SEISMIC STABILITY OF SEVERAL TYPES OF RETAINING WALLS ON SAND SLOPE

Abstract

Model shaking tests using an irregular base shaking were performed to investigate the failure mechanism and seismic stability of five types of soil retaining walls (RWs) situated on slope. Conventional leaning-type and cantilever RWs exhibited brittle failure when subjected to a relatively low base acceleration. A reinforced soil RW showed ductile and highly seismic-resistant behavior. On the other hand, a leaning type RW and a reinforced soil RW with nails in the backfill and slope exhibited the highest seismic stability, showing small displacements even when subjected to a base acceleration higher than 1g. It was found that nailing could be one of the best ways to stabilize existing leaning RWs on slope, and reinforced soil RWs with nails could be the most stable ones as newly constructed RWs on slope.