 ± 𝟏𝟗. 𝟔𝟗𝟏
Area A=2.85 m2
Sectional modulus Z=2.852/6=1.35m3 𝝈𝟏 = 𝟖𝟐. 𝟕𝟎𝟐𝒌𝑵/𝒎𝟐 < 100kN/m2 O.K

𝝈𝟏 = 𝟒𝟑. 𝟑𝟐𝟎𝒌𝑵/𝒎𝟐 < 100kN/m2 O.K

The maximum soil pressure at A
calculated for service loads is
𝜎1,2 =
𝑃 𝑀
± => The maximum soil pressure is
𝐴 𝑍 satisfactory.
179.58 (98.970−72.387)
𝜎1,2 = ±
2.85 𝑥 1.00 1.35
𝝈𝟏,𝟐 = 𝟔𝟑. 𝟎𝟏𝟏 ± 𝟏𝟗. 𝟔𝟗𝟏
 Stability Calculations
Horizontal Forces (kN) Vertical Forces (kN) Lever Restoring Overturning
Arm (m) Moment Moment
(kNm) (kNm)

Surcharge-horizontal 4.99 x 3.75 = 18.71 `- -1.875 -35.0823

Backfill-horizontal ½ x22.01 x 3.75 = 41.27 - -1.25 -51.5875
Stem - 3.50 x 0.25 21.00 0.925 19.425
x 24=
Nib - 0.60 x 0.25 3.60 0.925 3.330
x 24=
Base - 2.85 x 0.25 17.10 1.425 24.368
x 24=
Backfill-vertical - 1.8 x 3.5 x 110.88 1.95 216.216
17.6 =
Surcharge-vertical - 1.8 x 15 = 27.0 1.95 52.650

Total 59.98 179.58 315.989 -86.670

ome
The overturning moment for a partial safety factor γf=1.4 overturning mnt
and γf=1.0 for restoring moment,

1.0𝑥315.989
= 2.60 ≥ 1.50 … … … . 𝑂. 𝐾
1.4𝑥86.670

Resistance to sliding

1+0.5
Resisting Force = 1.00(0.6𝑥179.58 + 17.6(0.85)2 ) = 145.898𝑘𝑁
1−0.5
Sliding force = 1.4 x 59.98 = 83.972kN

145.898𝑘𝑁
= 1.737 ≥ 1.50 … … … . 𝑂. 𝐾
83.972kN