Small gravity

retaining walls
Portland Cement Association tables
simplify design
BY FRANK A. RANDALL, JR.
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER

S mall gravity retaining walls are relatively simple

structures that can be built with unskilled labor and
locally available materials. Very little reinforcing steel is
needed because the walls don’t have to resist bending
and shear stresses like those developed in thinner can-
tilever walls. Weight of the concrete in a gravity wall pro-
vides stability against overturning.
Gravity retaining wall design can be greatly simplified
through the use of a series of sample designs developed
recently by the Portland Cement Association (PCA). Pre-
sented in tabular form, the designs are for wall heights

TABLE 1. TYPES OF BACKFILL SOIL

Type 1. Backfill of coarse-grained, very permeable soil

without admixture of fine particles; examples
are clean sand or gravel.
Type 2. Backfill of coarse-grained soil of low perme-
ability due to admixture of silt-size particles.
Type 3. Backfill of fine silty sand, granular materials with
conspicuous clay content and residual soil with
stones.
Type 4. Backfill of very soft clay or soft clay, organic
silt, or silty clay.
up to 10 feet, and for walls with vertical backs or with
nearly vertical faces. Walls with vertical backs require
less concrete but ones with stepped backs and nearly
vertical faces are desirable in some cases. If the designer
wants maximum surface area at the top of the backfill,
walls with stepped backs are preferred. This might be the
case if a parking lot were to be built on the backfill.
Backfill soil type affects pressures
Four broad types of backfill soil are described in Table
1. A Type 1 soil exerts the smallest ove rt u rning pressure
and Type 4 the largest. Gravity walls aren’t feasible when
Type 4 backfill soils are used because the lateral or over-
turning pressures are too large. The base of the wall
would have to be so wide to resist this pressure that the
amount of concrete required would make the design un-
economical.
Figure 1. Construction details for a gravity retaining wall
with vertical back.
In using this design method it is important to recog-
nize that the four soil-type descriptions in Table 1 are
for backfill soils. Backfill soil can be different from the
soil under the wall and it is not unusual for a “select” or
higher quality backfill to be used instead of the native
soil that is present where the wall is to be built. The PCA
designs are keyed to specific types of backfill but not to
specific types of soil under the wall. Instead, the design
tables tell what pressure a wall exerts on the underlying
soil and the designer then determines whether that pres-
sure is safe for the soil at his site. The method for doing
this is described in the example design that follows. De-
scriptions of bearing soils and allowable bearing pres-
sures on these soils are given in Tables 2 and 3.
Backfill slope and surcharge
Tables have been developed for two backfill surface
slope conditions: a slope of zero (level backfill) and a
surface slope of 1 vertical to 2 horizontal (1:2). If the user
wants to select a wall for a backfill slope of less than 1:2,
he still uses the table for backfill slope of 1:2.
 The lateral pressure on a wall is in- TABLE 2. DESCRIPTION OF BEARING SOILS
creased by any load (surcharge) placed
on top of the backfill. In developing the Organic Soil. Soil containing significant percentage of partly or wholly decomposed organic
matter. According to the character of the constituents, the term organic clay, organic silt, or
PCA tables a surcharge of 200 pounds peat is used.
per square foot (psf ) was assumed for Inorganic Silt. Cohesionless aggregate of grains ranging in size from 0.002 mm to 0.66 mm.
level backfills and 80 psf for sloping Aggregate is nonplastic and consists of grains not distinguishable by the naked eye. Deposits
backfills. These are reasonable as- of inorganic silt are described as loose or compact. A lump of the air-dried material has very
little resistance to crushing.
sumptions for most designs.
Sand. Cohesionless aggregate of rock fragments or grains ranging in size from 0.06 mm to 1/4
If the backfill slope is greater than 1:2 inch. Deposits of sand are described as loose or compact.
or if heavier surcharges than those as- Clay. Cohesive soil, plastic within wide range of water content. The consistency of a clay is de-
sumed are expected, the tables can still fined by the strength of a fairly undisturbed cylinder whose length is from 1.5 to 2 times its di-
ameter, as follows:
be used for a preliminary design but
Consistency Field identification Unconfined compres-
further modifications would be neces- sive
sary. strength, psf
Very soft Easily penetrated a couple of inches Less than 700
Lugs provide sliding resistance by fist
Soft Easily penetrated a couple of inches 700 to 1,199
Footings for gravity walls illustrated by thumb
with the tables don’t have level bases Stiff Penetrated several inches by thumb with 1,200 to 1,999
because more resistance to sliding is moderate effort
needed than would be provided by a Tough Readily indented by thumb but penetrated 2,000 to 3,999
level base. To increase the sliding resis- only with great effort
Very tough Readily indented by thumbnail 4,000 to 7,999
tance, shear lugs are placed at the heel
Hard Indented with difficulty by thumbnail 8,000 to 16,000
of the wall as shown in Figure 1. A shear
lug is a deepened section of the footing Gravel. Cohesionless aggregate of rounded to angular rock fragments ranging in size from 1⁄4
that is keyed into the bearing soil. It is to 8 inches.
placed at the heel of the footing for Hardpan. Cohesive or cemented material that offers great resistance to hand-excavating tools.
maximum effect. The heel side of the Solid Rock. Sound, unweathered rock without visible voids.
lug is formed vertically. The other side
will transmit the lateral pressure to the subsoil, but
rather than have the lug bear against a vertical surface
of the soil (which would probably be weakened during
excavation), the excavation is tapered up to meet the rest
of the footing. If the contractor prefers, he can excavate
the earth in a continuous straight line from one side of
the footing to the other as shown in Figure 2. This incor- TABLE 3. ALLOWABLE BEARING PRESSURES ON SOILS
porates the shear lug in a triangular base section and ef-
fectively develops sliding resistance. Type of soil Maximum pressure, psf
Organic soil 0
What the design tables include Filled ground or loam 500
The sample designs included in PCA publications are Inorganic silt—compact 2,500
tabulated for three backfill soils (Types 1, 2 and 3), two Sand—silty and compact 3,000
styles of wall (either the face or the back is vertical), and Sand—compact and clean 5,000
two surface conditions of the backfill (level or 1:2 slope). Clay—very soft 500
The different combinations of these variables are given Clay—soft 1,500
in 12 tables. PCA’s Table 4, shown below, is one of the Clay—stiff 2,500
twelve and is used in designing walls with vertical backs Clay—tough 3,500
and sloped backfill of Type 3 soil. The column headings Clay—very tough 4,500
can be further described as follows. Clay—hard 6,000
• Wall dimensions listed refer to the dimensions shown Gravel 6,000
on sketches included with the tables. Hardpan 12,000
Solid rock 200,000
• The overturning safety factor should be at least 2.0.
The lateral force of the backfill soil acts on the wall and Source: Chicago Building Code.
Note: Where the bearing materials directly under a foundation over-
tends to rotate it about the toe (counterclockwise in lie a stratum having lower allowable bearing values, these lower val-
the figure illustrating Table 4). This rotation must be ues shall not be exceeded at the level of such stratum. Computation of
resisted by the restoring force (weight of the wall plus the vertical pressure in the bearing materials at any depth below a
foundation shall be made on the assumption that the load is spread
any vertical part of the backfill pressure) which tends uniformly at an angle of 60 degrees with the horizontal.
to rotate the wall about the toe in the opposite direc-
 grained soil without silt it shouldn’t exceed 0.37, for
coarse-grained soil with silt it shouldn’t exceed 0.30
and for silty soils it shouldn’t exceed 0.23. These values
are based upon providing a factor of safety of 1.5
against sliding and using assumed values for coeffi-
cient of friction between the concrete and soil.
The other column under the heading of sliding fric-
tion, labeled shear stress, gives the horizontal force on
the wall per lineal foot of wall divided by the footing
width. This value is used when the wall is built on clay;
the value should be no greater than half of the uncon-
fined compressive strength for the clay subsoil. Typical
ranges for unconfined compressive strengths of clay
soils are given in Table 2.
• Soil pressure is the vertical pressure under the footing
caused by the weight of the wall. It varies uniformly
between the toe and the heel of the footing and should
not exceed the allowable bearing pressures for the soil
on which the footing is built. Allowable bearing pres-
sures for different types of soil are given in Table 3.
• The volume of concrete in cubic yards per lineal foot
of wall is the last item listed in the table and is self ex-
planatory.
A general procedure for using the tables is given in the
box and an example problem is worked.

Figure 3. A stepped instead of an inclined face makes Construction details

placement of concrete easier and avoids problems with
form flotation.
tion (clockwise in the figure). A factor of safety of 2.0
means that the product of the restoring force and dis-
tance to the toe is twice the product of the overturning
lateral force and distance to the toe.
• Sliding friction values are checked to ensure that the
wall doesn’t move in a horizontal direction as a result
of lateral pressure caused by the backfill. Two values
are listed. H’/V’ is the total horizontal force on the wall
divided by the total vertical force on the bottom of the
footing. The maximum recommended value for this
factor depends on the type of subsoil. For coarse-
Decisions concerning several construction details are
needed before working drawings are prepared. The
depth below grade to the bottom of the footing is deter-
mined by the depth of excavation necessary to reach soil
with suitable bearing capacity. The bottom of the footing
does not necessarily have to be below the frost line since
the consequences of frost heave are not as severe as they
would be for a building.
Weep holes or backdrains are essential to prevent ex-
cessive hydrostatic pressures from building up. A graded
filter at the back of the weep hole is needed to keep back-
fill soil from washing out.
Keys are needed in the top of the footing and rebar
dowels should be placed at the heel of the wall. Use No.
4 bars, 4 feet long and spaced 2 feet apart on centers. If

TABLE 4. GRAVITY RETAINING WALLS WITH SLOPED BACKFILL OF TYPE 3 SOIL

Sliding friction Soil

Wall dimensions Overturning Shear pressure, Volume of
safety factor H’/V’ stress, psf concrete,
h a b c psf yd3/ft
Toe, Heel

9’11” 19.5” 6’6” 24” 2.5 0.18 310 2300 1100 1.81
9’0” 18” 6’0” 24” 2.5 0.17 280 2100 1100 1.55
8’1” 16.5” 5’6” 24” 2.6 0.17 250 1950 1000 1.31
7’2” 15” 5’0” 24” 2.6 0.16 2201 800 900 1.09
6’3” 13.5” 4’6” 24” 2.6 0.15 190 1600 800 0.89
5’4” 12” 4’0” 24” 2.7 0.15 170 1500 700 0.71
4’5” 10.5” 3’6” 24” 2.7 0.14 140 1400 600 0.55
3’6” 9” 3’0” 24” 2.7 0.13 110 1200 500 0.41
Reprinted with permission of the Portland Cement Association

To illustrate the use of the PCA design tables, assume that
a gravity retaining wall is to be built for the conditions illus-
trated in the sketch above. Steps in the precess are as follows:
1. Enter the appropriate table. In this case it is Table 4 (the
only PCA sample design table illustrated in this article) be-
cause the backfill is most like Type 3 in Table 1. If in doubt
about which of two types to use, choose the higher number.
Note also that the backfill is sloped, but less than 1:2, that the
surcharge is less than 80 psf and that a vertical back is ac-
ceptable.
2. Choose height (H) value. In the example use 7’-2”, the
value next higher than the 6’-8” needed.
3. Examine sliding friction. Since the bearing soil is a stiff
clay, use the shear stress value of 220 psf. This is compared
with the allowable shear stress in the bearing soil which is
half of the unconfined compressive strength. From Table 2,
for stiff clay, 1200 psf is a conservative estimate of the uncon-
fined compressive strength and 0.5x1200=600 psf which is
greater than 220 psf. Sliding friction is acceptable. If the bear-
ing soil were not a clay, the H’/V’ value would be used for
the sliding friction check as described in the article.
4. Examine the soil bearing pressure. The maximum
pressure shown in the table is 1800 psf and from Table 3, the
allowable pressure is 2500 psf. Bearing pressure is accept-
able.
Note: If, in either steps 3 or 4, values in the tables exceed the al-
lowable values, several options would be available to the designer:
change to a backfill having a lower type number, modify the bearing
soil to increase its bearing capacity or use a wider and thicker foot-
ing.
5. Determine the volume of concrete required. The table
shows that 1.09 cubic yards of concrete will be needed per
lineal foot of 7’-2”-high wall but since the height actually
needed is only 6’-8”, this value can be adjusted as follows:
1.09x6.67/7.17=1.01 cubic yards per lineal foot of wall. The
height can be reduced to 6’-8”, leaving the a, b and c dimen-
sions in Table 4 the same.
6. Determine the construction details and prepare work-
ing drawings. This requires decisions to be made about plac-
ing the footing at the required depth, stepping the face, pro-
viding weep holes, specifying concrete properties and
similar details. These are discussed in more detail in the dis-
cussion of the PCA design tables.
h o ri zontal construction joints are needed at any level
above the top of the footing, dowels and keys are need-
ed there also.
To minimize random cracking which would mar the
appearance of the wall, vertical control joints can be pro-
vided at about a 15-foot spacing. Grooves used to form
the control joints can be filled with a joint sealant so that
groundwater doesn’t stain the wall face.
If walls are built with sloping faces, upward hydrostat-
ic pressure of the fresh concrete may cause flotation of
the forms unless they are securely anchored to the base.
An alternate method of building the non-vertical face is
to create steps with vertical forms. The stepped wall, as
shown in Figure 3 on page 981, makes placement of con-
crete easier and avoids problems with form flotation. Di-
mensions for the steps can be chosen to keep the weight
of the wall, the safety factor against ove rt u rning or slid-
ing and the bearing pressure the same as for a wall with
a sloping face.
Engineer may have to prepare
and refine the design
Because allowable bearing pressures on soils vary
from one building code jurisdiction to another, the typi-
cal designs should be adapted to local conditions and
should conform with any legal requirements. The sam-
ple designs are intended to be helpful in the preparation
of complete plans. If the wall construction is controlled
by a governing body, working drawings may have to be
prepared and approved by a qualified engineer or archi-
tect.
Editor’s note:
The sample designs described are found in two separate
publications: “Small Concrete Gravity Retaining Walls” (IS
222), and “More Design Tables for Small Concrete Gravity
Retaining Walls” (Comments on Concrete No. 20). Single
copies of both are available free of charge while the supply
lasts. Request them from the Building Design and Construc-
tion Department, Portland Cement Association, 5420 Old
Orchard Road, Skokie, Illinois 60077.
PUBLICATION #C840977
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