Optimum Design of Cantilever Retaining Walls Using Target Reliability Approach
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 8, Issue 4
Abstract
In this paper, an approach for reliability-based design optimization of reinforced concrete cantilever retaining wall is described. A parametric study is conducted to assess the effect of uncertainties in design parameters on the probability of failure of cantilever retaining walls. In total, ten modes of failure are considered, viz. overturning of the wall about its toe, sliding of the wall on its base, eccentricity, bearing capacity failure below the base slab, and shear and moment failure in the toe slab, heel slab, and stem. The analysis is performed by treating backfill and foundation soil properties, geometric properties of wall, and reinforcement and concrete properties as random variables. These results are used to develop a set of reliability-based design charts for different coefficients of variation of friction angle of backfill soil (5 and 10%) and targeting reliability index in the range of 3–3.2 for all failure modes. A comparative study is also presented, which shows that optimized sections have less areas of cross section compared to those obtained from specifications on dimensioning of retaining walls available in literature.
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Acknowledgments
The writers thank the reviewers for their constructive comments and useful suggestions which have been of immense help in revising the manuscript.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 8 • Issue 4 • July 2008
Pages: 240 - 252
Copyright
© 2008 ASCE.
History
Received: Apr 12, 2007
Accepted: Nov 21, 2007
Published online: Jul 1, 2008
Published in print: Jul 2008
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