Retaining Wall

Introduction
 A retaining wall is a structure designed and constructed to resist the lateral pressure of the soil
when the desired ground elevation exceeds the angle of repose of the soil and these walls are
used to support the soil laterally so that it can maintain different levels on both sides.
 A retaining wall is a structure that holds or retains soil behind it.
 here are various materials used to construct retaining walls such as concrete blocks, concrete,
treated lumber, rocks or boulders.

 The material held or supported by a retaining wall is known as a backfill, its top surface may
be horizontal or inclined.

 The position of the backfill above the horizontal plane at the wall top is called surcharge and
its inclination to the horizontal is called surcharge angle.
Funtions of Retaning Wall
 This wall prevents the soil or other material at places with sudden elevation changes.
 Earth retaining structures are used to hold back the earth and maintain the difference
in the ground surface height.
 Retaining structures are designed to withstand the grounds or backfill, other
externally exerted loads transmit these forces safely to a foundation.
Types of Retaining Walls:
1. Gravity Retaining Wall:
 These walls depends only on their self-weight to withstand lateral earth pressure.

 Typically, these retaining walls is essential for the massive gravitational load
required to counter soil pressure.

 Such walls are constructed with various materials such as concrete, stone, and
masonry, it is economical for elevations up to 3 m.
 Crib, gabion wall and bin retaining walls are additionally a type of gravity retaining
walls
2. Cradle Retaining Walls:
 These walls are the type of gravity wall, constructed from a particular person’s
interlocking packing containers, which might be made from wooden or precast
concrete.

 Then, filled with crushed stone or other coarse granular material to sort the free-drain
structure.

 The primary types of walls include strengthened precast and wooden retaining walls.

 They are constructed to support the plains, while they are not recommended for
supporting slopes or structures.
3. Gabion Retaining Wall:
• These walls are multi-orbital, rectangular wire mesh packing containers filled with
rocks or different suitable materials.

• It is used for the development of erosion management structures & to stabilize the
steep slopes.
4. Cantilever Retaining Wall:
 These walls are made up of stem or base slabs, constructed with reinforced concrete, precast
concrete, or prestressed concrete.

 These walls are built either on-site or precast offsite, it is economical up to 10 meters in
height.
 The bottom slab portion under the backfill materials is known as the heel, and the opposite
part is called the toe.

 It requires a small amount of concrete compared to the gravity wall, however its design and
construction are carefully performed.

 Similar to the gravity wall, sliding, reversing, and bearing pressures will be considered
during its configuration.
5. Counterfort retaining wall:
 These walls are counter fort behind the wall slab and the base slab are reinforced
with monolithic.
 The counter-fort wall is equal or slightly more significant than half the counter-fort
height.
 The height of the counter-fort wall is 8–12 m.
6. Anchored Retaining Wall:
 These walls is adopted when the house is constrained or thin retaining walls are
required.

 An anchored retaining walls are appropriate for loose soil on rocks.

 Deep cable rods or wiring routes are provided sideways into the deep earth, then the
ends are filled with concrete to give anchors.

 Anchors (tiebacks) work towards eliminating pressure and slipping

7. Pile Retaining Wall:
 They are made by mixing the reinforced concrete piles adjoining one another.

 They are forced to a suitable depth to withstand pressure used in temporary and permanent
works.

 The pile provides extreme rigidity to the parts of the retaining walls, which can place lateral
pressure at tremendous digging depth with almost no disturbance to the surrounding structure
or properties.

 Sheet pile walls are constructed using metal sheets to the required extent in slope or
excavation, however, they can’t stand up to very excessive pressures.
 Maintaining the sheet pile economically to a height of 6 meters.
8. Mechanically Stable Earth (MSE) Retaining Wall:
 This wall is most economical hence they are mostly constructed.

 It is supported by unique fills (granulated) and held together by reinforcement, which

can be steel strips and plastic mesh.

9. Hybrid Retaining walls:

 These walls are used in both masses and supports the stability known as hybrid or
composite retaining walls.
Gravity Retaining Wall Cradle Retaining Wall Gabion Retaining Wall
Cantilever Retaining Wall
Counterfort Retaining Wall Anchored Retaining Wall
Pile Retaining Wall Mechancally stable Earth Retaining Wall
 Advantages of Retaining Wall:
 Protective structure:
 Retaining walls are used to counteract the forces of gravity to protect the structure.
 In other words, they are used to hold the soil.
 Functional production:
 Retaining walls serve as a functional product to prevent sinkholes from destroying your
landscape structure.
 They are used to stabilize the sloping landscapes and provides level surfaces on slopes.

 Best run-off solution:

 If your property is not prevented from infiltrating, then rainwater runoff can completely
damage your land.
 This can protect your landscape design, also prevent floods from inflowing the area.
Advantages of Retaining Wall:
 Reduce maintenance:
 Retaining walls can protect your landscape design and help you in the long run.
 As a protective feature it reduces maintenance and prevents erosion.

 Decorative feature:

 Retaining walls additionally give your landscape an aesthetically pleasing design.

Disadvantages of retaining wall:
 Vertical cracks:
 Some retaining walls develop vertical cracks in poured concrete due to extreme
pressure or extensive changes in temperature.
 Failing Foundation:
 Some retaining walls are not able to sustain high pressure from the soil such as the
brick walls, often resulting in brick breakage or foundation failure.

 Termites:
 Retaining walls can attract termites to your property when the wood is used as a
retaining wall.
Application of Retaining wall:
• Construction of basement below ground level in buildings.
• In the bridge, work consists of the wing walls and
abutment.
• To maintain slopes in hilly areas.
• As side walls of bridge approach roads.
• Providing lateral support to the embankment.
 Introduction

 Retaining walls must be designed for lateral earth pressure.

 Different types of retaining walls are used to retain soil in different places. Three main types
of retaining walls:
 Gravity retaining wall (depends on its weight for resisting lateral earth force because it have
a large weigh)
 Semi-Gravity retaining wall (reduce the dimensions of the gravity retaining wall by using
some reinforcement).
 Cantilever retaining wall (reinforced concrete wall with small dimensions and it is the most
economical type and the most common)
 Note:
 Structural design of cantilever retaining wall is depend on separating each part of wall and
design it as a cantilever, so it’s called cantilever R.W.
 The following figure shows theses different types of retaining walls:
 Introduction

 There are another type of retaining wall called “counterfort RW” and is a special type of cantilever
RW used when the height of RW became larger than 6m, the moment applied on the wall will be
large so we use spaced counterforts every a specified distance to reduce the moment RW.
 Introduction

Where we use Retaining Walls ?

 Retaining walls are used in many places, such as retaining a soil of high elevation (if we want to
construct a building in lowest elevation) or retaining a soil to save a highways from soil collapse and
for several applications.
 The following figure explain the function of retaining walls:
Elements of Retaining Walls
 Each retaining wall divided into three parts; stem, heel, and toe as shown for the
following cantilever footing (as example):
 Application of Lateral Earth Pressure Theories to
Design
 Rankine Theory:
 Rankine theory was modified to be suitable for designing a
retaining walls.
 This modification is drawing a vertical line from the
lowest-right corner till intersection with the line of backfill,
and then considering the force of soil acting on this vertical
line.
 The soil between the wall and vertical line is not considered
in the value of Pa, so we take this soil in consideration as a
vertical weight applied on the stem of the retaining wall as
The following are all cases of rankine theory in designing a
retaining wall:
1. The wall is vertical and backfill is
horizontal:
2. The wall is vertical and the
backfill is inclined with horizontal
by angle ( a ) : Here the active force Pa is inclined with angle (α) and
can be calculated as following:
Why Hu? → Because the pressure is applied on the vertical line (according active theory) not on
the wall, so we need the height of this vertical line
Hu Hu = H + d →→ d = L tanα
Ka is calculating f
Now the calculated value of Pa is inclined with an angle (α), so its analyzed in horizontal and
vertical axes and then we use the horizontal and vertical components in design as will explained
later.
Pa,h = Pa cos( α) , Pa,v = Pa sin( α)
3. The wall is inclined by angle (0)with vertical and the backfill is inclined with
horizontal by angle ( a ) :
Note that the force Pa is inclined with angle (α) and not
depend on the inclination of the wall because the force
applied on the vertical line and can be calculated as
following:
 What about Ka ? ? ?
Ka is depend on the inclination of the wall and inclination of the backfill
because it’s related to the soil itself and the angle of contact surface with this
soil, so Ka can be calculated from the following equation