STRENGTH AND BEHAVIORS OF DRY-JOINT RETAINIG NANOBLOCK

Abstract

This research studied the strength and behaviors of dry-joint retaining walls built with nano
blocks, a new product made from wet-cast concrete of the size 20×40×18cm, with the weight of 15kg/block,
and the compressive strength of 94kg/cm². Construction of retaining walls with these dry-joint nano blocks–
both for permanent and temporary walls – is simple, convenient and fast without having to rely on skillful
workers. The research started from producing a prototype scale model of 1:12.5 for determining appropriate
experimentation. The structure of the retaining wall using 2.00×1.65×0.20meters dry-joint nano blocks
allowed distribution of lateral earth pressure through the sand in a semicircular-cut cylindrical mold of 15cm
radius and 1.60 meters height. Pressure was applied step by step all through the test. Gauging of both
horizontal and vertical displacements was performed using a dial gauge. The testing program for the nanoblock retaining wall comprised 5 patterns of walls: half-block, half-block with 1.38kg-m steel reinforcement,
half-block with 2.77 kg-m steel reinforcement, half-block with 4.15kg-m steel reinforcement, and anchored
half-block with1.38kg-m steel reinforcement. Horizontal displacement was checked stepwise.Comparison of
the efficiency of the 5 patterns showed that the half-block nono-block retaining wall demonstrated the highest
horizontal displacement the retaining wall yielding the highest efficiency was the anchored half-block with
1.38kg-m steel reinforcement, with the least horizontal displacement of 2.90mm. It can be concluded that
steel reinforcement and structural anchoring increases stability of nano-block retaining walls in terms of
lateral compressive strength.