Different Design Aspects of L-Shaped Earth Retaining Structures

Abstract

The L-shaped retaining walls (L-SRWs) are considered one of the important earth retaining structures (ERSs). The investigation of L-SRWs mainly depends on factors directly related to the design process. Reviewing these factors represents the key matter in the design of ERSs, and this is the main purpose of this paper. This review showed that, in the design of L-SRWs, there are important issues to be considered. Some of them are related to the backfill and foundation soils e.g. the dependency of soil stiffness on the state of stresses, information related to soil behavior, inclination and quality of backfill, and settlement of foundation soil. Other issues are related to the wall itself such as the wall dimensions, failure mechanism, and flexural failure mode. In the design processes of L-SRWs, structural and geotechnical design requirements should be considered. L-SRWs should be designed to be proportional in their dimensions, the width of the wall base and its height should be designed to meet a specific ratio. Considerations related to the "conjugate rupture planes", the displacement pattern, and flexural failure mode should be included in the design process of L-SRWs.