Response of Piered Retaining Walls to Lateral Soil Movement Based on Numerical Modeling

Abstract

The response of individual retaining walls employed as a preferred slope stabilization technique, to lateral loading has been widely explored in the literature. The present study focuses on the response of piered retaining walls, i.e. retaining walls supported by a pile foundation system, to lateral soil movement. Numerical analysis results by MATLAB have revealed wall-soil-pile interaction mechanism with different effective height of wall, spacing, diameter and number of piles, using different soil properties, which quantifies the behavior of piered retaining walls owing to lateral soil movement. Based on a numerical configuration sensitivity study, the relationship between lateral loading and pile/wall deflection, shear and bending moment under different influencing parameters has been established. Optimum effective parameters are accordingly defined and relevant guidance on choosing appropriate piling configuration is provided, which can be of practical use in engineering design.