Retaining Walls

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Design and analysis of retaining structures to hold back soil and rock to create level building sites.

Soil Mechanics: This involves the study of soil properties and behavior under various conditions such as stress, strain, and deformation.
Slope Stability: This refers to the risk analysis of slopes and the measures to prevent slope failure.
Earth Pressure: This involves the calculation of the pressure exerted on a retaining wall by the soil it is retaining.
Lateral Earth Pressure: This refers to the horizontal pressure that the soil exerts on a retaining wall.
Active and Passive Earth Pressure: This describes the two types of lateral earth pressure that occur on a retaining wall.
Retaining Wall Design: The process of designing a retaining wall to safely and efficiently retain soil.
Structural Design: The design of retaining walls considering the structural aspects such as strength, stiffness, and integrity.
Drainage Design: The design of drainage for retaining walls to prevent moisture buildup behind the wall and to increase the wall's stability.
Construction Techniques: The methods and techniques used to construct a retaining wall.
Material Selection: The selection of appropriate materials for the retaining wall, such as concrete, steel, or masonry.
Foundation Design: The design of the foundation of the retaining wall considering soil types and conditions, water table, and loading conditions.
Maintenance and Repair: Maintenance and repair of retaining walls to avoid degradation and increase their lifespan.
Retaining Wall Analysis: The process of analyzing a retaining wall to ensure that it is structurally sound and capable of retaining the desired amount of soil.
Geogrid Reinforcement: The use of synthetic material to reinforce the soil and enhance the stability of the wall.
Anchored Retaining Walls: The use of anchors to reinforce a retaining wall, especially when dealing with heavily loaded or higher retaining walls.
Gravity Retaining Walls: These are solid walls with enough weight and mass to retain the soil behind. Gravity walls are usually made of concrete or stone, and they are suitable for small to medium retaining heights.
Cantilevered Retaining Walls: Cantilever walls are made of reinforced concrete and have a concrete base, stem, and toe. The base of the wall is thinner than the stem and toe, and they rely on steel-bars to provide a counterbalance for the retaining forces.
Anchored Retaining Walls: Anchored walls are similar to cantilever walls, but they require reinforcement that extends into the soil. An anchor wall uses cables or bars to reinforce the structure.
Sheet Piling Retaining Walls: Sheet piling walls consist of thin, interlocking steel sheets that are driven into the ground to form a retaining wall. These walls are suitable for soft soils, underwater soil conditions, and for limited access sites.
Block Retaining Walls: Block walls are made of precast concrete or interlocking blocks. They are easy to install and are ideal for small to medium retaining heights.
Gabion Retaining Walls: Gabion walls are made of mesh wire baskets filled with stones or concrete blocks, providing a flexible and customizable retaining material that suits a range of heights and is an erosion-resistant option.
Riprap Retaining Walls: Riprap walls are made from large boulders or concrete blocks placed along slopes or shorelines to reduce erosion by absorbing water and directing it away from the area.
Hybrid Retaining Walls: A mixture of two or more types of retaining walls is called a Hybrid retaining wall system. They combine the best characteristics of two or more different retaining wall types.
Treated Wood Retaining Walls: Treated wood walls are made of timber planks or logs, pressure-treated to increase resistance to moisture, insects, and decay. The wall is reinforced with steel rods, and suitable for small to medium retaining heights.
Concrete Block Retaining Walls: Concrete block walls are similar to gravity walls, where the wall is made of interlocking hollow blocks filled with granular backfill. The blocks are cheaper compared to solid blocks, making them a cost-effective solution for small to medium retaining heights.
Quote: "Retaining walls are relatively rigid walls used for supporting soil laterally so that it can be retained at different levels on the two sides."
Quote: "They are structures designed to restrain soil to a slope that it would not naturally keep to (typically a steep, near-vertical or vertical slope)."
Quote: "They are used to bound soils between two different elevations often in areas of terrain possessing undesirable slopes or in areas where the landscape needs to be shaped severely."
Quote: "Engineered for more specific purposes like hillside farming or roadway overpasses."
Quote: "A retaining wall that retains soil on the backside and water on the frontside is called a seawall or a bulkhead."
Quote: "Retaining walls are relatively rigid walls."
Quote: "Used for supporting soil laterally so that it can be retained at different levels on the two sides."
Quote: "A slope that it would not naturally keep to."
Quote: "Often in areas of terrain possessing undesirable slopes."
Quote: "Shaping severely and engineered for more specific purposes like hillside farming or roadway overpasses."
Quote: "A retaining wall that retains soil on the backside and water on the frontside is called a seawall or a bulkhead."
Quote: "Used to bound soils between two different elevations."
Quote: "Retains soil on the backside and water on the frontside."
Quote: "Where the landscape needs to be shaped severely."
Quote: "A steep, near-vertical or vertical slope."
Quote: "Soil can be retained at different levels on the two sides."
Quote: "A slope that it would not naturally keep to."
Quote: "Engineered for more specific purposes like... roadway overpasses."
Quote: "Used to bound soils between two different elevations often in areas of terrain possessing undesirable slopes."
Quote: "Engineered for more specific purposes like hillside farming."