Structural Design of Retaining

wall structures
Slope Stability and Lateral Earth Supports

CIV5149Z

Dr Patrick Bukenya
Department of Civil Engineering and Geomatics
Cape Peninsula University of Technology
bukenyap@cput.ac.za
Cape Town, South Africa
17th March 2022
Outline

• Introduction

• Types of Retaining walls

• Design of Retaining walls

• Worked Example
Introduction
• Retaining walls are structural members used to provide stability for soil or
other materials and to prevent them from assuming their natural slope.

• The retaining wall maintains unequal levels of earth on its two faces

• The retained material on the higher level exerts a force on the retaining
wall that may cause its overturning or failure.

• Retaining walls are used in bridges as abutments, in buildings as

basement walls, and in embankments
Types of Retaining walls
• Gravity walls
 Usually consist of plain concrete or masonry and depend entirely on
their own weight to provide stability against the thrust of the retained
material.
 These walls are proportioned so that tensile stresses do not develop
in the concrete or masonry due to the exerted forces on the wall.
Types of Retaining walls
• The reinforced concrete cantilever retaining wall
 Consists of the vertical arm that retains the earth and is held in
position by a footing or base slab.

 The weight of the fill on top of the heel, in addition to the weight of the
wall, contributes to the stability of the structure.
Types of Retaining walls
• Counterfort retaining walls
 Cantilever retaining wall used when the height is around 7m or more.
 For economizing the structure, vertical bracing called counter-forts are
provided on the back fill side.
 These counter-forts connect the heel slab and stem
Types of Retaining walls
• Buttressed retaining wall
 Similar to the counterfort wall, but in this case the transverse walls are
located on the opposite, visible side of the stem and act in compression
 Have the vertical bracing located on the front side of the retaining wall in
place of the back-fill side like that of counter-fort retaining walls.
 The structural action of the stem remains the same as the counter-fort walls.
Types of Retaining walls
• Piled retaining walls
 Consist of a sequence of bored piles.
 The bored piled retaining walls are often accompanied by erection earth
anchors, shot-creating the pile gaps, and provision of additional
supports depending on the site conditions and designs.
Earth pressures
• The pressure exerted by soil or earth on the retaining wall

 Earth pressure at rest

 Active earth pressure
 Passive earth pressure
Principle of the design of retaining
walls
Stability of Retaining walls
Stability of Retaining walls
• Sliding:
 Ability of the retaining wall structure to overcome the horizontal force
applied to the wall

 Factor of safety = 1.5

• Overturning:

 Ability of the retaining wall structure to overcome the overturning

moment created by the rotational forces applied to the wall.
 Factor of safety = 1.5
Stability of Retaining walls
• Bearing capacity:

 Ability of the underlying soil to support the weight of the retaining wall
structure.
 Factor of safety = 2.0

• No Tension:

 There should be no tension at the base of the wall.

 when the eccentricity (e) is greater than b/6 , tension develops
at the heel
Structural Design of Retaining walls

SOURCE:
Parrott, G (2008). Reinforced Concrete Design to SANS 10100-1. Shades
Technical Publications, South Africa.
Structural Design of Retaining walls
Critical Design Parameters
• Bending

SOURCE:
Mawer, B (2018). Structural design of Retaining wall structures: Lecture
notes presented at University of Cape Town
Structural Design of Retaining walls
Critical Design Parameters
• Bending

SOURCE:
Mawer, B (2018). Structural design of Retaining wall structures: Lecture
notes presented at University of Cape Town
Structural Design of Retaining walls
Critical Design Parameters
• Shear

SOURCE:
Mawer, B (2018). Structural design of Retaining wall structures: Lecture
notes presented at University of Cape Town
Structural Design of Retaining walls
Critical Design Parameters
• Shear

SOURCE:
Mawer, B (2018). Structural design of Retaining wall structures: Lecture
notes presented at University of Cape Town
Structural Design of Retaining walls
Design approach
• Assume dimensions for the retaining wall elements (toe, heel, base, etc

• Carry out stability checks using the assumed dimensions

• After establishing suitable dimensions, reinforcement in the retaining wall

elements can be designed at ultimate limit state

• The procedure of obtaining suitable dimensions is quite cumbersome, so

need to create a spreadsheet or use a software
Structural Design of Retaining walls
Worked Example

Figure 1 shows a cross section through a retaining wall. The soil behind the wall
is level and at the same height of the wall. Assume there is no soil in front of the
retaining wall, sue Y20 bars for the base and wall.
Soil properties: Ф= 30o, γ=19 kN/m3
Concrete properties: γ=24 kN/m3, fcu=35 MPa, fy=450 MPa
Assume allowable soil bearing pressure=120kPa
Provide for flexural reinforcement, assuming cover for reinforcement in the wall
and base are 35 mm and 50 mm respectively
Structural Design of Retaining walls
Worked Example
Structural Design of Retaining walls
Worked Example: Solutions

𝐹𝐹𝐴𝐴 = 0.5𝑝𝑝𝑎𝑎 ℎ = 0.5 × 34.2 × 5.4 = 92.34𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘/𝑚𝑚

Structural Design of Retaining walls
Worked Example: Solutions

Overturning moments
Taking moments about point A, sum of overturning moments (Mo)
ℎ 5.4
𝑀𝑀𝑜𝑜 = 𝐹𝐹𝐴𝐴 × = 92.34 × = 166.212 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘
3 3
Resisting moments
Description W Lever arm Moment
Backfill 2.9 x 5 x19 =275.5 2.55 702.525
Stem 0.4 x 5 x24 = 48 0.9 73.2
Base 4 x 0.4 x 24 = 38.4 2 76.8

� 𝑉𝑉 = 361.9 � 𝑀𝑀𝑅𝑅 = 822.525

Structural Design of Retaining walls
Worked Example: Solutions

Factors of safety
𝑀𝑀𝑅𝑅 822.525
F.O.S Overturning = = = 4.95 > 1.5 OK
𝑀𝑀𝑂𝑂 166.212

F.O.S Sliding =
𝜇𝜇 ∑ 𝑉𝑉
=
0.4×361.9
= 1.57 > 1.5 OK
𝐹𝐹𝐴𝐴 92.34
Structural Design of Retaining walls
Worked Example: Solutions

Bearing Capacity

𝑀𝑀𝑅𝑅 − 𝑀𝑀𝑂𝑂 822.525 − 166.212

𝑥𝑥̅ = = = 1.81 𝑚𝑚 OK
∑ 𝑉𝑉 361.9

𝐵𝐵 4
𝑒𝑒 = − 𝑥𝑥̅ = − 1.81 = 0.19 𝑚𝑚
2 2

𝐵𝐵
𝑒𝑒 < = 0.667 𝑚𝑚 Lies in the middle third so all in compression
6
Structural Design of Retaining walls
Worked Example: Solutions

Bearing Capacity

∑ 𝑉𝑉 6𝑒𝑒
𝑃𝑃𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚,𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 = 1±
𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵

𝑃𝑃𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 = 116.3 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘 < 120 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘 OK

𝑃𝑃𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 = 64.7 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘

Structural Design of Retaining walls
Worked Example: Solutions

Design for Ultimate Limit State

𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙 = 1.2 𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 + 1.6 𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿

Description W 𝛾𝛾 Wultimate
Soil 275.5 1.2 330.6
Stem 48 1.2 57.6
Base 38.4 1.2 46.08

𝑊𝑊𝑢𝑢 = 434.28 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘

𝑃𝑃𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 = 139.51 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘
𝑃𝑃𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 = 77.63 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘
Structural Design of Retaining walls
Worked Example: Solutions

Design for Ultimate Limit State

Structural Design of Retaining walls
Worked Example: Solutions

Design for Ultimate Limit State: Heel

Description Shear Lever arm Moment

Soil 330.6 1.45 479.37
Base 27.84 1.45 40.368
R1 -225.13 1.45 -326.44
R2 -65.05 0.967 -62.88
R1
V= 68.26 kN M= 130.418 kNm
R2
Structural Design of Retaining walls
Worked Example: Solutions

Design for Ultimate Limit State: Toe

Description Shear Lever arm Moment

Base -8.06 0.35 -2.82
R3 90.08 0.35 31.53
R4 3.79 0.47 1.78

V= 85.81 kN M= 30.49kNm
R3

R4
 Structural Design of Retaining walls
Worked Example: Solutions

Design for Ultimate Limit State: Stem

Description Shear Lever arm Moment

Soil 95 1.67 158.65
Structural Design of Retaining walls
Worked Example: Solutions

Design for Ultimate Limit State: Bending: Stem

Effective depth, d= 400-cover-φ/2=400-35-10=355 mm

𝑀𝑀𝑢𝑢 = 0.156 × 35 × 1000 × (355 × 10−3 )2 = 688 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘

Since Mu > M, no compression reinforcement required

Structural Design of Retaining walls
Worked Example: Solutions

Design for Ultimate Limit State: Bending: Stem

𝑀𝑀 158.65 × 106
𝐾𝐾 = = = 0.036
𝑓𝑓𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑏𝑏𝑑𝑑 2 35 × 1000 × 3552
𝐴𝐴𝑠𝑠 = 0.13%𝑏𝑏𝑏 = 520𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚2 /𝑚𝑚

𝑧𝑧 = 𝑑𝑑 0.5 + 0.25 − 𝐾𝐾/0.9 = 340.181

𝑧𝑧
Provide Y12 @200 mm ( 564 mm2)
> 0.95 Therefore take z/d=0.95, z=337.25mm
𝑑𝑑

𝑀𝑀 158.65 × 106
𝐴𝐴𝑠𝑠 = = = 1202𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚2 /𝑚𝑚
0.87𝑓𝑓𝑦𝑦 𝑧𝑧 0.87 × 450 × 337.25

Provide Y20 @200 mm ( 1571 mm2)

Structural Design of Retaining walls
Worked Example: Solutions

Design for Ultimate Limit State: Bending: Heel

Effective depth, d= 400-cover-φ/2=400-50-10=340 mm

𝑀𝑀𝑢𝑢 = 0.156 × 35 × 1000 × (340 × 10−3 )2 = 631.2 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘

Since Mu > M, no compression reinforcement required

Structural Design of Retaining walls
Worked Example: Solutions

Design for Ultimate Limit State: Bending: Heel

𝑀𝑀 130.418 × 106
𝐾𝐾 = = = 0.032
𝑓𝑓𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑏𝑏𝑑𝑑 2 35 × 1000 × 3402
𝐴𝐴𝑠𝑠 = 0.13%𝑏𝑏𝑏 = 520𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚2 /𝑚𝑚

𝑧𝑧 = 𝑑𝑑 0.5 + 0.25 − 𝐾𝐾/0.9 = 401.7

𝑧𝑧
Provide Y12 @200 mm ( 564 mm2)
> 0.95 Therefore, take z/d=0.95, z=323mm
𝑑𝑑

𝑀𝑀 130.418 × 106
𝐴𝐴𝑠𝑠 = = = 1031.3 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚2 /𝑚𝑚
0.87𝑓𝑓𝑦𝑦 𝑧𝑧 0.87 × 450 × 323

Provide Y20 @200 mm ( 1571 mm2)

Structural Design of Retaining walls
Worked Example: Solutions

Design for Ultimate Limit State: Bending: Toe

Mtoe < Mheel with same d, provide same reinforcement as Heel

Provide Y20 @200 mm ( 1571 mm2)

Provide Y12 @200 mm ( 564 mm2)

Hence provide Y12 @ 200 mm c/c in the bottom face of the base and as
distribution steel in base and stem wall
Structural Design of Retaining walls
Reinforcement details
Structural Design of Retaining walls
THANK YOU !!!