Abstract
A pseudo-static study on dry-joint brick retaining walls has been carried out as part of a preliminary work aiming at designing actual dry stone retaining walls located in seismic areas. First, scaled-down dry-joint brick retaining walls have been tilted towards failure and the influence of the wall geometry has been analysed. Then, numerical simulations have been performed using the Distinct Element Method to complement the observations made in the experimental tests. From both approaches, we found that the more slender the wall is, the less resistant to a pseudo-static action it results. Using the numerical model, it has also been found that the assemblage plays a significant role in the stability of dry-joint structures, with a particular emphasis on the critical role played by the headers. Moreover, the simulations brought to light complex features when failure is triggered in large walls.
Highlights
Human beings have started to build dry stone masonry structures millennia ago (Kerisel, 1993) but most striking examples of these ages were erected during the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods (4700 - 1500 B.C)
dry stone retaining walls (DSRWs) have been tightly involved to local agricultural economies in regions such as “Lavaux's Terraces” in Switzerland or such as the “Douro's Valley” in Portugal which are both UNESCO World Heritage
They have been considered as an economic leverage for the development of isolated territories renewing the tourism offer (“Ruta de pedra en sec”, Serra de Tramuntana, Majorca Island, Spain, UNESCO)
Summary
Human beings have started to build dry stone masonry structures millennia ago (Kerisel, 1993) but most striking examples of these ages were erected during the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods (4700 - 1500 B.C). DSRWs have been tightly involved to local agricultural economies in regions such as “Lavaux's Terraces” in Switzerland or such as the “Douro's Valley” in Portugal which are both UNESCO World Heritage. They have been considered as an economic leverage for the development of isolated territories renewing the tourism offer (“Ruta de pedra en sec”, Serra de Tramuntana, Majorca Island, Spain, UNESCO)
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