Seismic Analysis of Cantilever Retaining Wall, Including Soil-Structure Interaction

Cantilever retaining walls are required to retain earth at a change in ground elevation. Cantilever retaining walls are made of reinforced concrete and consist of a thin stem and a base slab. During a seismic event, it is evident that earthquake response of each component of this complex system (i.e., wall, soil and structure) may affect substantially the response of the rest and vice versa. This earthquake response which is described as soil-structure interaction is generally ignored in the design process of cantilever retaining walls, though it has been shown that ignoring such effect may lead to unsafe seismic design. Flexibility of soil medium below foundation decreases the overall stiffness of the cantilever retaining wall structure, resulting in a subsequent increase in the displacement and reaction of the retaining wall structure. Hence in the present study, an attempt is made to observe the effects of soil-structure interaction on the change displacement and reaction of cantilever retaining wall considering different types of retaining wall system and variations of factors such as different earthquake zones (viz., 2, 3, 4, 5) and different support conditions (viz., fixed, fixed but, and foundation). The analysis of a retaining wall model has been modeled and analyzed using STAAD PRO software. The study shows that displacement and reaction increases with increase in the earthquake zones for different types of retaining walls with different support conditions. Therefore, the present study helps in understanding the effect of soil-structure interaction on cantilever retaining walls, which might help to improve the seismic behavior of cantilever retaining wall and also lead to a more economic design.