Behavior of Cantilever Retaining Walls
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical Engineering
Volume 119, Issue 11
Abstract
Current methods for retaining‐wall analysis are based on the classical theoretical formulations of Rankine or Coulomb, with the assumption that sufficient lateral yield will occur to mobilize fully active conditions behind the wall. This leads to relatively simple equations for active pressure distributions. The effects of the deformation parameters of the backfill and foundation subsoil, construction sequence, wall flexibility and other complex initial conditions are not taken into consideration. In this paper the finite element method is employed to investigate the behavior of concrete cantilever retaining walls. The analyses reveal that the wall and soil movements are of considerable importance in predicting the lateral earth pressures. The results indicate that the lateral pressures acting on the wall stem are generally close to the active condition only in the top two‐thirds of the wall stem. Based on this study, a simplified design procedure is proposed for estimating the lateral earth pressures in cantilever retaining walls with loosely placed backfill.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Acar, Y. B., Durgunoglu, H. T., and Tumay, M. T. (1982). “Interface properties of sand.” J. Geotech. Engrg., ASCE, 108(4), 648–654.
2.
Bakeer, R. M., and Bhatia, S. K. (1989). “Earth pressure behind a gravity retaining wall.” Int. J. Numer. Anal. Methods in Geomech., 13, 665–673.
3.
Bowles, J. E. (1982). Foundation analysis and design. 3rd Ed., McGraw‐Hill, New York, N.Y.
4.
Casagrande, L. (1973). “Comments on conventional design of retaining structures.” J. Soil Mech. Found., ASCE, 99(2), 181–198.
5.
Chiu, H. K. (1981). “Geotechnical properties and numerical analyses for socketed pile design in weak rock,” PhD thesis, Monash Univ., Melbourne, Australia.
6.
Clayton, C. R. I., and Milititsky, J. (1986). Earth pressure and earth‐retaining structures. Surrey Univ. Press, Glasgow, Scotland.
7.
Clough, G. W. (1969). “Finite element analyses of soil‐structure interaction in Uframe locks,” PhD thesis, Univ. of Calif., Berkeley, Calif.
8.
Clough, G. W., and Duncan, J. M. (1971). “Finite element analyses of retaining wall behavior.” J. Soil Mech. Found., ASCE, 97(12), 1657–1673.
9.
Coulomb, C. A. (1776). “Essai sur une application des regles des maximums et minimums a qualques problemes de statique relatifs a l'architecture.” Memoirs Academie Royal des Sciences, 3, 38.
10.
Goh, A. T. C. (1984). “Finite element analysis of retaining walls,” PhD thesis, Monash Univ., Melbourne, Australia.
11.
Goh, A. T. C. (1992). “Program GEO8. Elastic‐plastic finite element analysis for plane strain geotechnical problems.” User Manual and Report, Swinburne Univ. of Tech., Melbourne, Australia.
12.
Goodman, R. E., Taylor, R. L., and Brekke, T. L. (1968). “A model for the mechanics of jointed rock.” J. Soil Mech. Found., ASCE, 94(3), 637–659.
13.
Hunt, R. E. (1986). Geotechnical engineering analysis and evaluation. McGraw‐Hill, New York, N.Y.
14.
Kulathilaka, S. A. S. (1990). “Finite element analysis of earth retaining structures.” PhD thesis, Monash Univ., Melbourne, Australia.
15.
Kulhawy, F. H. (1974). “Analysis of a high gravity retaining wall.” Proc. ASCE Conf. on Analysis and Design in Geotechnical Engineering, ASCE, New York, N.Y., 159–172.
16.
Nakai, T. (1985). “Finite element computations for active and passive earth pressure problems on retaining wall.” Soils Found., 25(3), 98–112.
17.
“Foundations and earth structures.” NAVFAC Design Manual DM7.2 (1982). Dept. of the Navy, Naval Facilities Engrg. Comm., Alexandria, Va.
18.
Nayak, G. C., and Zienkiewicz, O. C. (1972). “Elasto‐plastic stress analysis. A generalisation of various constitutive relations including strain‐softening.” Int. J. Numer. Methods Engrg., 5(1), 113–135.
19.
Peck, R. B., Hanson, W. E., and Thornburn, T. H. (1974). Foundation engineering. 2nd Ed., John Wiley and Sons, New York, N.Y.
20.
Rankine, W. J. M. (1857). “On the stability of loose earth.” Philosophical Trans. of the Royal Society, 147(2), 9–27.
21.
Seed, R. B., and Duncan, J. M. (1986). “FE analyses: Compaction‐induced stresses and deformations.” J. Geotech. Engrg., ASCE, 112(1), 23–43.
22.
Teng, W. C. (1962). Foundation design. Prentice‐Hall, N.J.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical Engineering
Volume 119 • Issue 11 • November 1993
Pages: 1751 - 1770
Copyright
Copyright © 1993 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 29, 1992
Published online: Nov 1, 1993
Published in print: Nov 1993
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.