Retaining Wall

Retaining walls are structures used to retain earth which would not be able to stand vertically unsupported. Different types of retaining wall are Free standing (gravity wall) Reinforced cantilever wall Counterforts

Which of the three types of wall is appropriate in a given case depends on variety of conditions, such as local availability and price of construction materials and property rights. In general gravity walls are economical only relatively low walls. Possibly up to 10 ft. Cantilever wall are economical for heights from 10 to 20 ft. Counterforts are used for grater heights.

Figure - 1 Types of retaining walls and back drains: (a) gravity walls; (b) Cantilever walls; (c) Counterfort

3-d view of Counterfort

Main use:

At bridge abutment (figure-2)

Figure -2

Retaining to retain vertical cut surface(figure -3)

Figure -3 At water channel or swimming poll (figure-4) At basement (figure-5)

Figure -4 Figure -5

Earth Pressure for common load conditions

Kahwh

Kahwh

Kahw(h+h)

(a)

(b)

(c)

Figure-6 Earth pressure for (a) horizontal surface; (b) Sloping Surface; (c) horizontal surface with surcharge s. If the ground water level is above the base of the wall, additional water pressure is to be considered.

Possible Failure mode Failure mode Individual parts may fail because they are not so strong to resist the acting forces The wall as a whole may be bodily displaced by the earth pressure, without breaking up initially Remedy By providing necessary dimensions, thickness, and reinforcement to resist the moments and shares By ensuring the external stability

Design of cantilever retaining wall Different parts of cantilever retaining wall

Heel

Steam (sometime may be tapered)

Base

Toe

Figure -7; Different parts of cantilever retaining wall

External force acting on the wall

1 2 3

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Earth pressure on the steam Weight of soil above heel Weight of base and steam Friction between base and soil Passive earth pressure on the face of toe Soil pressure on the base

5 4 6

Figure -8; External force acting on the wall

For external stability Sliding must be prevented by the friction between the soil and footing i.e. the summation of 4 and 5 must be greater than force 1 Compression must act through out the base i.e. resultant of 1, 2, and 3 must be pass through the center third of the base Pressure under the footing does not exceed the permissible bearing pressure

For giving the required strength

Tension Rebar

Tension

Tension Figure 9; Tension zone and placement of rebar

Dimensions Estimations

(8" absolute minimum)

(12" preferable minimum) Minimum batter 0.25 in/ft

Greater than frost penetration and depth for which there is a seasonal change in volume b/3 0.07h to 0.12h h

b = 0.4h to 0.6h Figure-10, Economical Dimensions

0.07h to 0.1h (10 in. to 12 in. min.)

Example 1 [ McCormac 13.2] Using the approximate rules presented in this section, estimate the sizes of the parts of the retaining wall shown in Figure 11. The soil weighs 100 lb/ft3, and a surcharge of 300 psf is present. Assume Kah = 0.32. (For many practical soils such as clays or silts, kah will be two or more times this large.)

Figure-11

Solution:
Stem Thickness Assume 12-in. thickness at top. Assume bottom thickness = 0.07h = (0.07)(21) = 1.47' Base Thickness Assume base t = 7% to 10% of overall wall height: t = (0.07)(21) = 1.47' Height of stem = 21 0" minus 16" = 19'6"

Say 1-6

Say 1-6

Base Length and Position of Stem Calculating horizontal forces without load factors, as shown in Figure 12. Pa = kahwh = (0.32)(100)(21) = 672 lb H1 = (0.5)(21)(672) = 7056 lb H2 = (21)(96) = 2016 lb W = (x)(24)(l00) = 2400x Ma = 0

-(7056)(7.00) - (2016)(10.5) + (2400x)(x/2) = 0 x = 7.67' b = (3/2)(7.67) = 11.505'

Say 11-6

Figure-12

Example 2[Mccormac 13.3] Complete the design of the cantilever retaining wall whose dimensions were estimated in Example 1 and are shown in Figure 12, if = 3000 psi, = 60,000 psi, = 4000 psf, and the coefficient of sliding friction equals 0.50 for concrete on soil. Use p approximately equal to 0.18 / to maintain reasonable deflection control.

Solution:
The safety factors against overturning and sliding and the soil pressures under the heel and toe are computed using the actual unfactored loads. Safety Factor against Overturning (with Reference to Figure 13) Overturning Moment Force H1 = ( )(21)(672) H2 = (21)(96) Total Moment arm = 7056 lb X 7.00 = 2016lb X 10.50 Moment =49,392 ft-lb =21,168 ft-lb 70,560 ft-lb

Figure-13

Force W1 = (1.5)(11.5)(150) W2 = ( )(l9.5)( W3 = (19.5)( )(150) )(l50)

Rightining Moment Moment arm = 2588lb X 5.75 = 731lb X 4.08 = 2925 lb X 4.75 Rv = 14,062 lb X 8.37 = 20,306 lb M

Moment =14,881 ft-lb =2982 ft-lb =13,894 ft-lb =117,699 ft-Ib* = 149,456 ft-Ib

W4 = (22.5)(6.25)(100) *including surcharge

Safety factor against overturning = Factor of Safety against Sliding

= 2.12 > 2

OK

Force causing sliding = H1 + H2 + 9072 lb Resisting force = Rv = (0.50)(20,306) = 10,153 lb Safety factor = = 1.12 < 1.5

N.G.

little wider footing on the heel side will easily take care of the situation. In addition to or instead of this solution a key, perhaps 1 ft-6 in. X 1 ft-6 in. Footing Soil Pressures Rv = 20,306 lb and is located a distance from the toe of the footing

=
Soil pressure = -

= 3.89

Just inside the middle third

A= (1)(11.5) = 11.5 ft2 I = ( )(1)(11.5) = 126.74 ft4

3

ftoe =
= - 1766 - 1714 = -3480 psf

fheel =

- 1766 + 1714 = -52 psf

Design of Stem The lateral forces applied to the stem are calculated using a load factor of 1.6 as shown in Figure 14.

Figure-14

Design of Stem for Moment Mu = (H1)(6.50) + (H2)(9.75) = (9734)(6.50) + (2995)(9.75) Mu = 92,472 ft-lb = approximately 0.18 / =

0.009

482.6 psi [from Graph A.1b]

h = 14.59 + 2" + = 17.09"

Say 18(d= 15.50)

= 0.00786 [from Graph A.1b]

As = (0.00786)(12)(15.5) = 1.46 in.2 Minimum vertical by ACI Section 14.3 = 0.0015

Use # 8 @ 6 (1.57 in.2) OK

Minimum horizontal Ag = (0.0025)(12)(average stem t)

(say one-third inside face and two-thirds outside face).

Checking Shear Stress in Stem

Use # 4 @ 7.5 out side face and 15 in side face

Actually, Vu at a distance d from the top of the footing can be used, but for simplicity.

Vu = H1 + H2 = 9734 + 2995 = 12,729 lb

OK
Design of Heel The upward soil pressure is conservatively neglected, and a load factor of 1.2 is used for calculating the shear and moment because soil and concrete make up the load. Vu = (22.5)(6.25)(100)(1.2) + (1.5)(6.25)(150)(1.2) = 18,563 lb

= 15,281 lb > 12,729 lb

No Good

Try 24-in. Depth (d = 20.5 in.) Neglecting slight change in Vu with different depth

OK

Mu at face of stem =

lb-ft

Use =0.0033

Using 0.00333, Ax = (0.00333)(12)(20.5) = 0.82 in.2/ft

Use # 8 @ 11 c/c

ld required calculated with ACI Equation 12-1 for #8 top bars with c = 2.50 in. and Ktr = 0
is 43 in. < 72 in. available.

OK
Note: Temperature and shrinkage steel is normally considered unnecessary in the heel and toe. However, the author has placed #4 bars @ 8 in. on center in the long direction, as shown in Figures 15 and 16 to serve as spacers for the flexural steel and to form mats out of the reinforcing.

Design of Toe Vu = 10,440 + 7086 = 17,526 lb

Mu at face of stem =

OK

lb-ft

Therefore, use As = (0.00333)(12)(20.5) = 0.82 in. 2/ft

Use # 8 @ 11 c/c

ld required calculated with ACI Equation 12-1 for #8 bottom bars with c = 2.50 in. and Ktr = 0 equals 33 in. < 42 in. available.

Figure-15 Heel reinforcement

Figure-16

Figure-16 Toe reinforcement

Details of Vertical reinforcement Distance from the top of stem 5 10 15 19.5 Effective Stem depth d (in.) 11.04 12.28 14.12 15.50 As required (in.2/f) Use Use
min min

MU (lb-ft) 2987 16,213 46,080 92,472

Bars needed #8 @ 18" #8 @ 18" #8 @ 12 #8 @ 6"

= 0.0033

0.44 0.50 0.77 1.46

= 0.0033 0.00452 0.00786

Contraction and Expansion joint To handling shrinkage problems and differential settlements contraction joints are useful. They need to be spaced at intervals about 25 ft on center (the AASHTO says not greater than 30 ft). Expansion joints ate vertical joints that completely separate the different parts of a wall. They are placed approximately 50 to 100 ft on centers (the AASHTO says maximum spacing should not be greater than 90 ft). Drainage Weep Holes consisting of 6 or 8 in. pipe embedded in the wall, as shown as in figure 1 (c), are usually spaced horizontally about 5 to 10 ft. In addition to bottom row, additional rows should be provided in walls of substantial height. To facilitate drainage and prevent clogging, 1 ft3 or more of crushed stone is placed at the rear end of weeper. Longitudinal drains figure 1 (b) Continuous back drain figure 1 (a)

Why back sands and gravels are superior to all other soils as a backfill material Sands and gravels are fee-draining Not susceptible to frost action Do not become less stable with the passage of time