Analysis of the Seismic Behaviour of Propped Retaining Structures

This paper discusses the results of a dynamic numerical analysis in which a pair of propped retaining walls embedded in a dry coarse-grained soil are subjected to two different earthquakes. The retaining walls have a small embedded length, so that they undergo significant displacements under seismic conditions. Soil behaviour is described with a non-linear elastic-plastic model, with damping resulting from irreversible strains. The seismic input is made of two real acceleration time histories, having a similar Arias intensity but a different frequency content. The response of the soil and the retaining structures to these different inputs is presented, devoting a special attention to the description of soil-wall interaction that occurs during an earthquake.