Seismic Displacements of Soil Retaining Walls Situated on Slope
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 131, Issue 9
Abstract
In this study, a new method for calculating seismic displacements of soil retaining walls is proposed. This pseudostatic-based method is based on the failure mechanisms proposed and verified by the writer. Displacement analyses using the proposed method are performed for two soil retaining walls situated on slope. Both walls were severely damaged during the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake in Taiwan. Analytical results indicate that the severe damage to the walls was induced by relatively loose soils in the base and the passive zone at the toes of the walls. Suggestions for the design and construction of soil retaining walls situated on a slope include: (1) the assumption that no vertical ground acceleration induces relatively small error in the calculated displacements of the wall; (2) the internal friction angle of the foundation soil, , has a strong influence on the vertical displacement of the wall; and (3) passive resistance in front of the wall, which is frequently overlooked in design and construction practices, has a measurable effect on reducing the horizontal displacement of the wall under seismic loading.
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Acknowledgment
The present study was financially supported by the National Science Council, Taiwan under Contract Nos. NSC 90-2211-E-006-130 and NSC 91-2211-E-006-043.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 131 • Issue 9 • September 2005
Pages: 1108 - 1117
Copyright
© 2005 ASCE.
History
Received: Nov 10, 2003
Accepted: Feb 8, 2005
Published online: Sep 1, 2005
Published in print: Sep 2005
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