Design of Rigid L- Shaped Retaining Walls

Cantilever L-shaped walls are known to be relatively economical as retaining solution. The design starts by proportioning the wall dimensions for which the stability is checked for. A ratio between the lengths of the base and the stem, falling between 0.5 to 0.7 ensure in most case the stability requirements, however, the displacement pattern of the wall in terms of rotations and translations, and the lateral pressure profile, do not have the same figure for all wall’s proportioning, as it is usually assumed. In the present work the results of a numerical analysis are presented, different wall geometries were considered. The results show that the proportioning governs the equilibrium between the instantaneous rotation and the translation of the wall-toe, also, the lateral pressure estimation based on the average value between the at-rest and the active pressure, recommended by most design standards, is found to be not applicable for all walls.

• A. Rouili

• Cantilever wall
• proportioning
• numerical analysis.

[1] Powrie, W. and Chandler, R. J. "The influence of a stabilizing platform on the performance of an embedded retaining wall: a finite element study”, Geotechnique 48, No. 3, 1998, 403-409.
[2] Daly, M. and Powrie, W. "A centrifuge and analytical study of stabilizing base retaining walls”. Transport Research Laboratory. TRL report 387, 1999.
[3] Djerbib, Y., Hird, C.C. and Touahmia, M. "Centrifugal model tests of uniform surcharge loading on L-shaped retaining walls.” 15th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Istanbul, Volume 2, 2001, 1137-1140.
[4] Oliphant, J. "The outline design of earth retaining walls”., Ground Engineering Journal, No.9, 53-58, 1997.
[5] Schanz, T., Vermeer, P.A. & Bonnier, P.G. The hardening soil model: Formulation and verification. In: Beyond 2000 in Computational geotechnics– 10 Years of Plaxis. Balkema, Rotterdam, 1999.
[6] Rouili, A., Y. Djerbib and M. Touahmia. "Numerical modeling of an L – shaped very stiff concrete retaining wall.” La Revue des Sciences et Technologie de l’Université de Constantine. B, Numéro 24. 2006, pp. 69-74.
[7] Achmus, M., and Rouili, A., "Investigation on the earth pressure loading of L-shaped retaining walls.” "Untersuchung zur Erdrruckbeanspruchung von Winkelstützwänden". Ernst und Sohn- Bautechnik Journal, Germany, Volume 81, Number 12. 2004, pp. 942-948.