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BITS Pilani
Hyderabad Campus
Lecture-9
Retaining Walls
Introduction Structures that are built to retain vertical or nearly vertical earth banks or any other material are called retaining walls. Retaining walls may be constructed of masonry or sheet piles. Some of the purposes for which retaining walls are used are shown in Fig.1. Retaining walls may retain water also. The earth retained may be natural soil or fill. The principal types of retaining walls are given in Figs. 1 and 2. In general, retaining walls can be divided into two major categories: (a) conventional retaining walls, and (b) mechanically stabilized earth walls. Conventional retaining walls can generally be classified as 1. Gravity retaining walls 2. Semi gravity retaining walls 3. Cantilever retaining walls 4. Counterfort retaining walls
Whatever may be the type of wall, all the walls listed above have to withstand lateral pressures either from earth or any other material on their faces. The pressures acting on the walls try to move the walls from their position. The walls should be so designed as to keep them stable in their position.
Gravity walls resist movement because of their heavy sections. They are built of mass concrete or stone or brick masonry. No reinforcement is required in these walls. Semi-gravity walls are not as heavy as gravity walls. A small amount of reinforcement is used for reducing the mass of concrete. The stems of cantilever walls are thinner in section. The base slab is the cantilever portion. These walls are made of reinforced concrete. Counterfort walls are similar to cantilever walls except that the stem of the walls span horizontally between vertical brackets known as counterforts. The counterforts are provided on the backfill side. Buttressed walls are similar to counterfort walls except the brackets or buttress walls are provided on the opposite side of the backfill. In all these cases, the backfill tries to move the wall from its position. The movement of the wall is partly resisted by the wall itself and partly by soil in front of the wall. Instructor: Mr. J S Kalyana Rama
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Mechanically stabilized retaining walls have their backfills stabilized by inclusion of reinforcing elements such as metal strips, bars, welded wire mats, geotextiles, and geogrids. These walls are relatively flexible and can sustain large horizontal and vertical displacement without much damage.
AS Per Indian Conditions Stem: Top width 200 mm to 400 mm Base slab width b= 0.4H to 0.6H, and 0.6H to 0.75H for surcharged wall Base slab thickness= H/10 to H/14 Toe projection= (1/3-1/4) Base width
Approximate dimensions for various components of retaining wall for initial stability checks: (a) gravity wall; (b) cantilever wall Instructor: Mr. J S Kalyana Rama
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Fig. 19.2 Lateral earth pressure on cantilever walls under active condition
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Example Problems
2) The cross section of a cantilever retaining wall is shown in Figure . Calculate the factors of safety with respect to overturning, sliding, and bearing capacity.
3) A gravity retaining wall is shown in Figure. Use `= 2/31` and Coulombs active earth pressure theory. Determine
Reinforced Earth is a composite material formed by cohesion less soil and flexible metal reinforcing strips. The earth and the reinforcement are combined through friction. The result is a monolithic mass that acts cohesively, supporting its own weight and applied loads.
Mechanically Stabilized Earth(MSE) Walls More recently, soil reinforcement has been used in the construction and design of foundations, retaining walls, embankment slopes, and other structures.
Depending on the type of construction, the reinforcements may be galvanized metal strips, geotextiles, geogrids, or geocomposites.
The use of reinforced earth is a recent development in the design and construction of foundations and earth-retaining structures. Reinforced earth is a construction material made from soil that has been strengthened by tensile elements such as metal rods or strips, non biodegradable fabrics (geotextiles), geogrids, and the like. The present concept of systematic analysis and design was developed by a French engineer, H. Vidal (1966). The French Road Research Laboratory has done extensive research on the applicability and the beneficial effects of the use of reinforced earth as a construction material. The tests that were conducted involving the use of metallic strips as reinforcing material.
Retaining walls with reinforced earth have been constructed around the world since Vidal began his work. The first reinforced-earth retaining wall with metal strips as reinforcement in the United States was constructed in 1972 in southern California. The beneficial effects of soil reinforcement derive from (a) the soils increased tensile strength and (b) the shear resistance developed from the friction at the soil-reinforcement interfaces. Currently, most reinforced-earth design is done with free- raining granular soil only. Thus, the effect of pore water development in cohesive soils, which, in turn, reduces the shear strength of the oil, is avoided.
Cost Comparison
Minimum working area Highways interchanges are mostly required in developed areas, where working area is limited. Reinforced Earth is constructed from the rear side, and requires very little working area in front of the wall. This minimizes traffic disruption, and allows for uninterrupted construction.
Long-term durability Reinforced Earth walls can be designed to 100 years design life or more. Highway operators are often required to take responsibility for the highway for the duration of their operation, which sometimes exceeds 30 years. Cost effectiveness Reinforced Earth designs are optimized to ensure maximum cost effectiveness. Its simple and repetitive construction technique simplifies control and management, and helps to minimize wastage and pilferage on site. Aesthetic appearance Precast Reinforced Earth panels can be easily modified to allow for specific architectural finishes. Combinations of geometrical shapes (such as ribbed, embossed, logo) and concrete textures (such as plain, rock finishes) provide for infinite possibilities in the finished product. Instructor: Mr. J S Kalyana Rama
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
RE Walls in India
General Design Considerations The general design procedure of any mechanically stabilized retaining wall can be divided into two parts: 1. Satisfying internal stability requirements 2. Checking the external stability of the wall The internal stability checks involve determining tension and pullout resistance in the reinforcing elements. The external stability checks include checks for overturning, sliding, and bearing capacity failure .
The general considerations for the design are: 1. Selection of backfill material: granular, freely draining material is normally specified. However, with the advent of geogrids, the use of cohesive soil is gaining ground. 2. Backfill should be compacted with care in order to avoid damage to the reinforcing material. 3. Rankine's theory for the active state is assumed to be valid. 4. The wall should be sufficiently flexible for the development of active conditions. 5. Tension stresses are considered for the reinforcement outside the assumed failure zone. 6. Wall failure will occur in one of three ways. a. tension in reinforcements b. bearing capacity failure c. sliding of the whole wall soil system. 7. Surcharges are allowed on the backfill. The surcharges may be permanent (such as a roadway) or temporary. a. Temporary surcharges within the reinforcement zone will increase the lateral pressure on the facing unit which in turn increases the tension in the reinforcements, but does not contribute to reinforcement stability.
b. Permanent surcharges within the reinforcement zone will increase the lateral pressure and tension in the reinforcement and will contribute additional vertical pressure for the reinforcement friction. c. Temporary or permanent surcharges outside the reinforcement zone contribute lateral pressure which tends to overturn the wall. 8. The total length L of the reinforcement goes beyond the failure plane by a length Le. Only length Le (effective length) is considered for computing frictional resistance. The length LR lying within the failure zone will not contribute for frictional resistance (Fig. 19.15a). 9. For the propose of design the total length L remains the same for the entire height of wall H. Designers, however, may use their discretion to curtail the length at lower levels. Typical ranges in reinforcement spacing are given in Fig. 19.16.
Design Method
The following forces are considered: 1. Lateral pressure on the wall due to backfill 2. Lateral pressure due to surcharge if present on the backfill surface. 3. The vertical pressure at any depth z on the strip due to a) overburden pressure P0 only b) overburden pressure P0 and pressure due to surcharge
o Galvanized steel strips of widths varying from 5 to 100 mm and thickness from 3 to 5 mm are generally used. o Allowance for corrosion is normally made while deciding the thickness at the rate of 0.001 in. per year and the life span is taken as equal to 50 years. o The vertical spacing may range from 20 to 150 cm ( 8 to 60 in.) and can vary with depth. o The horizontal lateral spacing may be on the order of 80 to 150 cm (30 to 60 in.). o The ultimate tensile strength may be taken as equal to 240 MPa (35,000 lb/in.2). o A factor of safety in the range of 1.5 to 1.67 is normally used to determine the allowable steel strength fa. With regards to spacing, only the vertical spacing is to be considered. o Manufacturers provide geotextiles (or geogrids) in rolls of various lengths and widths. The tensile force per unit width must be determined.
Also, when a surcharge is added at the top, the lateral pressure at any depth is
Reinforcing ties at any depth z will fail by pullout if the frictional resistance developed along the surfaces of the ties is less than the force to which the ties are being subjected. The effective length of the ties along which frictional resistance is developed may be conservatively taken as the length that extends beyond the limits of the Rankine active failure zone, which is the zone ABC in Figure 8.29. Line BC makes an angle of with the horizontal. Now, the maximum friction force that can be realized for a tie at depth z is
Example Problems
A typical section of a retaining wall with the backfill reinforced with metal strips is shown in fig. The following data are available Height H = 9m; b = 100mm t = 5mm; fy= 240 Mpa Fs for steel = 1.67 Fs on soil friction = 1.5 = 360 ; = 17.5 kN/m3; = 250 h x s = 1 x1 m Required a) Lengths L and Le at varying depths b) The largest tension T in strip c) Allowable tension in strip d) Check for external Stability
Codal Provisions
IS 14458 : Part 1 : 1998 Guidelines for retaining wall for hill area: Part 1 Selection of type of wall IS 14458 : Part 2 : 1997 Guidelines for retaining wall for hill area: Part 2 Design of retaining/breast walls IS 14458 : Part 3 : 1998 Guidelines for retaining wall for hill area: Part 3 Construction of dry stone walls
Case History
For case histories I will be uploading separate handout.
BITS Pilani
Hyderabad Campus
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