Lecture37-Seismic Retaining Walls Part2

Seismic Response of Retaining Walls
Part-II
Lecture-37
1
Dynamic Response of Retaining Walls
The dynamic response of even simplest type of retaining wall is quite complex.
Wall movement and pressure depends on the response of the soil underlying the
wall, the response of the backfill, the inertial and flexural response of the wall
itself, and the nature of the input motions. Most of the current understanding of
the dynamic response of retaining wall has come from the model test and
numerical analyses. These tests and analyses, the majority of which involved
gravity wall indicate that

1. Wall can move by translation and or by rotation. The relative amounts of
translation and rotation depend on the design of the wall; one or the other may
predominate for some wall, and both may occur for others.

2. Magnitude and distribution of dynamic wall pressure are influenced by the
mode of wall movement (e.g. translation, rotation about the base, or rotation
about the top).

3. Maximum soil thrust acting on the wall generally occurs when the wall has
translated or rotated towards the backfill (when the inertial force on the wall is
directed towards the backfill). The minimum soil thrust occurs when the wall has
translated or rotated away from the backfill.
2
4. The shape of the earth pressure distribution on the back of the wall changes as
the wall moves. The point of application of the soil thrust therefore, moves up and
down along the back of the wall. The position of the soil thrust in highest when the
wall moves towards the soil and lowest when the wall moves outwards.

5. Dynamic wall pressures are influenced by the dynamic response of the wall and
backfill and can increase significantly near the natural frequency of the wall-backfill
system. Permanent wall displacement also increases at frequency of the wall-
backfill system. Dynamic response effect can also cause deflections of different
parts of the wall to be out of phase. This effect can be particularly significant for
wall that penetrates into the foundation soil when the backfill soil moves out of
phase with the foundation soils.

6. Increased residual pressures may remain on the wall after an episode of strong
shaking has ended.
3
According to Nazarian and Hadjian (1979) stated, the solution methods used for the
dynamic behavior of retaining walls can be divided into four categories:

1.Fully Plastic Solutions: This kind of analytical approach assumes that there is a
definite failure surface developed behind the retaining wall. The pseudo-static analysis
of the wedge behind the wall gives analytical expressions about the amount and the
point of application of the total dynamic thrust. The most famous method is
Mononobe Okabe method.

2. Solutions based on Elastic Wave Theory: This approach assumes that the whole wall
and backfill system moves in elastic range.

3. Inelastic Dynamic Solutions: These methods are based on the elasto-plastic models.
The knowledge is still not enough. Solutions are complex and mostly based on Finite
Element Methods.

4. Experiments and Field Observations
4
Mononobe-Okabe (M-O) Method
The most commonly adopted method for determining the dynamic lateral pressure
on retaining structures was developed by Mononobe (1929) and Okabe (1926). The
method was developed for dry cohesionless materials and was based on the
assumption that:

1. The wall yields sufficiently to produce minimum active pressure
2. When the minimum active pressure in attained, a soil wedge behind the is at
the point of incipient failure and the maximum shear strength is mobilized along
the potential sliding surface.
3. The soil behind the wall behaves as a rigid body so that acceleration are uniform
throughout the mass; thus the effect of the earthquake motion can be
represented by the inertia forces k
h
W and k
v
W, where W is the weight of the
sliding wedge. k
h
g and k
v
g are the horizontal and vertical components of the
earthquake acceleration at the base of the wall
5
Fig: (a) Forces acting on active edge (b) Force Polygon
| = internal angle of friction of the soil , u = the inclination angle of the ground
surface above the retaining structure, | = the slope angle from the horizontal minus
90, = Angle of wall friction and k
h
and k
v
= horizontal and vertical pseudo-static
coefficients.
6
In effect, the active pressure during the earthquake P
AE
is computed by the Coulomb
theory except that the additional forces k
h
W and k
v
W are included in the
computation. Determining the critical sliding surface is the usual way and the active
pressure corresponding to this surface lead to the following expression:

P
AE
= K
AE
H
2
(1-k
v
)

( )
( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
2
2
2
cos cos
sin sin
1 cos cos cos
cos
(
+ +
+
+ + +

=
u | u o
| | | o
u o u
u |
AE
K
= unit weight of soil, H = height of wall, | = internal angle of friction of the soil , u
= the inclination angle of the ground surface above the retaining structure, | = the
slope angle from the horizontal minus 90, = Angle of wall friction and k
h
and k
v
=
horizontal and vertical pseudo-static coefficients.
7
The inclination of the critical failure surface o
AE
assuming
active earth pressure conditions is
h
and k
v
coefficients.
(
+
+ =

E
E
AE
C
C
2
1 1
) tan(
tan
| |
| o
|
|
.
|
\
|
=

v
h
k
k
1
tan
1
( ) ( ) | | | | ) cot( ) tan( 1 cot( tan tan

1
u | u o u | | | | | + + + + =
E
C
( ) ( ) | | { } ) cot( tan tan 1
2
u | | | u o + + + + =
E
C
8
Theobservations of the experimental studies by various investigators with respect to
the M-O method are as below:

(1)Lateral earth pressure coefficients for the cohesionless backfill computed from the
Mononobe-Okabe analysis are in reasonably good agreement with values developed
from small scale model tests.

(2)In case of unanchored retaining structures, the increase in the lateral pressure due to
the base excitation are greater at the top of the wall and the resultant increment acts at
the height varying from 0.5H to 0.67H above the base of the wall.

(3) The increase in the lateral pressure due to dynamic effect may be accompanied by
an outward movement of the wall, the amount of movement increasing with the
magnitude of the base acceleration.

(4) After a retaining structures with a granular backfill materials has been subjected to a
base excitation, there is a residual pressure which is substantially greater than the initial
pressure before the base excitation; this residual is also a substantial portion of the
maximum pressure developed during the excitation.
9
Steps involved in Mononobe-Okabe analysis
1. Compute K
A
and P
A
2. Compute (for known k
h
and k
v
)
3. Compute K
AE
and P
AE
4. Compute AP
AE
= P
AE
- P
A

5. Find out the location of action of resultant thrust
height of resultant from base
h = [(P
A
H/3)+ (AP
AE
0.6H)]/P
AE
6. Find out the overturning moment M
o
= P
AE
cos h

10
Mononobe-Okabe (M-O) Method for passive earth
pressure conditions
Fig: (a) Forces acting on passive edge (b) Force Polygon
11
In effect, the passive pressure during the earthquake P
PE
is computed by the
Coulomb theory except that the additional forces k
h
W and k
v
W are included in the
computation. Determining the critical sliding surface is the usual way and the active
pressure corresponding to this surface lead to the following expression:

P
PE
= K
PE
H
2
(1-k
v
)

( )
( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
2
2
2
cos cos
sin sin
1 cos cos cos
cos
(
+
+ +
+
+
=
u | u o
| | | o
u o u
u |
PE
K
= unit weight of soil, H = height of wall, | = internal angle of friction of the soil , u
= the inclination angle of the ground surface above the retaining structure, | = the
slope angle from the horizontal minus 90, = Angle of wall friction and k
h
and k
v
=
horizontal and vertical pseudo-static coefficients.
pressure conditions
12
The inclination of the critical failure surface o
AE
assuming
passive earth pressure conditions is
h
and k
v
coefficients.
(
+ + +
+ =

E
E
PE
C
C
4
3 1
) tan(
tan
| |
| o
|
|
.
|
\
|
=

v
h
k
k
1
tan
1
( ) ( ) | | | | ) cot( ) tan( 1 cot( tan tan

3
u | u o u | | | | | + + + + + + + =
E
C
( ) ( ) | | { } ) cot( tan tan 1
4
u | | | u o + + + + + =
E
C
pressure conditions
13
Steedman-Zeng Method
The M-O method accounts for the dynamic nature of the earthquake loading in a
very approximate way.

Steedman and Zeng (1990) proposed a simple pseudo-dynamic analysis of seismic
earth pressures.

This method accounts for the phase difference and amplification effects within the
backfill behind a retaining wall.
Fig: Wall geometry and notation for Steedman-Zeng Method
14
If the active wedge shown in figure (previous slide) is considered, acceleration at a
depth z can be expressed as follows:

where
a
h
= amplitude of harmonic horizontal input acceleration
e = cyclic frequency of harmonic input motion
t = time
v
s
= velocity of vertically propagating harmonic shear wave
H = height of the wall
Z = depth

The mass of a thin element in the active wedge is:

where
= unit weight of the backfill material
g = gravitational acceleration
(
(
|
|
.
|
\
|

=
s
h
v
z H
t a t z a e sin ) , (
dz
z H
g
z m
o
tan
) (

=
15
The total inertial force acting on the wall can therefore be given as:

Where
and

By resolving the forces on the wedge we can obtain the total soil thrust as follows:

If we differentiate the total soil thrust we can obtain the total earth pressure
distribution as follows:

The height of application of total thrust varies with time according to the following
formula:

| | ) sin (sin cos 2
tan 4
) , ( ) ( ) (
2
0
t H
g
a
dz t z a z m t Q
h
H
h
e e, e, t
o t

+ = =
}
e t / 2
s
v =
s
v
H
t = ,
) cos(
) sin( ) cos( ) (
) (
o | o
| o | o
+
+
=
W t Q
t P
h
AE
(
(
|
|
.
|
\
|
+

+
+

= =
s
h AE
AE
v
z
t
z k z
z
t P
t P e
o | o
| o
|
o | o
| o
o
o
o
sin
) cos(
) cos(
tan ) cos(
) sin(
tan
) (
) (
) sin (sin cos 2
) cos (cos sin 2 cos 2
2 2 2
t H
t H H
H h
d
e e, t e, t
e e, e, t e, t
+
+
=
16
Effects of Wall Stiffness
Velestos and Younan (1997) stated that the existing elastic solutions are
limited to
nondeflecting rigid walls and do not provide for the important effect of wall
flexibility.

According to their research on rigid walls which are elastically constrained
against rotation at their base, both the magnitudes and distributions of the
dynamic wall pressures and forces are quite sensitive to the flexibility of the
base constraint.

For realistic wall flexibilities the total wall force or base shear is one-half or
less that obtained for a fixed-based, rigid wall, and the corresponding
reduction in the overturning base moment is even larger. With the
information that has been presented, the precise dependence of these critical
forces on the flexibilities of the wall and its base may be evaluated readily.
17
Effects of Water
The methods explained for estimating the seismic loads on retaining walls are
applicable only for retaining walls with dry backfills. Most of the retaining
walls are provided with drains to prevent the building of water pressure.

However, it is not possible to stop the building of water pressure in retaining
walls built in waterfront areas, where most earthquake induced failures are
observed.

Water outboard of retaining wall can exert dynamic pressures on the face of
the wall.

Water in the backfill can also exert pressure on the back of the wall.

Proper consideration of effect of water is essential while estimating the
seismic loads on waterfront retaining walls.
18
Displacement based design methods
Richard and Elms Method

This method considers the wall inertia effect and therefore suitable for gravity
type retaining walls. For no wall movement the required weight of the wall is
expressed as follows:

where
= unit weight of the wall material
H = height of the wall
| = the slope angle from the horizontal minus 90
= Angle of wall friction

Richard and Elms (1979) state that for the use of KAE considering the
maximum ground acceleration leads to uneconomical design of wall.
Therefore using smaller wall dimensions is more feasible where the wall is
allowed to move for a small amount.
(
+ +
=
u |
| | o | o
tan tan
tan ) sin( ) cos(
2
1
2
b
b
AE w
K H W
19
Displacement based design methods
Richard and Elms Method

For the calculation of the total relative displacement of a wall following relation is
given:

where
A=maximum acceleration coefficient; V=maximum velocity; g = Acceleration due to
gravity; N=maximum critical acceleration coefficient and defined as follows:

Following steps are followed in the design of gravity retaining walls by using Richards
and Elms method:

1. An allowable design displacement D is chosen.
2. N is calculated for known values of A and V
3. K
AE
is calculated from Mononobe-Okabe formulation. Instead of k
h
, N
is used for the calculation of u .
4. The required wall weight (W
w
) is computed from the expression given in previous slide.
4 2
087 . 0

|
.
|
\
|
=
A
N
Ag
V
D
4 / 1
2
087 . 0
|
|
.
|
\
|
=
DAg
V
A N
20
Example Problem
5 m
Dry silty sand
= 17 kN/m
3
|= 34

o = 17
Compute the overturning moment about the base for the wall shown in figure for
pseudo-static seismic coefficients k
h
= 0.15 and k
v
= 0.075
21
Solution
The static active pressure coefficient on the wall using Coulombs theory is:

( )
( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
2
2
2
cos cos
sin sin
1 cos cos
cos
(
+
+
+ +
=
u | u o
| | | o
u o u
u |
A
K
( )
( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
256 . 0
0 0 cos 0 17 cos
0 34 sin 34 17 sin
1 0 17 cos ) 0 ( cos
0 34 cos
2
2
2
=
(
+
+
+ +

=
A
K
The static active thrust on the wall is P
A
= K
A
H
2

kN/m 4 . 54 5 17 256 . 0
2
1
2
= =
A
P
=
|
.
|
\
|
=
|
|
.
|
\
|
=

2 . 9
075 . 0 1
15 . 0
tan
1
tan
1 1
v
h
k
k
22
Solution
The total active thrust is computed as:
( )
( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
362 . 0
0 0 cos 2 . 9 0 17 cos
2 . 9 0 34 sin 34 17 sin
1 2 . 9 0 17 cos ) 0 ( cos ) 2 . 9 cos(
2 . 9 0 34 cos
2
2
2
=
(
+ +
+
+ + +

=
AE
K
P
AE
= K
AE
H
2
K(1-k
v
)
kN/m 15 . 71 ) 075 . 0 1 ( 5 17 362 . 0
2
1
2
= =
AE
P
( )
( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
2
2
2
cos cos
sin sin
1 cos cos cos
cos
(
+ +
+
+ + +

=
u | u o
| | | o
u o u
u |
AE
K
The dynamic component of the total thrust is:
AP
AE
= P
AE
P
A
= 71.15-54.4 = 16.75 kN/m
23
Solution
The static active thrust acts at a height of H/3 above the base of the wall,
where as the dynamic thrust acts at 0.6H above the base of the wall. Hence
the total thrust acts at a height h above the wall, where
m 98 . 1
15 . 71
) 5 6 . 0 ( 75 . 16
3
5
4 . 54 ) 6 . 0 (
3
=
+
=
A +
=
AE
AE A
P
H P
H
P
h
Because only the horizontal component of the total active thrust contributes
to the overturning moment about the base, the overturning moment is given
by
m/m kN 72 . 134 98 . 1 17 cos 15 . 71 cos ) ( ) ( = = = = h P h P M
AE h AE o
o
24
Exercise Problems
1. A yielding wall sloped at 10 has to be constructed to retain a 12 m column
of sand having unit weight of 18 kN/m
3
and friction angle of 42 and wall
friction of 18. Compute dynamic thrust on the wall and overturning
moment about the base of the wall under seismic loading, for pseudo-
static seismic coefficients k
h
= 0.25 and k
v
= 0.125 .

2. The wall shown in figure is subjected to a peak horizontal acceleration of
0.28 g. Assuming a pseudo-static coefficient k
h
= 0.38 a
max
/g, compute the
total active thrust on the wall, height of the resultant active thrust and
total overturning moment about the base of the wall.
4 m
1
4
Dry Sand
= 18 kN/m
3
|= 38

o = 20
25
26
Kramer, S.L. (1996) Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering, Prentice Hall.
Day, R.W. (2001) Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering Handbook, McGraw-Hill.
Richards, R. and Elms, D.G. (1979) Seismic behavior of gravity retaining walls,
Journal of the Geotechnical Engineering Division, 105 (GT4) 449464.
Zeng, X. and Steedman, R.S. (2000) Rotating block method for seismic
displacement of gravity walls, Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental
Engineering, 126 (8), 709717.
Newmark, N.M. (1965) Effects of earthquake on dams and embankments,
Geotechnique, 15, 139160.
NCHRP report on Seismic Analysis and Design of Retaining Walls, Buried
structures, Slopes, and Embankments:
http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/nchrp/nchrp_rpt_611.pdf
(accessed on 14 April 2012)
References

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Seismic Response of Retaining Walls

( ) ( ) | | | | ) cot( ) tan( 1 cot( tan tan

( ) ( ) | | | | ) cot( ) tan( 1 cot( tan tan

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