Retaining walls are structures designed to restrain soil to unnatural slopes.

They are used to bound

soils between two different elevations often in areas of terrain possessing undesirable slopes or in
areas where the landscape needs to be shaped severely and engineered for more specific purposes
like hillside farming or roadway overpasses.
Contents
1 Definition
2 Types of retaining wall
o 2.1 Gravity
o 2.2 Cantilevered
o 2.3 heet piling
o 2.! "nchored
3 "lternative retaining techni#ues
o 3.1 Cellular Confinement
o 3.2 oil nailing
o 3.3 oil$strengthened
3.3.1 Gabion meshes
o 3.! %echanical stabili&ation
! ee also
' (eferences
) *+ternal links
Definition,edit-
" retaining wall is a structure designed and constructed to resist the lateral pressure of soil when
there is a desired change in ground elevation that e+ceeds the angle of reposeof the soil.
,1-
" basement wall is thus one kind of retaining wall. .ut the term usually refers to a cantilever
retaining wall/ which is a freestanding structure without lateral support at its top.
,2-
These are
cantilevered from a footing and rise above the grade on one side to retain a higher level grade on
the opposite side. The walls must resist the lateral pressures generated by loose soils or/ in some
cases/ water pressures.
,3-
*very retaining wall supports a 0wedge1 of soil. The wedge is defined as the soil which e+tends
beyond the failure plane of the soil type present at the wall site/ and can be calculated once the soil
friction angle is known. "s the setback of the wall increases/ the si&e of the sliding wedge is reduced.
This reduction lowers the pressure on the retaining wall.
,!-
The most important consideration in proper design and installation of retaining walls is to recogni&e
and counteract the tendency of the retained material to move downslope due to gravity. This
creates lateral earth pressure behind the wall which depends on the angle of internal friction 2phi3
and the cohesive strength 2c3 of the retained material/ as well as the direction and magnitude of
movement the retaining structure undergoes.
4ateral earth pressures are &ero at the top of the wall and $ in homogenous ground $ increase
proportionally to a ma+imum value at the lowest depth. *arth pressures will push the wall forward or
overturn it if not properly addressed. "lso/ any groundwater behind the wall that is not dissipated by
a drainage system causes hydrostatic pressure on the wall. The total pressure or thrust may be
assumed to act at one$third from the lowest depth for lengthwise stretches of uniform height.
,'-
5nless the wall is designed to retain water/ 6t is important to have proper drainage behind the wall in
order to limit the pressure to the wall7s design value. Drainage materials will reduce or eliminate the
hydrostatic pressure and improve the stability of the material behind the wall. Drystone retaining
walls are normally self$draining.
"s an e+ample/ the 6nternational .uilding Code re#uires retaining walls to be designed to ensure
stability against overturning/ sliding/ e+cessive foundation pressure and water uplift8 and that they be
designed for a safety factor of 1.' against lateral sliding and overturning.
,)-
Types of retaining wall,edit-
9arious types of retaining walls
Gravity,edit-
Construction types of gravity retaining walls
Gravity walls depend on their mass 2stone/ concrete or other heavy material3 to resist pressure from
behind and may have a 7batter7 setback to improve stability by leaning back toward the retained soil.
:or short landscaping walls/ they are often made from mortarlessstone or segmental concrete units
2masonry units3.
,;-
Dry$stacked gravity walls are somewhat fle+ible and do not re#uire a rigid footing
infrost areas. <ome owners who build larger gravity walls that do re#uire a rigid concrete footing can
make use of the services of a professional e+cavator/ which will make digging a trench for the base
of the gravity wall much easier.
*arlier in the 2=th century/ taller retaining walls were often gravity walls made from large masses of
concrete or stone. Today/ taller retaining walls are increasingly built as composite gravity walls such
as> geosynthetics such as Geoweb cellular confinement earth retention or with precast
facing8 gabions 2stacked steel wire baskets filled with rocks38 crib walls 2cells built up log cabin style
from precast concrete or timber and filled with soil38 or soil$nailed walls 2soil reinforced in place with
steel and concrete rods3.
,?-
Cantilevered,edit-
Conterfort@.uttress on Cantilevered Aall
Cantilevered retaining walls are made from an internal stem of steel$reinforced/ cast$in$place
concrete or mortared masonry 2often in the shape of an inverted T3. These walls cantilever loads
2like a beam3 to a large/ structural footing/ converting hori&ontal pressures from behind the wall to
vertical pressures on the ground below. ometimes cantilevered walls are buttressed on the front/ or
include a counterfort on the back/ to improve their strength resisting high loads. .uttresses are
short wing walls at right angles to the main trend of the wall. These walls re#uire rigid concrete
footings below seasonal frost depth. This type of wall uses much less material than a traditional
gravity wall.
Sheet piling,edit-
heet pile wall
heet pile retaining walls are usually used in soft soils and tight spaces. heet pile walls are made
out of steel/ vinyl or wood planks which are driven into the ground. :or a #uick estimate the material
is usually driven 1@3 above ground/ 2@3 below ground/ but this may be altered depending on the
environment. Taller sheet pile walls will need a tie$back anchor/ or Bdead$manB placed in the soil a
distance behind the face of the wall/ that is tied to the wall/ usually by a cable or a rod. "nchors are
then placed behind the potential failure plane in the soil.
Anchored,edit-
See also: Tieback (geotechnical)
"n anchored retaining wall can be constructed in any of the aforementioned styles but also includes
additional strength using cables or other stays anchored in the rock or soil behind it. 5sually driven
into the material with boring/ anchors are then e+panded at the end of the cable/ either by
mechanical means or often by inCecting pressuri&ed concrete/ which e+pands to form a bulb in the
soil. Technically comple+/ this method is very useful where high loads are e+pected/ or where the
wall itself has to be slender and would otherwise be too weak.
Alternative retaining techniques,edit-
Cellular Confinement,edit-
Cellular confinement systems/ first marketed by Dresto Geosystems as GeowebE/ have become
increasingly popular for earth retention applications. They can be constructed as a gravity wall or a
BgeogridB wall which consists of vertical layers of geocells with geogrid reinforcement installed
behind the face of the wall every few layers of the geocell depending on design.
Soil nailing,edit-
Main article: Soil nailing
oil nailing is a techni#ue in which soil slopes/ e+cavations or retaining walls are reinforced by the
insertion of relatively slender elements $ normally steel reinforcing bars. The bars are usually
installed into a pre$drilled hole and then grouted into place or drilled and grouted simultaneously.
They are usually installed untensioned at a slight downward inclination. " rigid or fle+ible facing
2often sprayed concrete3 or isolated soil nail heads may be used at the surface.
Soil-strengthened,edit-
" number of systems e+ist that do not consist of Cust the wall/ but reduce the earth pressure acting
directly on the wall. These are usually used in combination with one of the other wall types/ though
some may only use it as facing/ i.e./ for visual purposes.
Gabion meshes,edit-
Main article: Gabion
This type of soil strengthening/ often also used without an outside wall/ consists
of wire mesh Bbo+esB/ which are filled with roughly cut stone or other material. The mesh cages
reduce some internal movement and forces/ and also reduce erosive forces.
Mechanical stabilization,edit-
Main article: Mechanically stabilized earth
%echanically stabili&ed earth/ also called %*/ is soil constructed with artificial reinforcing via
layered hori&ontal mats 2geosynthetics3 fi+ed at their ends. These mats provide added internal shear
resistance beyond that of simple gravity wall structures. Fther options include steel straps/ also
layered. This type of soil strengthening usually needs outer facing walls 2.(.A.7s $ egmental
(etaining Aalls3 to affi+ the layers to and vice versa. ,1-
The wall face is often of precast concrete units
,;-
that can tolerate some differential movement. The
reinforced soil7s mass/ along with the facing/ then acts as an improved gravity wall. The reinforced
mass must be built large enough to retain the pressures from the soil behind it. Gravity walls usually
must be a minimum of '= to )= percent as deep or thick as the height of the wall/ and may have to
be larger if there is a slope or surcharge on the wall.
Cellular confinement systems 2geocells3 are also used for steep earth stabili&ation in gravity and
reinforced retaining walls with geogrids. Geocell retaining walls are structurally stable under self$
weight and e+ternally imposed loads/ while the fle+ibility of the structure offers very high seismic
resistance.
,G-
The outer fascia cells of the wall can be planted with vegetation to create a green wall.
See also,edit-
Civil engineering
Direct shear test
*arth#uake engineering
:lying arch
:oundation 2engineering3
Geotechnical engineering
4ateral earth pressure
lope stability analysis
tructural engineering
Trench shield
Trench shoring
References,edit-
1. ^ Ching/ :. D./ :aia./ (./ ./ H Ainkel/ D. 22==)3. .uilding Codes 6llustrated> " Guide to
5nderstanding the 2==) 6nternational .uilding Code 2.uilding Codes 6llustrated3 22 ed.3. Iew
Jork/ IJ> Ailey.
2. ^ "mbrose/K. 21GG13. implified Design of %asonry tructures 2pp. ;=$;'.3. Iew Jork> Kohn Ailey
and ons/ 6nc.
3. ^ Crosbie/ %. H Aatson/ D. 2*ds.3. 22=='3. Time$aver tandards for "rchitectural Design. Iew
Jork/ IJ> %cGraw$<ill.
4. ^ 22=113 Commercial 6nstallation %anual for "llan .lock (etaining Aalls 2p. 133
5. ^ Ter&aghi/ L. 21G3!3/ Large Retaining Wall Tests/ *ngineering Iews (ecord :eb. 1/ %arch ?/
"pril 1G
6. ^ 2==) 6nternational .uilding Code ection 1?=).1.
7. M
a

b
Begmental (etaining AallsB. Iational Concrete %asonry "ssociation. "rchived from the
original on 2==?$=3$=!. (etrieved 2==?$=3$2!.
8. ^ Ter&aghi/ L. 21G!33/ Theoretical Soil Mechanics/ Iew Jork> Kohn Ailey and ons
9. ^ 4eshchinsky/ D. 22==G3 0(esearch and 6nnovation> eismic Derformance of 9arious Geocell
*arth$retention ystems/1 Geosysnthetics/ Io. 2;/ Io. !/ !)$'2
(etaining Aalls 6ndustry The (etaining Aalls 6ndustry web portal 6taliantrivelle is the number
one source of informations regarding the building of retaining walls.
"mbrose/K./21GG13. implified Design of %asonry tructures 2pp. ;=N;'.3. Iew Jork> Kohn
Ailey and ons/ 6nc.
.owles/ K./21G)?3. :oundation "nalysis and Design/ %cGraw$<ill .ook Company/ Iew Jork
.uilding Code 2.uilding Codes 6llustrated3 22 ed.3. Iew Jork/ IJ> Ailey.
Ching/ :. D./ :aia./ (./ ./ H Ainkel/ D. 22==)3. .uilding Codes 6llustrated> " Guide to
5nderstanding the 2==) 6nternational
Crosbie/ %. H Aatson/ D. 2*ds.3. 22=='3. Time$aver tandards for "rchitectural Design.
Iew Jork/ IJ> %cGraw$<ill.