The Fundamentals Of Retaining Wall

By Helen Russell


Retailing walls are the kind of walls that are constructed to restrain soils to non-natural slopes. The main reason for constructing a retaining wall is to use it to bind soils between different elevations. They are constructed in a number of areas. Some of the places are where the land-scape needs shaping and engineering severely for specific functions such as roadway overpasses or hillside farming. Another area where they are constructed are where the slope undesirable.

There are many types of these walls. Some of the examples are gravity, piling, cantilever, and anchored walls. They are meant to support a wedge of soil. The design and construction is done in a way as to counteract the tendency of retained material to shift downslope as a result of gravity. Gravity creates lateral earth pressure on the back of the wall. The pressure depends on the angle of friction and cohesive strength of the material retained.

Gravity walls rely on their mass for resistance of pressure exerted on them by pressure behind. Construction is done using stones and concrete to make them heavy. Stability is improved by incorporating batter setback. Sometimes they are made to lean toward the load. Dry-stacked variety is constructed to be flexible and when constructed in regions where frosting occurs, their footings are made rigid.

Most retaining walls constructed during the early years of the 20th century were of the gravity variety. Their construction was done using big masses of concrete and stone. Those that are being constructed in modern times are made of composite materials. Major construction materials include crib walls, soil-nailed walls, and gabions. Construction of gabions is done using stacked steel wire baskets which are filled with rocks.

Cantilevered retaining walls are constructed from an interior stem made from cast-in-place concrete, mortared masonry, or steel-reinforced. Cantilevered walls sometimes get buttressed at the front side. The back may also comprise of a counterfort to enhance the strength of the walls necessary for resisting lofty loads. Buttresses are made in the form of wing walls placed perpendicularly to the main wall trend. These walls need less material to construct compared to gravity walls.

Soft grounds and tight spaces do well with sheet pile retaining walls. The materials used to make these walls are many and diverse and they include steel bars, vinyl, and wood planks. One third of the material protrudes above the ground wile the other two third is driven underground. Theses measurements can be changed as dictated by the situation.

Bored pile varieties of these walls get made by assembling sequences of bored piles. This is preceded by excess soil in the site being excavated. Some of the materials that may be included in the construction are soil enhancement operations, shotcrete reinforcement layer, reinforcing beams, and earth anchors. Bored pile walls are built in situations where sheet piling walls can be built but vibration and noise levels are unacceptable.

Styles of construction have evolved a lot. In the same way, methods of reinforcing the walls are many and diverse. Some common methods of retaining include cellular confinement, soil nailing, soil-strengthening, and gabion meshes.




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