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Concrete Construction Article PDF - Small Gravity Retaining Walls
Concrete Construction Article PDF - Small Gravity Retaining Walls
Concrete Construction Article PDF - Small Gravity Retaining Walls
retaining walls
Portland Cement Association tables
simplify design
BY FRANK A. RANDALL, JR.
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER
9’11” 19.5” 6’6” 24” 2.5 0.18 310 2300 1100 1.81
9’0” 18” 6’0” 24” 2.5 0.17 280 2100 1100 1.55
8’1” 16.5” 5’6” 24” 2.6 0.17 250 1950 1000 1.31
7’2” 15” 5’0” 24” 2.6 0.16 2201 800 900 1.09
6’3” 13.5” 4’6” 24” 2.6 0.15 190 1600 800 0.89
5’4” 12” 4’0” 24” 2.7 0.15 170 1500 700 0.71
4’5” 10.5” 3’6” 24” 2.7 0.14 140 1400 600 0.55
3’6” 9” 3’0” 24” 2.7 0.13 110 1200 500 0.41
Reprinted with permission of the Portland Cement Association
h o ri zontal construction joints are needed at any level
above the top of the footing, dowels and keys are need-
ed there also.
To minimize random cracking which would mar the
appearance of the wall, vertical control joints can be pro-
vided at about a 15-foot spacing. Grooves used to form
the control joints can be filled with a joint sealant so that
groundwater doesn’t stain the wall face.
If walls are built with sloping faces, upward hydrostat-
ic pressure of the fresh concrete may cause flotation of
the forms unless they are securely anchored to the base.
An alternate method of building the non-vertical face is
to create steps with vertical forms. The stepped wall, as
shown in Figure 3 on page 981, makes placement of con-
To illustrate the use of the PCA design tables, assume that
crete easier and avoids problems with form flotation. Di-
a gravity retaining wall is to be built for the conditions illus-
trated in the sketch above. Steps in the precess are as follows: mensions for the steps can be chosen to keep the weight
1. Enter the appropriate table. In this case it is Table 4 (the of the wall, the safety factor against ove rt u rning or slid-
only PCA sample design table illustrated in this article) be- ing and the bearing pressure the same as for a wall with
cause the backfill is most like Type 3 in Table 1. If in doubt a sloping face.
about which of two types to use, choose the higher number.
Note also that the backfill is sloped, but less than 1:2, that the Engineer may have to prepare
surcharge is less than 80 psf and that a vertical back is ac- and refine the design
ceptable.
Because allowable bearing pressures on soils vary
2. Choose height (H) value. In the example use 7’-2”, the from one building code jurisdiction to another, the typi-
value next higher than the 6’-8” needed.
cal designs should be adapted to local conditions and
3. Examine sliding friction. Since the bearing soil is a stiff
should conform with any legal requirements. The sam-
clay, use the shear stress value of 220 psf. This is compared
with the allowable shear stress in the bearing soil which is ple designs are intended to be helpful in the preparation
half of the unconfined compressive strength. From Table 2, of complete plans. If the wall construction is controlled
for stiff clay, 1200 psf is a conservative estimate of the uncon- by a governing body, working drawings may have to be
fined compressive strength and 0.5x1200=600 psf which is prepared and approved by a qualified engineer or archi-
greater than 220 psf. Sliding friction is acceptable. If the bear- tect.
ing soil were not a clay, the H’/V’ value would be used for
the sliding friction check as described in the article. Editor’s note:
4. Examine the soil bearing pressure. The maximum
The sample designs described are found in two separate
pressure shown in the table is 1800 psf and from Table 3, the publications: “Small Concrete Gravity Retaining Walls” (IS
allowable pressure is 2500 psf. Bearing pressure is accept- 222), and “More Design Tables for Small Concrete Gravity
able. Retaining Walls” (Comments on Concrete No. 20). Single
Note: If, in either steps 3 or 4, values in the tables exceed the al- copies of both are available free of charge while the supply
lowable values, several options would be available to the designer: lasts. Request them from the Building Design and Construc-
change to a backfill having a lower type number, modify the bearing tion Department, Portland Cement Association, 5420 Old
soil to increase its bearing capacity or use a wider and thicker foot- Orchard Road, Skokie, Illinois 60077.
ing.
5. Determine the volume of concrete required. The table
shows that 1.09 cubic yards of concrete will be needed per
lineal foot of 7’-2”-high wall but since the height actually
needed is only 6’-8”, this value can be adjusted as follows:
1.09x6.67/7.17=1.01 cubic yards per lineal foot of wall. The
height can be reduced to 6’-8”, leaving the a, b and c dimen-
sions in Table 4 the same.
6. Determine the construction details and prepare work-
ing drawings. This requires decisions to be made about plac-
ing the footing at the required depth, stepping the face, pro-
viding weep holes, specifying concrete properties and
similar details. These are discussed in more detail in the dis- PUBLICATION #C840977
cussion of the PCA design tables. Copyright © 1984, The Aberdeen Group
All rights reserved