CANTILEVER BEAM-LIKE DESIGN OF RC RETAINING WALL WITH MULTIPLE PRESSURE RELIEF SHELVES AND ELASTIC FOUNDATION.

In this study the magnitude of reduction in total active earth pressure, overturning moments at the bottom of the wall and its distribution due to the response of a relief shelf in a retaining wall is presented with cantilever type retaining wall on cohesionless soils with increase of additional resisting moments at the bottom of the wall. Retaining wall is considered as cantilever beam-like, multi-rows and stepwise reinforced concrete, multi-shelves on vertical wall and elastic foundation. A numerical study is conducted to investigate the effect of the number of shelves; shelf and wall stem rigidity and shelf horizontal location on the resulted lateral earth pressure distribution. Pressure quantity, the maximum acting bending moment and shear force on the wall are also discussed to perform the retaining design. Currently, numerical analysis is one of the easiest and the fastest method to examine the effect of each factor on the dynamic behavior of a retaining wall. According to the analysis it was found that the shelves have a significant effect on the distribution of the earth pressure. The numerical results indicate that the presence of a relief shelf behind the wall would result in a reduction of the earth pressure and also results show that shelf inclusions have positive role as pressure detractive for cantilever retaining walls in earthquake areas.