Design of a Wooden Pile-and Plank Retaining Wall

Engr 0145
02/25/2020
Dr. Slaughter
Thomas Misica, Joe Snyder, Dustin, Adam Webb

Abstract:
 The task was to design a pile-and-plank retaining wall which must support a specified
maximum load using pressure-treated Standard Structural Timbers with a specified allowable
stress. To solve this task we computed the necessary calculations to figure out the minimum
section modulus in terms of the length and the thickness for each plank. Using this we found out
the maximum length we could use for each size plank based on the minimum section modulus.
We then calculated the cost for each plank size and, included the cost of the piles as well for
each cost analysis. Utilizing the design constraints, we were able to narrow the design down to
5 different plank sizes. Out of these 5 we chose the most cost efficient one for our wall.

Introduction:
A plank and pile retaining wall is used to alter the terrain and mediate erosion due to
storm water runoff. A retaining wall can be constructed using wood, stone, or concrete. For our
design we will be using structural timber and this wall must be able to support a load, which will
be the load of the soil. For this design, we are considering a non-uniformly distributed load and it
ranges from 500 to 100 over a height of 5 feet shown in the figure below. The allowable flexural
stress we are using is 1200 psi, and we consider using 41 piles and with a total length of 80 ft
for the wall that means each timber must be at least 2 ft in length. So, each timber has a Lmax
that was less than 2 ft were ruled out leaving us with just 5 beam sizes to choose from.

Standard structural timbers are available in 8,10, and 12 feet lengths and cost 14$ per cubic
feet. The additional cost off 40$ per pile for the concrete footing needed to support each pile.
Our goal is to design a retaining wall that will support the load from the soil and we minimize the
cost of the walls structure. The cost is the function of the total volume of material and the
number of piles, our expectation is that the cost will be where the total volume and the number
of piles are near the minimum value.

Analysis and Design:

We then applied the distributed load of 500 tL lb/ft and with it being a rectangular cross section
we apply it at the centroid L/2

Then we sum forces:

Σ𝐹𝑦=𝑅𝐴+𝑅𝐵−500𝑡𝐿𝑙𝑏/𝑓𝑡

Then solve for RA and RB:

𝑅𝐴=𝑅𝐵=250𝑡𝐿𝑙𝑏/𝑓𝑡

We have the following shear diagram:

Solving for Mmax:

𝑀𝑚𝑎𝑥=1/2(250)(𝐿/2)=62.56𝑡𝐿^2 𝑙𝑏∗𝑓𝑡

Solving for Minimum section modulus:

𝑆𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑘,𝑚𝑖𝑛=62.5𝑙𝑏∗𝑓𝑡/1200𝑝𝑠𝑖∗12𝑖𝑛/1𝑓𝑡= 0.625𝑡𝐿^2 𝑖𝑛^3

Next we have to find the minimum section modulus for the piles. We would have to
consider the distributed load as shown in the picture:

We then find the y intercepts and areas to help with the calculations:
Yrect = b/2 = 5/2 = 2.5 ft

A1 = bh = (5)(100) = 500 ft^2

Ytriangle = b/3 = 5/3 = 1.667 ft

A2 = bh/2 = (500-100)(5) / 2 = 1000 ft^2

Using this we solve for the centroid:

Yc = YrectA1 + YtriangleA2 / A1 + A2 = (500*2.5)+(1.667*1000)/500+1000 = 1.944

ft.

Next we made the free body diagram for the pile:

We now find the forces and moment from the diagram:

Σ𝐹𝑦=𝑅𝐴−1500=0

Σ𝑀𝑥=𝑀𝐴−(𝑌𝐶)(𝑅𝐴)=0

𝑅𝐴=1500𝐿𝑙𝑏

𝑀𝐴−(1.944)(1500)=0=> 𝑀𝐴=2916𝐿𝑙𝑏∗𝑓𝑡
Now we can get the minimum section modulus for the piles:

𝑆𝑝𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑚𝑖𝑛=2916/1200∗12/1=29.16𝑖𝑛^3
Equation for finding cost in the table below:
Cost beams=L❑beam∗W ❑beam∗H ❑beam∗¿ of beams horz .∗¿ of beams vert∗14
Cost Pylons=(¿ of beams vert .+1)(L❑beam∗W ❑pylon∗H ❑ pylon∗14+ 40)
Total Cost =Cost beams+Cost Pylons
The first term is the cost of timber, where L,W, and H are the length, width, and height of the
beams and pylons dressed, respectively. The first term is the cost of lumber, while the second
term is the cost of the piles. Plugging beams into this function, we found the numbers for the
following planks:

From the table directly above, we found that the cheapest method would be using 2x8 planks
and 10x10 pylons with 22 piles.

Results:

From our analysis using tables we found that the cheapest option to complete the 80ft long and
5ft high retaining wall would be to use 2x8’s for the planks across the wall, 10x10’s for the
pylons and have a total of 22 piles. We found that the length of the 2x8 planks would be around
3.81ft long.
 Material Amount Cost per unit Cost

10in x 10in x 10ft 22 $87.74 $1,930.28

Pylons

2in x 8in x 12ft Planks 56 $14.22 $796.25

Concrete 22 $40 $880.00

Total Cost $3606.53

This assumes minimal error while cutting, and that all materials are used to maximum efficiency.

From our calculations, we have found this design to be the most efficient with the total cost of
the project and the overall elimination of waste.