CIVL3210

Geotechnical Engineering
Week 03: Gravity Retaining Walls

Dr Adnan Sufian
CIVL3210 | Geotechnical Engineering | Dr Adnan Sufian

Learning Objectives & Resources

The learning objectives for this module are: The required learning resources are:
• Understand the modes of failure for a • Week 03 Lecture Slides
gravity retaining wall. • Week 03 Problem Set
• Apply Rankine’s earth pressure theory to • AS4678 Earth-retaining Structures
design retaining walls for sliding and (available from SAI Global – access by
overturning failure. UQ Library here).
• Evaluate whether gravity wall designs
meets design requirements based on
global factor of safety and partial factor of
safety.

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Gravity Retaining Walls
CIVL3210 | Geotechnical Engineering | Dr Adnan Sufian

Why do we need Retaining Walls?

Retaining Wall

Settlement
Deep Shallow
Footings Footings
(Piles)

Slope Stability

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CIVL3210 | Geotechnical Engineering | Dr Adnan Sufian

Types of Retaining Walls

Gravity Walls
• Rely on their weight for
stability. Examples
include:
- Masonry or concrete
gravity walls
- Cantilever
- Counterfort
- Gabion walls
• Covered in Week 3.

Concrete mass-block gravity retaining wall.

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CIVL3210 | Geotechnical Engineering | Dr Adnan Sufian

Types of Retaining Walls

Gravity Walls
• Rely on their weight for
stability. Examples
include:
- Masonry or concrete
gravity walls
- Cantilever
- Counterfort
- Gabion walls
• Covered in Week 3.

Pre-cast concrete cantilever gravity retaining wall.

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CIVL3210 | Geotechnical Engineering | Dr Adnan Sufian

Types of Retaining Walls

Embedded Walls
• Rely on passive pressure
on embedded section for
stability. Examples
include:
- Sheet pile walls
- Slurry concrete walls
- Post and panel walls
- Soldier pile walls
- Contiguous pile wall
• Covered in Week 4.
Steel sheet-pile wall around a levee bank.

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CIVL3210 | Geotechnical Engineering | Dr Adnan Sufian

Types of Retaining Walls

Embedded Walls
• Rely on passive pressure
on embedded section for
stability. Examples
include:
- Sheet pile walls
- Slurry concrete walls
- Post and panel walls
- Soldier pile walls
- Contiguous pile wall
• Covered in Week 4.
Contiguous pile wall with concrete panels.

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CIVL3210 | Geotechnical Engineering | Dr Adnan Sufian

Types of Retaining Walls

Hybrid Walls
• Typically include some
form of reinforcements.
Examples include:
- Anchored walls
- Mechanically Stabilised
Earth (MSE) walls
- Soil nail walls
• Not covered in
CIVL3210.

Soil nail wall with a shotcrete face.

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CIVL3210 | Geotechnical Engineering | Dr Adnan Sufian

Types of Retaining Walls

Hybrid Walls
• Typically include some
form of reinforcements.
Examples include:
- Anchored walls
- Mechanically Stabilised
Earth (MSE) walls
- Soil nail walls
• Not covered in
CIVL3210.

Mechanically-stabilised earth (MSE) wall with steel strip reinforcements.

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CIVL3210 | Geotechnical Engineering | Dr Adnan Sufian

Types of Retaining Walls

Factors affecting the selection of a retaining wall type.
• Soil and groundwater conditions.
• Availability of suitable backfill material.
• Height that needs to be retained and ground topography.
• Construction constraints (e.g. space, access, and equipment).
• Environment (e.g. impact and visual appearance).
• Presence of adjacent building and underground obstructions (e.g. services).
• Design life and maintenance requirements.
• Cost and economic factors.

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CIVL3210 | Geotechnical Engineering | Dr Adnan Sufian

Design of Gravity Retaining Walls

The forces acting on a retaining wall are:
• Earth Pressure
- Active
- Passive
• Base resistance
• Water pressure
- Pressure on wall
- Uplift pressure at base
• Weight of wall
• Surcharge (e.g. dead loads such as
building, or live loads such as traffic)

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CIVL3210 | Geotechnical Engineering | Dr Adnan Sufian

Design of Gravity Retaining Walls

The frictional shear stress at the base is:
𝜏𝑏 = 𝑐𝑎 + 𝜎𝑛 tan 𝛿
where 𝑐𝑎 is the adhesion (𝑐𝑎 ≤ 𝑐) and 𝛿 is
friction angle at the soil wall interface (𝛿 ≤ 𝜙).
2 1
For concrete walls, 𝛿 ≈ 𝜙, while 𝑐𝑎 = 𝑐𝑢 up
3 2
to a maximum of 𝑐𝑎 = 50 kPa.
If the width of the base is 𝐵, then the frictional
base resistance force is:

𝑷𝒃 = 𝒄𝒂 𝑩 + 𝑵 𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝜹

where 𝑁 is the total normal force on the base.

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CIVL3210 | Geotechnical Engineering | Dr Adnan Sufian

Modes of Failure – Strength & Stability

Sliding Overturning/Rotation Rupture of Components

Bearing Capacity Global Failure Pull-out of Components

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CIVL3210 | Geotechnical Engineering | Dr Adnan Sufian

Modes of Failure – Serviceability

Rotation Translation Settlement

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CIVL3210 | Geotechnical Engineering | Dr Adnan Sufian

Design of Gravity Retaining Walls

Sliding (Stability) Overturning (Stability) Bearing Capacity (Strength)
• Based on forces. • Based on moments. • Based on a combination
• Disturbing forces: active • Disturbing moments: of vertical and horizontal
earth pressure, active earth pressure, forces.
surcharge, water surcharge, water • Eccentricity of vertical
pressure. pressure. forces and action of
• Resisting forces: Weight • Resisting moments: horizontal forces results
and passive earth weight, passive earth in moments.
pressure pressure. • Calculate vertical and
• Weight provides frictional • Moments are usually horizontal forces, along
resistance at the base. calculated around the toe with moments – apply
of a gravity retaining bearing capacity
wall. equation (Week 5-6).
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CIVL3210 | Geotechnical Engineering | Dr Adnan Sufian

Design of Gravity Retaining Walls

Two types of analysis of cantilever gravity retaining wall. From Bowles (1997).
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CIVL3210 | Geotechnical Engineering | Dr Adnan Sufian

Design of Gravity Retaining Walls

Drainage elements for a cantilever retaining wall. From AS4678.

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CIVL3210 | Geotechnical Engineering | Dr Adnan Sufian

Global Factor of Safety

∑𝑹 ∑𝑹 • A single factor that accounts for the
𝑭= or ∑𝑷 < disturbing and resisting actions for
∑𝑷 𝑭
stability analysis.
• Remember that you have conduct the
∑𝑅: sum of resisting forces for sliding analysis for sliding, overturning and
stability or resisting moments for bearing capacity and ensure that the
overturning stability analysis. factor of safety is at an acceptable level.
∑𝑃: sum of disturbing forces for sliding • If any of the three modes of failure does
stability or disturbing moments for not meet the global factor of safety
overturning stability analysis. requirement, then you will need to make
𝐹: factor of safety. Typically between 1.5 to adjustments to the gravity wall.
2.0 for sliding and overturning stability
analysis. Note 𝐹 = 1 implies failure.

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CIVL3210 | Geotechnical Engineering | Dr Adnan Sufian

Partial Safety Factors

The recommended design approach in • The general principal is that disturbing
AS4678 (Earth-retaining structures): actions are factored up and that resisting
actions are factored down.
𝑷∗ < 𝚽𝐧 𝑹∗ • When designing retaining walls in
industry, you would consider various load
combinations (as per AS1170) and
𝑃∗ : sum of factored disturbing forces for determine the critical condition.
sliding stability or disturbing moments for
• In CIVL3210, we will focus on dead load
overturning stability analysis
and live load combinations.
𝑅∗ : sum of factored resisting forces for
sliding stability or resisting moments for
overturning stability analysis.
Φ𝑛 : structural classification factor

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CIVL3210 | Geotechnical Engineering | Dr Adnan Sufian

Partial Safety Factors

• The structural classification factor, Φ𝑛 ,
aims to consider the consequences of
failure of the retaining wall.
• The structural classification of the
retaining wall is shown in Table 1.1.
• The structural classification factor is
given in Table 5.2 for both ultimate limit
state (i.e. sliding, overturning and bearing
capacity) and serviceability.
• Some examples for structural
classifications and a risk matrix is
presented. Read Appendix A of AS4678
for further details.
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CIVL3210 | Geotechnical Engineering | Dr Adnan Sufian

Partial Safety Factors

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CIVL3210 | Geotechnical Engineering | Dr Adnan Sufian

Partial Safety Factors

• AS4678 requires that a minimum live • AS1170 requires a load factor of 1.5 to be
load (traffic surcharge) be considered in applied to earth pressures. In AS4678,
the analysis. this is met by applying a factor of 1.25 on
• The minimum live load is given in Table dead loads (i.e. soil unit weight) and 1.5
4.1 and is dependent on the structural on live loads, in combination with the
classification. material strength factors (discussed
afterwards). See Table J1.
• Instead of the AS1170 factor of 1.25 on
water pressures, AS4678 applies a factor
of 1.0 for water pressure for strength
(bearing capacity) and stability (sliding
and overturning).

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CIVL3210 | Geotechnical Engineering | Dr Adnan Sufian

𝐴: Strength (bearing capacity)

Partial Safety Factors 𝐵: Stability (sliding and overturning)
𝐶: Serviceability

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CIVL3210 | Geotechnical Engineering | Dr Adnan Sufian

Partial Safety Factors

𝑄1 𝑄2

Bearing Sliding &

Capacity Overturning
𝐺1 𝐺1 1.25 0.8
𝑄3 𝑄1
𝐺2 1.25 1.25
𝐺3 𝐺2
𝐺3 1.25 0.8
𝐺4 0.8 0.8
𝐺4 𝐺3
𝛼𝛾𝑤 1 1
𝑄1 1.5 0
𝑄2 1.5 1.5
𝑄3 0 0

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CIVL3210 | Geotechnical Engineering | Dr Adnan Sufian

Partial Safety Factors

The material strength factor
applies to cohesion and
friction angle for both drained
and undrained parameters.

𝒄∗ = 𝚽𝒖𝒄 𝒄

𝝓∗ = 𝐭𝐚𝐧−𝟏 𝚽𝒖𝝓 𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝝓

𝑐 ∗ : design cohesion
𝜙 ∗ : design friction angle

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CIVL3210 | Geotechnical Engineering | Dr Adnan Sufian

Example: Mass-Block Gravity Wall 0.4 m

For the concrete mass-block gravity retaining wall shown in the
figure to the right:
(a) Calculate the factor of safety against sliding and
overturning failure.
4.5 m
(b) For bearing failure, only calculate the forces and moment
acting at the midpoint of the base of the retaining wall.
Assume that the unit weight of the concrete is 𝛾𝑐 = 24 kN/m3
and the friction angle at the wall-soil interface at the base of
1
the retaining wall is given by 𝛿 = 𝜙. 2.0 m
2
The water table is well below the base of the retaining wall. Sandy gravel
𝜙 ′ = 36°
𝛾 = 19 kN/m3

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CIVL3210 | Geotechnical Engineering | Dr Adnan Sufian

Example: Cantilever Gravity Wall

Use the partial factor of safety method outlined in AS4678 and 0.4 m
evaluate the stability (sliding and overturning) of the
cantilevered gravity retaining wall shown in the figure.
4.4 m
The concrete wall has a unit weight of 𝛾𝑐 = 24 kN/m3. The
uncontrolled granular backfill soil has an effective friction angle
𝜙 ′ = 35° and a unit weight of 𝛾 = 18 kN/m3.
The friction between the base of the wall and the soil is 𝛿 = 𝜙 ′ .
0.6 m 0.4 m
Use a structural classification factor of Φ𝑛 = 1.0.
2.0 m 1.5 m

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Thank you
Dr Adnan Sufian | Lecturer
School of Civil Engineering
a.sufian@uq.edu.au
07 334 61352

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