Abstract
The present work deals with assessment of earthquake-induced displacement of the base restrained retaining walls (RW’s). A detailed and rigorous finite element (FE) investigation has been carried out following the shaking table experiments on a scaled-down RW model. The FE simulations were performed by conducting several nonlinear time history analyses on a two-dimensional (2D) plane strain FE model of a prototype RW. The hardening and softening of backfill have been simulated by calibrating the Mohr Coulomb material model against the triaxial test results. Role of different backfill into the seismic performance of base restrained RW has also been investigated. It was observed that the cohesionless backfill has a slight influence on the earthquake induced displacement of base restrained RW’s. Amplification of horizontal acceleration in backfill has been observed with no direct correlation with the applied earthquake excitation. The understanding and findings based on shaking table experiment and FE simulations have been used for development of an analytical model for estimation of earthquake induced displacement of base restrained RW. The validity of proposed analytical model has also been examined against the shaking table experiment and FE simulation results.
Highlights
Retaining walls (RW’s) are the key element of modern infrastructure system and used for a wide range of applications
The understanding and findings based on shaking table experiment and finite element (FE) simulations have been used for development of an analytical model for estimation of earthquake induced displacement of base restrained retaining wall (RW)
Li and Aguilar [26] studied the seismic performance of rigid RW by performing a detailed analytical investigation, they related the point of application of dynamic thrust with the shear wave velocity (VSH) in backfill and foundation soil
Summary
Retaining walls (RW’s) are the key element of modern infrastructure system and used for a wide range of applications. Cakir [8] investigated the seismic displacement of base restrained RW by calibrating a two-degree (2D) of freedom model with finite element (FE) analyses results They observed that the foundation soil could significantly affect the seismic performance of rigid RW. Aghamolaei et al [2] performed a detailed numerical investigation for understanding the earthquake induced displacement of free standing RW considering near fault ground excitations and observed high RW displacements for PGA [ 0.4g. It was observed from the extensive literature review that many studies were focused on the earthquake induced backfill pressure on RW. A rigorous and detailed experimental, numerical and analytical investigation has been carried out to establish a displacement based seismic assessment method for base restrained earth retaining structures
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
