Seismic Design of Flexible Cantilevered Retaining Walls
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 136, Issue 2
Abstract
In this paper, the seismic behavior of embedded cantilevered retaining walls in a coarse-grained soil is studied with a number of numerical analyses, using a nonlinear hysteretic model coupled with a Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion. Two different seismic inputs are used, consisting of acceleration time histories recorded at rock outcrops in Italy. The numerical analyses are aimed to investigate the dynamic behavior of this class of retaining walls, and to interpret this behavior with a pseudostatic approach, in order to provide guidance for design. The role of the wall stiffness on the dynamic response of the system is investigated first. Then, the seismic performance of the retaining walls under severe seismic loading is investigated, exploring the possibility of designing the system in such a way that during the earthquake the strengths of both the soil and the retaining walls are mobilized. In this way, an economic design criterion may be developed, that relies on the ductility of the system, as it is customary in the seismic design of structures.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The work presented in this paper is part of the ReLUIS research project, funded by the Italian Department of Civil Protection. The contribution of the Italian Ministry of University, through the research project “Effetto delle azioni sismiche sulla stabilità dei pendii e sul comportamento di scavi e gallerie (PRIN 2007)” is also acknowledged.
References
Bardet, J. P., Ichii, K., and Lin, C. H. (2000). EERA. A computer program for Equivalent-linear Earthquake site Response Analyses of layered soil deposits, University of Southern California, Department of Civil Engineering, Los Angeles, Calif.
Bardet, J. P., and Tobita, T. (2001). NERA. A computer program for Nonlinear Earthquake site Response Analyses of layered soil deposits, University of Southern California, Department of Civil Engineering, Los Angeles, Calif.
Blum, H. (1931). Einspannungsverhältnisse bei Bohlkwerken, Wil. Ernst und Sohn, Berlin.
Callisto, L., and Soccodato, F. M. (2007). “Seismic analysis of an embedded retaining structure in coarse-grained soils.” Proc., 4th Int. Conf. on Earthquake Gotechnical Engineering. Aristotele Univ. of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Huang, C. -C., Wu, S. -H., and Wu, H. -J. (2009). “Seismic displacement criterion for soil retaining walls based on soil strength mobilization.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 135(1), 74–83.
Itasca. (2005). “FLAC fast lagrangian analysis of continua v. 5.0.” User’s manual, Itasca Consulting Group, Minneapolis, Minn.
Joyner, W. B., and Chen, A. T. F. (1975). “Calculation of nonlinear ground response in earthquakes.” Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am., 65(5), 1315–1336.
Lancellotta, R. (2007). “Lower-bound approach for seismic passive earth resistance.” Geotechnique, 57(3), 319–321.
Lysmer, J., and Kuhlemeyer, R. L. (1969). “Finite dynamic model for infinite media.” J. Eng. Mech., 95(EM4), 859–877.
Masing, G. (1926). “Eigenspannungen und Verfertigung bim Messing.” Proc., 2nd Int. Congress on Applied Mechanics, Zurich, Switzerland.
Neelakantan, G., Budhu, M., and Richards, R. (1992). “Balanced seismic design of anchored retaining walls.” J. Geotech. Engrg., 118(6), 873–888.
Newmark, N. M. (1965). “Effects of earthquakes on dams and embankments.” Geotechnique, 15(2), 139–193.
Park, R., and Paulay, T. (1975). Reinforced concrete structures, Wiley, New York.
PIANC. (2001). “Seismic design guidelines for port structures.” Working group N. 34 of the Maritime Navigation Commission, International Navigation Association, Balkema, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 474.
Priestley, M. J. N. (1998). “Displacement-based approaches to rational limit states design of new structures.” Proc., 11th European Conf. on Earthquake Engineering, Vol. 1, Balkema, Rotterdam, 317–335.
Rampello, S., Callisto, L., and Fargnoli, P. (2009). “Evaluation of seismic coefficients for slope stability analysis using a displacement-based approach.” Proc., 2008 Seismic Engineering Conf. Commemorating the 1908 Messina and Reggio Calabria Earthquake, American Institute of Physics, AIP Conf. Proc. 1020, Melville, New York, Vol. 3.
Rathje, E. M., Abrahamson, N. A., and Bray, J. D. (1998). “Simplified frequency content estimates of earthquake ground motions.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 124(2), 150–159.
Richards, R., Jr., and Elms, D. G. (1979). “Seismic behavior of gravity retaining walls.” J. Geotech. Engrg. Div., 105(GT4), 449–464.
Richards, R., Jr., and Elms, D. G. (1992). “Seismic passive resistance of tied-back walls.” J. Geotech. Engrg., 118(7), 996–1011.
Scasserra, G., Lanzo, G., Stewart, J. P., and D’Elia, B. (2008). “SISMA (site of Italian strong-motion accelerograms): A web-database of ground motion recordings for engineering applications.” Proc., 2008 Seismic Engineering Conf. Commemorating the 1908 Messina and Reggio Calabria Earthquake, American Institute of Physics, AIP Conf. Proc. 1020, Melville, New York, Vol. 1, 1649–1656.
Schnabel, P. B., Lysmer, J., and Seed, H. B. (1972). “SHAKE, a computer program for earthquake response analysis of horizontally layered sites.” Rep. Prepared for Earthquake Engineering Research Center, University of California, Berkeley, Calif.
Seed, H. B., and Idriss, I. M. (1979). “Soil moduli and damping factors for dynamic analysis.” Rep. No. EERC 70-10, University of California, Berkeley, Calif.
Soccodato, F. M., and Callisto, L. (2009). “An approach to the seismic design of embedded retaining walls based on the results of dynamic numerical analysis.” Proc., Int. Conf. on Performance-Based Design in Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering, IS Tokyo 2009, Taylor and Francis, London.
Whitman, R. V. (1990). “Seismic design and behavior of gravity retaining walls.” Proc. Design and Performance of Earth Retaining Structures, Vol. 25, ASCE GSP, Ithaca, N.Y., 817–842.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2010 ASCE.
History
Received: Feb 19, 2009
Accepted: Aug 5, 2009
Published online: Aug 15, 2009
Published in print: Feb 2010
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.