Rotating Block Method for Seismic Displacement of Gravity Walls
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 126, Issue 8
Abstract
A rotating block method is developed to calculate the rotational displacements of gravity retaining walls based on rigid foundations under seismic loading. The method is similar to the pseudostatic sliding block method of Newmark. When a threshold acceleration for rotation is exceeded, a rigid wall will start to rotate until the angular velocity for rotation is reduced to zero. The influence of ground motion characteristics on computed wall deformation was evaluated. The procedure was validated by data from centrifuge tests. This method is also applicable for the most complex cases when the sliding and rotation of a gravity wall are coupled.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 126 • Issue 8 • August 2000
Pages: 709 - 717
History
Received: May 8, 1999
Published online: Aug 1, 2000
Published in print: Aug 2000
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