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Introduction to Civil Engineering
Published in P.K. Jayasree, K Balan, V Rani, Practical Civil Engineering, 2021
P.K. Jayasree, K Balan, V Rani
The walls constructed to retain soil are called retaining walls. They made of concrete or masonry. They are usually built to protect soil at a certain elevation from erosion, for making gardens in sloping grounds, to construct approach roads for bridges, etc. The main criterion checked while designing a retaining wall is that the wall should be strong enough to resist the lateral pressure, which is exerted by the soil by its self-weight or friction. The lateral earth pressure is determined using Rankine’s theory or Coulomb’s theory.
Tests on a flat arch concrete block retaining wall
Published in Jan Kubica, Arkadiusz Kwiecień, Łukasz Bednarz, Brick and Block Masonry - From Historical to Sustainable Masonry, 2020
M.C. Kurukulasuriya, N.G. Shrive
Arches have been used in structures for more than 4000 years and many ancient, medieval and modern arches still exist with inherent structural integrity. Although arches have been used in numerous types of structures such as bridges, aqueducts, dams, roofs and wall openings, utilizing an arch shape in a retaining wall is not common. Similar to an arch dam, an arch retaining wall will resist the lateral pressure of soil through arch action, avoiding “snap-through” of the wall and minimizing tensile stresses. Retaining walls are typically constructed using concrete, steel or timber. However, in this instance it is desirable to use concrete blocks as the building material due to ease of construction, cost effectiveness and aesthetic appearance. The shape of the arch is more convenient to be constructed with blockwork as the need for formwork is alleviated. Furthermore, the arch shape provides the wall with ample robustness so that reinforcement is not required. This makes such a wall ideal for low-rise retaining walls in cities, opening a new market in which masonry can compete.
Lateral earth pressure and retaining structures
Published in An-Bin Huang, Hai-Sui Yu, Foundation Engineering Analysis and Design, 2017
Water has no strength ( Ø′=0), its Ko = Ka = Kp = 1. Because of this, when calculating the lateral earth pressure below a water table it is necessary to separate water pressure from that of the soil. As demonstrated in Example 5.1, when water is present, the total lateral pressure can be significantly higher than soil pressure that is calculated using the effective stress. In addition, water can freeze and expand in cold regions, and that further increases the loading on the retaining wall. Thus in practice we normally would install a drainage system at the base of the retaining wall to make sure that no water can accumulate behind the retaining wall. Details for the design of the drainage system are described in the following sections.
Role of Geogrid reinforcement and its diverse applications in the geotechnical engineering and allied fields: a-state-of-the-art review
Published in Australian Journal of Civil Engineering, 2023
Kiran Prakash K, Deendayal Rathod, Kasinathan Muthukkumaran
Fishman et al. (1993) conducted an experimental study on a full-scale concrete facing a mechanically stabilised tensor geogrid reinforced earth retaining wall that was used as part of a highway widening project. Internal and external stability must be considered when designing a retaining wall. Exterior walls ensured the external stability of the system. The external instability issues observed were sliding failure, overturning failure, tilting/bearing failure, and slip failure. However, the author only looked at the internal stresses and strains within the system. The internal failure modes in the design of reinforced soil retaining walls were tension failure and pull-out failure. The study revealed that the tensile strength and stiffness of the reinforcing member should be adequate to prevent the breakage of the tensile member. Moreover, pull-out failure could be eliminated by providing a sufficient length of the reinforcing members beyond the potential failure wedge. The observed vertical pressure induced near the wall facing was a smaller value than that at the centre and the other end of the retaining wall. This was due to the soil-arching effect observed near the wall face and the temperature stresses generated. This effect could be minimised by using a flexible articulated panel instead of a rigid concrete retaining wall.
Material Characteristics and Stability Analysis of Gravity Stone Walls
Published in Structural Engineering International, 2023
Turgay Cosgun, Cihan Öser, Savaş Erdem, Ali Koçak, Baris Sayin
Natural soils and filled soils consisting of different materials such as earth, sand and crushed stone can suffer shear failure due to lateral forces in the presence of a vertical plane between levels of different elevation. To prevent such undesired occurrences, low-angle terracing or sloping of retaining walls are preferred in the field. A retaining wall is defined as a structure that keeps changes in the soil surface to a near-vertical plane, and is used to prevent soil movement due to the natural angle of repose. The walls can be constructed according to four different designs, namely gravity, reinforced concrete, prestressed, and reinforced earth walls. Similarly, gravity stone walls are structures that are constructed using stones, rocks or concrete, with the intention being to counter the lateral pressure from the soil with its own gravity. These structures are designed to avoid the emergence of low tensile stress.1–3
Parametric studies on two-tiered model fly ash wall
Published in International Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, 2022
A retaining wall is a geotechnical structure constructed to counteract the lateral earth pressure when a change in ground elevation is needed. For many years, retaining walls have been designed using traditional methods as gravity wall or cantilever wall. Such types of walls are essentially constructed using reinforced concrete. The demands for construction of taller retaining wall are increasing with the rapid development of urban infrastructure and growing restriction of space. However, with the increase in height, the cost of the retaining wall constructed using conventional methods increases rapidly. Therefore, there is a need for alternate arrangements for the construction of retaining walls. Reinforced earth wall is such structure which can be used to construct taller and economically feasible walls. These walls provide a different option to the standard retaining wall by improving its tensile strength. Several researchers (Anubhav and Basudhar 2011; Chalermyanont and Benson 2004; Karpurapu and Bathurst 1995; Kandolkar and Mandal 2015; Krieger and Thamm 1991; Lal and Mandal 2014b; Leshchinsky and Perry 1989; Mandal and Jambale 1992; Sawicki and Les̀niewska 1986, etc.) have carried out studies on MSE walls. Hatami, Bathurst and Pietro (2001) reported that the reinforcement load is influenced by the type of facing. Bathurst, Mitaya and Allen (2010) performed a full-scale test on reinforced soil wall and reported that compaction efforts and global reinforcement stiffness affect the deformations at the end of construction, considering other factors remain unchanged.