Piles Foundation Design

‫‪Civil Engineering‬‬

‫مقدمة هندسة ‪ +‬ميكانيكا الهندسة ‪ +‬غلم المواد ‪ +‬ميكانيكا التربة ‪+‬‬

‫‪Course Concept‬‬ ‫تصميم فوالذ ‪ +‬تصميم خرسانة ‪ +‬تحليل انشاءات ‪ +‬تطبيقات حاسوب‬

‫‪Foundation Types‬‬

‫‪Graduation Projects‬‬
Course Content

Pile Foundation Design.

Sheet Piles Design
MSE Walls
Braced Cuts
Retaining Walls
Design and Construction of Principles of Foundation
Mechanically Stabilized Earth Walls Engineering, SI , Seventh
and Reinforced Soil Slopes – Volume I
Edition
U. S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration BRAJA M. DAS
FHWA
# ‫اسم المشروع‬ ‫المشرف‬ ‫الطالب‬ Group
1  
Rainfall frequency analysis case study
2 Khartoum State
‫د حسن البشر‬   1
3  
4  
box culvert case study Omdorman Bara
5 road‫ـ‬hydlojic design of
‫د حسن البشر‬   2
6  
7  
8 Modulluos of Rupture of Brickwork (Wiyh
‫د كمال ساتي‬   3
9 reference to two types of local bricks )  
10  
11 Structural design of 4- Storey Loadbearing
‫د كمال ساتي‬   4
12 Brickwork Residential House  
13  
14 Design of Steel Multi-storey building ‫د منتصر مأمون‬   5
15  
16  
Structural design of Box culverts eight
17 Cells case study
‫د منتصر مأمون‬   6
18  
19  
20 Road structural design ‫د عبد هللا الفادني‬   7
21  
22  
23 ‫د عمر ابونعوق‬   8
24 Structural Design For Graduation Project  
25  
26 ‫تصميم خلطة خرسانية‬ ‫د عبد الرحيم‬   9
27  
28    
29     10
30       5
Lecture No (1)

6
 Pile Foundation
Piles are structural members that are made of steel, concrete, or timber. They are used to build pile
foundations, which are deep and cost more than shallow foundations.
Despite the cost, the use of piles often is necessary to ensure structural safety.
The following list identifies some of the conditions that require pile foundations (Vesic, 1977):

1. When one or more upper soil layers are highly compressible and too weak to sup-port the load
transmitted by the superstructure, piles are used to transmit the load to underlying bedrock or a
stronger soil layer

2. When subjected to horizontal forces , pile foundations resist by bending, while still supporting
the vertical load transmitted by the superstructure.

3. In many cases, expansive and collapsible soils may be present at the site of a pro- posed
structure. These soils may extend to a great depth below the ground surface.
Expansive soils swell and shrink as their moisture content increases and decreases, and the pressure of
the swelling can be considerable.
a stronger soil layer frictional resistance horizontal forces uplifting force
swelling and shrinking occur erosion at the ground surface

Conditions that require the use of pile foundations

Types of Piles and Their Structural Characteristics

Different types of piles are used in construction work, depending on the type of load to be carried, the
subsoil conditions, and the location of the water table. Piles can be divided into the following categories:
(a) steel piles,
(b) concrete piles,
(c) wooden (timber) piles, and
(d) composite piles

The allowable structural capacity for steel piles is

Once the design load for a pile is fixed, one should determine, on the basis of geo-technical
considerations, whether is ( Q design ) within the allowable range as defined by above Equation and
range 0.33 – 0.5 fy
Following are some general facts about Steel piles:
• Usual length: 15 m to 60 m
• Usual load: 300 kN to 1200 kN

• Advantages:
a. Easy to handle with respect to cutoff and extension to the desired length
b. Can stand high driving stresses
c. Can penetrate hard layers such as dense gravel and soft rock
d. High load-carrying capacity
• Disadvantages:
a. Relatively costly
b. High level of noise during pile driving
c. Subject to corrosion
d. H-piles may be damaged or deflected from the vertical
during driving through hard layers or past major obstructions
Concrete Piles
Concrete piles may be divided into two basic categories:
(a) precast piles and
(b) cast-in-situ piles.
o Precast piles
can be prepared by using ordinary reinforcement, and they can be square or octagonal in cross section. .
Reinforcement is provided to enable the pile to resist the bending moment developed during pickup and
transportation, the vertical load, and the bending moment caused by a lateral load. The piles are cast to
desired lengths and cured before being transported to the work sites.
Some general facts about pre- cast concrete piles are as follows:
• Usual length : 10 m to 15 m
• Usual load : 300 kN to 3000 kN
Advantages:
a. Can be subjected to hard driving
b. Corrosion resistant
c. Can be easily combined with a concrete superstructuresr
Disadvantages:
a. Difficult to achieve proper cutoff
b. Difficult to transport
Precast piles can also be pre-stressed by the use of high-strength steel pre-stressing cables. The ultimate
strength of these cables is about 1800 MN/m2. During casting of the piles, the cables are pre-tensioned
to about 900 to 1300 MN/m2 , and concrete is poured around them. After curing, the cables are cut,
producing a compressive force on the pile section.

Some general facts about precast prestressed piles are as follows:

• Usual length : 10 m to 45 m
• Maximum length : 60 m
• Maximum load : 7500 kN to 8500 kN

o The advantages and disadvantages are the same as those of precast piles .
oCast-in-situ, or cast-in-place, piles are built by making a hole in the ground and then filling it with Concrete.
o Various types of cast-in-place concrete piles are currently used in construction, and most of them have been
patented by their manufacturers.
These piles maybe divided into two broad categories:
(a) cased and
(b) uncased.
Both types may have apedestal at the bottom.
Cased piles are made by driving a steel casing into the ground with the help of amandrel placed inside the casing.
When the pile reaches the proper depth the mandrel is withdrawn and the casing is filled with concrete.

Some general facts about cased cast-in-place piles are as follows:

• Usual length: 5 m to 15 m
• Maximum length: 30 m to 40 m
• Usual load: 200 kN to 500 kN
• Approximate maximum load: 800 kN
• Advantages:
a. Relatively cheap
b. Allow for inspection before pouring concrete
c. Easy to extend
• Disadvantages:
a. Difficult to splice after concreting
b. Thin casings may be damaged during driving

Allowable load:
Estimating Pile Length
Selecting the type of pile to be used and estimating its necessary length are fairly difficult tasks that require
good judgment.
piles can be divided into three major categories, depending on their lengths and the mechanisms of load
transfer to the soil:
(a) Point bearing piles,
(b) Friction piles, and
(c) compaction piles.

Point Bearing Piles

If soil-boring records establish the presence of bedrock or rocklike material at a site within a reasonable depth,
piles can be extended to the rock surface. In this case, the ultimate capacity of the piles depends entirely on the
load-bearing capacity of the under-lying material; thus, the piles are called point bearing piles. In most of
these cases, the necessary length of the pile can be fairly well established.
If, instead of bedrock, a fairly compact and hard stratum of soil is encountered at a reasonable depth, piles can
be extended a few meters into the hard stratum. Piles with pedestals can be constructed on the bed of the hard
stratum.
The ultimate pile load may be expressed as:

In this case, the required pile length may be estimated accurately if proper subsoil exploration records are
available
Figure 11.6 (a) and (b) Point bearing piles; (c) friction
piles
Friction Piles
When no layer of rock or rocklike material is present at a reasonable depth at a site, point bearing
piles become very long and uneconomical. In this type of subsoil, piles are driven through the softer material
to specified depths. (See Figure 11.6c.) The ultimate load of the piles may be expressed by Eq. (11.5). However,
if the value of Qp is relatively small, then

These piles are called friction piles, because most of their resistance is derived from skin friction. However,
the term friction pile.
In clayey soils, the resistance to applied load is also caused by adhesion.
The lengths of friction piles depend on the shear strength of the soil, the applied load, and the pile size. To
determine the necessary lengths of these piles, an engineer needs a good understanding of soil–pile
interaction, good judgment, and experience.
Equations for Estimating Pile Capacity :

The ultimate load-carrying capacity Qu of a pile is given by the equation

Where
Qp = Load - carrying capacity of the pile point
Qs = frictional resistance (skin friction) derived from the soil–pile interface

Numerous published studies cover the determination of the values of and Excellent reviews of many of
these investigations have been provided by
1) Vesic (1977),
2) Meyerhof (1976), and
3) Coyle and Castello (1981).

These studies afford an insight into the problem of determining the ultimate pile capacity.
A) From equilibrium analysis, Terzaghi expressed the ultimate bearing capacity in the form

To estimate the ultimate bearing capacity of square and circular foundations, the above equation may be
respectively modified t0:

For foundations that exhibit the local shear failure mode in soils, Terzaghi suggested the following
modifications to Eqs.

20
21
Point Bearing Capacity,
The ultimate bearing capacity of shallow foundations was According to Terzaghi’s equations,

Similarly, the General bearing capacity equation for shallow foundations (for vertical loading) as

Hence, in general, the ultimate load-bearing capacity may be expressed as

Pile foundations are deep. However, the ultimate resistance per unit area developed at the pile tip qp, may be
expressed by an equation similar in form to Eq. (11.10), although the values of N*c . N*q and N*Ý will change.
the width of a pile is D.Hence, So substituting D for B in Eq. (11.10) gives

Because the width D of a pile is relatively small, the term may be dropped from the right side
of the preceding equation without introducing a serious error; thus, we have

Note that the term q has been replaced by ( q’ to signify effective vertical stress. Thus, the point bearing of
piles is
Frictional Resistance, Qs
The frictional, or skin, resistance of a pile may be written
as

The various methods for estimating Qp and Qs are discussed in the next several sections. It needs to be
reemphasized that, in the field, for full mobilization of the point resistance (Qp) the pile tip must go
through a displacement of 10 to 25% of the pile width (or diameter).
Allowable Load, QAll
After the total ultimate load-carrying capacity of a pile has been determined by summing the point bearing
capacity and the frictional (or skin) resistance, a reasonable factor of safety should be used to obtain the
total allowable load for each pile, or

The factor of safety generally used ranges from 2.5 to 4, depending on the uncertainties surrounding the
calculation of ultimate load.
Compaction Piles :
Under certain circumstances, piles are driven in granular soils to achieve proper
compaction of soil close to the ground surface. These piles are called compaction piles.
The lengths of compaction piles depend on factors such as :

(a) the relative density of the soil before compaction,

(b) the desired relative density of the soil after compaction, and
(c) the required depth of compaction.

These piles are generally short; however, some field tests are necessary to determine a
reasonable length.

25
Lecture No (2)

26
Meyerhof’s Method for Estimating
A) Sand
The limiting point resistance is
Vesic’s Method for Estimating Qp Eq. (11.15)

A) Sand
Vesic (1977) proposed a method for estimating the pile point bearing capacity based on the theory of
expansion of cavities. According to this theory, on the basis of effective stress parameters, we may
write

where = Mean effective normal ground stress at the level of the pile point

Ko = earth pressure coefficient at rest = 1 – sin ǿ

and
Note that Eq. (11.19) is a modification of Eq. (11.15) with

According to Vesic’s theory,

33
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Lecture (3)

46
47
 Introduction :
Connected or semi connected sheet piles are often used to build continuous walls for water-front structures
that range from small waterfront pleasure boat launching facilities to large dock facilities.

-In contrast to the construction of other types of retaining wall, the building of sheet pile walls
does not usually require dewatering of the site.
- Sheet piles are also used for some temporary structures, such as braced cuts, cofferdams

Several types of sheet pile are commonly used in construction:

(a) wooden sheet piles,
(b) precast concrete sheet piles, and
(c) steel sheet piles. Aluminum sheet piles are also marketed.
Wooden sheet piles Precast concrete sheet piles
Are used only for temporary, light structures Are heavy and are designed with reinforcements to
that are above the water table. withstand the permanent stresses to which the
The most common types are ordinary wooden planks and structure will be subjected after construction and also
Wakefield piles. to handle the stresses produced during construction.
The wooden planks are about ( 50 mm *300 mm )in cross In cross section, these piles are about 500 to 800 mm
section and are driven edge to edge (Figure 1). wide and 150 to 250 mm thick.
Steel sheet piles
in the United States are about 10 to 13 mm thick.
European sections may be thinner and wider.

Sheet-pile sections may be Z, deep arch, low arch,

or straight web sections.

The interlocks of the sheet-pile sections are shaped

like a thumb-and-finger Or ball-and-socket joint
for watertight connections.

49
Table 9.1 lists the properties of the steel sheet pile
sections produced by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation.
The allowable design flexural stress for the steel sheet
piles is as follows:

(a) Thumb-and-finger
Steel sheet piles are convenient to use because of their
(b) ball-and-socket type sheet-pile
resistance to the high driving stress that is developed when
connection
they are being driven into hard soils. Steel sheet piles are
also light- weight and reusable

50
Properties of Some Sheet-Pile Sections Produced A steel sheet pile wall (Courtesy of N. Sivakugan, James
by Bethlehem Steel Corporation Cook University, Australia )
51
Construction Methods
Sheet pile walls may be divided into two basic categories:
(a) cantilever and
(b) anchored.
In the construction of sheet pile walls, the sheet pile may be driven into the ground and then the backfill
placed on the land side, or the sheet pile may first be driven into the ground and the soil in front of the sheet
pile dredged. In either case, the soil used for back-fill behind the sheet pile wall is usually granular.
The soil below the dredge line may be sandy or clayey.
The surface of soil on the water side is referred to as the mud line or dredge line.

Thus, construction methods generally can be divided

into two categories (Tsinker,1983):
1. Backfilled structure
2.Dredged structure

52
The sequence of construction for a backfilled structure
is as follows (see Figure 1):
Step 1. Dredge the in situ soil in front and back of the
proposed structure.
Step 2. Drive the sheet piles.
Step 3. Backfill up to the level of the anchor, and place
the anchor system.
Step 4. Backfill up to the top of the wall. For a cantilever
type of wall, only Steps 1, 2, and 4 apply. The sequence of

Figure 9.5 Sequence of construction for

a backfilled structure

53
Construction for a dredged structure is as follows (see
Figure 9.6):

Step 1.Drive the sheet piles.

Step 2.Backfill up to the anchor level, and place the
anchor system.
Step 3.Backfill up to the top of the wall.
Step 4.Dredge the front side of the wall.

With cantilever sheet pile walls, Step 2 is not required.

Figure 9.6 Sequence of construction

for a dredged structure
Cantilever Sheet Pile Walls
Cantilever sheet pile walls are usually recommended for walls of moderate height about 6 m or less,
measured above the dredge line.
In such walls, the sheet piles act as a wide cantilever beam above the dredge line.
The basic principles for estimating net lateral pressure distribution on a cantilever sheet-pile wall can be
explained with the aid of Figure 9.7.
The figure shows the nature of lateral yielding of a cantilever wall penetrating a sand layer below the
dredge line. The wall rotates about point O (Figure 9.7a).
Because the hydrostatic pressures at any depth from both sides of the wall will cancel each other, we
consider only the effective lateral soil pressures.
In zone A,the lateral pressure is just the active pressure from the land side. In zone B, because of the
nature of yielding of the wall, there will be active pressure from the land side and passive pressure from
the water side. The condition is reversed in zone C—that is, below the point of rotation,O.
The net actual pressure distribution on the wall is like that shown in Figure 9.7b.
However, for design purposes, Figure 9.7c shows a simplified version.
Sections 9.4 through 9.7 present the mathematical formulation of the analysis of cantilever sheet pile
walls.
Note that, in some waterfront structures, the water level may fluctuate as the result of tidal effects. Care
should be taken in determining the water level that will affect the net pressure diagram.

55
Figure 9.7 Cantilever sheet pile penetrating sand

56
57
Note that, at the level of the dredge line, the hydrostatic pressures from both sides of
the wall are the same magnitude and cancel each other.
To determine the net lateral pressure below the dredge line up to the point of rotation,O,as shown in Figure
9.7a, an engineer has to consider the passive pressure acting from the left side (the water side) toward the
right side (the land side) of the wall and also the active pressure acting from the right side toward the left side
of the wall.
For such cases, ignoring the hydrostatic pressure from both sides of the wall, the active pressure at depth z is :

59
60
61
Calculation of Maximum Bending Moment
The nature of the variation of the moment diagram for a cantilever sheet pile wall is shown in Figure 9.8b. The
maximum moment will occur between points E and F ’ Obtaining the maximum moment (M max) per unit length of
the wall requires determining the point of zero shear. For a new axis Z ‘ (with origin at point E) for zero shear,

Once the point of zero shear force is determined (point F’ in Figure 9.8a), the magnitude of the maximum
moment can be obtained as

The necessary profile of the sheet piling is then sized according to the allowable flexural stress of the
sheet pile material, or

S = Section modulus of the sheet pile required per unit length of the structure
where Q all = Allowable flexural stress of the sheet pile
Figure 9.9 Cantilever sheet-pile wall

63
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67
68
69
Introduction
Sometimes construction work requires ground
excavations with vertical or near-vertical faces for example,
basements of buildings in developed areas or underground
transportation facilities at shallow depths below the ground
surface (a cut-and-cover type of construction). The vertical
faces of the cuts need to be protected by temporary bracing
systems to avoid failure that may be accompanied by
considerable settlement or by bearing capacity failure of nearby
foundations.

70
Figure 10.1 shows two types of braced cut commonly used in construction
work.

- One type uses the Soldier Beam (Figure 10.1a), which is driven
into the ground before excavation and is a vertical [steel or
timber beam]

- Laggings , which are horizontal timber planks, are placed

between soldier beams as the excavation proceeds.
- When the excavation reaches the desired depth , wales and
struts (horizontal steel beams) are installed.
Another type of braced excavation was interlocking sheet piles are driven
into the soil before excavation. Wales and struts are inserted immediately
after excavation reaches the appropriate depth.
71
72
Soldier

Laggings

Strut

Wales
To design braced excavations (i.e., to select wales, struts, sheet piles, and
soldier beams), an engineer must estimate the lateral earth pressure to
which the braced cuts will be subjected.
The theoretical aspects of the lateral earth pressure on a braced cut were
discussed in Section 7.8.
The total active force per unit length of the wall ( Pa) was calculated
using the general wedge theory.
However, that analysis does not provide the relationships required for
estimating the variation of lateral pressure with depth, which is a
function of several factors, such as the type of soil, the experience of the
construction crew, the type of construction equipment used, and so
forth. For that reason, empirical pressure envelopes developed from field
observations are used for the design of braced cuts.
75
(a) Use of Soldier Beams (b) Use of sheet piles

Figure (10.1 ) Types of braced cut

76
Pressure Envelope for Braced-Cut Design
The lateral earth pressure in a braced cut is dependent on :
a) The type of soil, b) construction method, 3) and type of equipment The lateral earth pressure changes from
place to place. Each strut should also be designed for the maximum load to which it may be subjected.
Therefore, the braced cuts should be designed using apparent pressure diagrams that are envelopes of all the
pressure diagrams determined from measured strut loads in the field.
b) Figure 10.4 shows the method for obtaining the apparent-pressure diagram at a section from strut loads.
c) In this figure, let P1 , P2, P3 , P4,……. be the measured strut loads. The apparent horizontal pressure can then be
calculated as
When using the pressure envelopes just described, keep the following points in mind:
1. They apply to excavations having depths greater than about 6 m.
2. They are based on the assumption that the water table is below the bottom of the cut.
3. Sand is assumed to be drained with zero pore water pressure.
4. Clay is assumed to be undrained and pore water pressure is not considered.

where
σ1,σ2,σ3, σ4 = apparent pressures
S = spacing of the struts
Using the procedure just described for strut loads observed
from the Berlin subway cut, Munich subway cut, and New
York subway cut, Peck (1969) provided the envelope of
apparent-lateral-pressure diagrams for design of cuts in sand.
This envelope is illustrated in Figure 10.5, in which

(10-1)

Sand
Cuts in Clay
In a similar manner, Peck (1969) also provided the envelopes of apparent-lateral-pressure diagrams for cuts in
soft to medium clay and in stiff clay.
The pressure envelope for soft to medium clay is shown in Figure 10.6 and is applicable to the condition

(10-2)

where γ = unit weight of clay.

The pressure envelope for cuts in stiff clay is shown in Figure 10.7, in which

(10-3)

is applicable to the condition γ H /c≤4

Pressure Envelope for Cuts in Layered Soil
Sometimes, layers of both sand and clay are encountered when a braced cut is being constructed.
In this case, Peck (1943) proposed that an equivalent value of cohesion ( φ= 0 ) should be determined
according to the formula (see Figure 10.8a).

(10-4)

Layered soils in braced cuts

The average unit weight of the layers may be expressed as
81
See Last Slide for more
Details
 A
A
B1 B
B2

C1 C
C2
D
D

Fig 10-9
Struts Elevation
84
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89
90
91
92
93
Lateral Earth Pressure

2.1 INTRODUCTION
Vertical or near-vertical slopes of soil are supported by retaining walls, cantilever sheet-pile walls, sheet-
pile bulkheads, braced cuts, earth or rock contacting tunnel walls and other underground structures and
other, similar structures. The proper design of those structures requires an estimation of lateral earth
pressure, which is a function of several factors, such as

(a) The type and amount of wall movement,

(b) The shear strength parameters of the soil,
© The adjacent applied loads,
(d) The topography of the backfilling,
(e) The unit weight of the soil, and
(f) The drainage conditions in the backfill.
Figure 1: Nature of lateral earth pressure on a retaining wall
Following are some general facts about steel piles:
• Usual length: 15 m to 60 m
• Usual load: 300 kN to 1200 kN

Pile Foundations
 Advantages:
a.Easy to handle with respect to cutoff and extension to the desired length
b.Can stand high driving stresses
c. Can penetrate hard layers such as dense gravel and soft rock
d. High load-carrying capacity
 Disadvantages:
a. Relatively costly
b.High level of noise during pile driving
c.Subject to corrosion
d. H-piles may be damaged or deflected from the vertical during driving through
hard layers or past major obstructions
Concrete Piles
Concrete piles may be divided into two basic categories:
(a) precast piles and (b) cast-in-situ piles. Precast piles can be prepared by using ordinary reinforcement, and
they can be square or octagonal in cross section. (See Figure 11.3.) Reinforcement is provided to enable the
pile to resist the bending moment developed during pickup and transportation, the verti-cal load, and the
bending moment caused by a lateral load. The piles are cast to desired lengths and cured before being
transported to the work sites.

Some general facts about concrete piles are as follows:

Figure 2and Figure 3, illustrates the variation of the lateral force at certain depth. From this figure, it
can be seen that .
Ea > E0 > Ep and Δp <<Δa
The design of the retaining structure requires the determination of the magnitude and line of action of
the lateral earth pressure.
The magnitude of the lateral earth pressure depends upon a number of factors, such as :-
1. Mode of the movement of the wall,
2. Flexibility of the wall,
3. Properties of the soil.
4. Drainage conditions.
It is a soil-structure interaction problem, as the earth pressure depends upon the flexibility of wall.
The earth pressure theories which consider soil -structure interaction are complicated and require a
computer.
For convenience, the retaining wall is assumed to be rigid and the soil -structure interaction effect is
neglected.
Figure 2: Nature of variation of lateral earth pressure at a certain depth
Figure 3: Illustration of active and passive pressures with usual range of values for cohesion
less and cohesive soil.
2.2 LATERAL EARTH PRESSU RE AT REST (ELASTIC EQUILIBRIUM)

2.2.1 WITHOUT GROUNDWATER Consider a vertical wall of height H, as shown in Figure 14

, retaining a soil having a unit weight of A uniformly distributed load, is also applied at the ground surface.
The shear strength of the soil is :
Figure 14: At rest, lateral earth pressure without groundwater
At any depth, z, the vertical effective stress is:

And the horizontal effective stress is (ko is the lateral earth pressure at rest):

For normally consolidated soil, the relation for (Jaky, 1944)

For over consolidated soil, the at -rest earth pressure coefficient may be expressed as (Mayne and
Kulhawy, 1982)

The location of the line of action of the resultant force, Po, can be obtained by taking the moment about
the bottom of the wall. Thus,
2.2.2 WITH GROUNDWATER

If the water table is located at a depth Z > H , the at-rest pressure diagram shownis Figure 5:

The value of the total lateral force is

Figure 5: At rest, lateral earth pressure with groundwater
2.3 LATERAL EARTH PRESSU RE (PLASTIC EQUILIBRIUM)

2.3.1 R ANKINET HEORY (COHESIONLESS S OIL)

A. Active state
B . Passive State

2.3.2 RANKINE THEORY (COHESIVE SOIL)

A. Active state
B. A Passive State
2.3.3 PRESENCE OF THE SURCHARGE(RANKINE THEORY)
If a surcharge placed at any side of the retaining wall the distribution of lateral stresses will be as shown
below:

107
2.3.4 PRESENCE OF MULTI-LAYER SOIL PROFILE (RANKINE THEORY)
If thesoil profile is not homogenous and more than one layer is presence, the distribution of lateral stresses
will be as shown below:

108
2.3.5 PRESENCE OF WATERTABLE LEVEL(GROUNDWATER)
If the soil profile contains groundwater, the distribution of lateral stresses will be as shown below:

109
2.3.6 APPLICATION OF THE LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE TO RETAINING WALLS

the lateral earth pressure failure surface can be shown in the following figure. As well as, the lateral
earth pressure concept can be applied to retaining structures such as retaining walls

110
2.4 ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLESAND HOMEWORK
2.4.1EXAMPLE NO. 1
Find the lateral earth pressure at rest condition for point (a), shown in figure. Also, plot the Mohr‘s circle for the
effective and total stress of this point.

111
2.4.2 HOMEWORK NO. 1
Find the resultant of the lateral earth pressure on the retaining wall shown in the figure, at rest condition.
Also, find the location of the resultant
.

112
2.4.3 EXAMPLE NO. 2
Determine the lateral earth pressure force on the wall
shown in the figure. Draw the stress distribution and
locate the location of the resultant force.

2.5HOMEWORK NO.2:
Solve Example No. 2 by assuming the condition to be a passive state

2.6EXAMPLENO.3:
For the following soil profile and retaining wall condition, find the
active earth force on the wall and its location.

113
2.7EXAMPLENO.4:
Resolve Example 2 with a surcharge of 50.0 kPa is placed to the right side of the wall.

2.10HOMEWORKNO.4:
Resolve Example 5 if soil I is clayey soil with Cu =50 kPa.
moreover, find the resultant of the force and its location.

2.8HOMEWORKNO.3:
Resolve Example 4 with a groundwater at the surface and at 2.0 m below the ground surface (G. S.)
.

114
2.9EXAMPLENO.5:
Plot the active earth pressure distribution on the wall shown in figurebelow.

115
Retaining Walls

116
3.1 GENERAL
In general, there are different retaining structures that can be found in the design of foundations. Theses
retaining structures are:
1.Retaining walls,
2.Flexible retaining structures (Sheet pile walls)
3.Caissons
4.Diaphragm walls

The uses of the retaining walls cover different structures and purposes, the uses of structures are
summarized in Figure 6.
The present chapter deals with the retaining walls. In general, retaining walls are classified into two major
groups that can be explained herein.

117
Figure 6: Applications of retaining structures 118
The main types of this category are shown in Figure 7 and summarized below:

A. Gravity retaining walls

• Constructed with plain concrete or stone masonry,
• Stability of this retaining wall depends mainly on its own weight,
• Not economical for long and high retaining wall.
B. Semi-gravity retaining walls
• Same as gravity retaining walls
• Small amount of steel is added to reduce the section of the wall
C. Cantilever retaining walls
•Made of reinforced concrete that consists of a thin stem and a base slab
•Economical to a height of about 8 m
D. Counterfort retaining walls
• Similar to cantilever walls
• At regular intervals, a thin vertical concrete slab known as counterforts Is added. It ties the wall and the
base slab together to reduce the shear and the bending moments

119
Figure 7: Types of retaining walls

120
3.1.2MECHANICALLY STABILIZED EARTH WALLS
•More recently, soil reinforcement has been used in the construction and design of foundations,
retaining walls, embankment slopes, and other structures.
•Depending on the type of construction, the reinforcements may be galvanized metal strips, Geotextiles ,
geogrids, or geo-composites (see Figure 8).
• Reinforcement materials such as metallic strips, geotextiles, and geogrids are now being used to reinforce the
backfill of retaining walls, which are generally referred to as mechanically stabilized retaining walls. Table8
gives a summary for different types of geosynthetic reinforcement's materials.
•Reinforced earth (see Figure 19) is a construction material made from soil that has been strengthened
by tensile elements such as metal rods or strips, geotextiles, geogrids, and the like

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Table 8: Types of geosynthetic reinforcements

122
 Figure 8: Geogrid: (a) uniaxial; (b) biaxial;
(c) with triangular apertures

(a): Picture for real reinforced earth retaining wall (b): Illustration of the reinforced earth
Reinforced – Earth retaining wall 123
3.2 STABILITY OF RETAINING WALLS

There are two phases in the design of a conventional retaining wall. However, the current course presents
the procedures for determining the stability of the retaining wall. Checks for Strength can be found in any
textbook on reinforced concrete.

a) With the lateral earth pressure known, the structure as a whole is checked for stability. The structure
is examined for possible overturning, sliding, and bearing capacity failures.
b) Each component of the structure is checked for strength, and the steel reinforcement of each
component is determined.

A retaining wall may fail in any of the following ways:

• It may overturn about its toe. (See Figure 20 a.)
• It may slide along its base. (See Figure 20 b.)
• It may fail due to the loss of bearing capacity of the soil supporting the base. (See Figure 20 c.)
• It may undergo deep-seated shear failure. (Figure20 d.)
• It may go through excessive settlement.
Figure 20: Failure of retaining wall :(a) by overturning; (b) by sliding;
(c) by bearing capacity failure and (d) by deep-seated shear failure
3.3PROPORTIONING RETAINING WALLS
•In designing retaining walls, an engineer must assume some of their dimensions which is Called
proportioning, such assumptions allow the engineer to check trial sections of the walls for stability.
•If the stability checks yield undesirable results, the sections can be changed and rechecked.
Figure 21
shows the general proportions of various retaining-wallcomponents that can be used for initial checks.
• Note that the top of the stem of any retaining wall should not be less than about 0.3 m for proper
placement of concrete.
• The depth, D, to the bottom of the base slab should be a minimum of 0.6m. However, the bottom
of the base slab should be positioned below the seasonal frost line.
• For counterfort retaining walls, the general proportion of the stem and the base slab is the same as
for cantilever walls. However, the counterfort slabs may be about 0.3 m thick and spaced at center
- to-center distances of 0.3H to 0.7 H

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Figure 21: Approximate dimensions for various components of retaining wall for initial
stability checks: (a) gravity wall; (b) cantilever wall
3.4 CHECKING THE STABILITY OF THE RETAININGWALLS
•The stability of the retaining wall should be checked against overturning, sliding and bearing
capacity. This check can be regarded as an overall checkup.
•The retaining walls must be checked for the section requirements. The latter one is achieved
according to reinforced concrete design criteria.
3.4.1 CHECK FORO VERTURNING

Figure 22
shows the forces acting on a cantilever and a gravity retaining wall, based on the assumption that the Rankine
active pressure is acting along a vertical plane AB drawn through the heel of the structure.

The factor of safety against overturning about the toe —that is, about point C in Figure 22 — may be
expressed as :

In Figure 22, the driving or overturning moment is:

128
To calculate the resisting moment, ∑MR, (neglecting Ep), a table such as Table9 can be prepared. The weight of
the soil above the heel and the weight of the concrete (or masonry) are both forces that contribute to the
resisting moment. It is important to note that the force Eav also contributes to the resisting moment.
Eav is the vertical component of the active force or :

Once is known, ∑MR the factor of safety can be calculated as:

The allowable factor of safety is always ranging from 2 to 3.

129
The Stability of Retaining Walls (Overturning and Sliding)

Figure 22: Check for overturning, assuming that the Rankine pressure is valid
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131
3.4.2CHECK FOR SLIDING ALONG THE BASE Referring to Figure 23
, the factor of safety against sliding may be expressed by the equation :

The Stability of Retaining Walls (Overturning and Sliding)

The strength of the soil (τ) immediately below the baseslab may be
represented as:

Where, is the friction angle between foundation materials and soil.

Some typical values are listed in Table 10. Now convert the stresses to
forces by multiplying the stress with (B×1 .0) to get:

Figure 23: Checking for Sliding along the Base

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Table 10 : Friction angles δ between various foundation materials and soil or rock* (Bowles, 1997)

133
If the factor of safety is not achieved, the following several alternatives may be investigated as shown in
Figure 24:
• Increase the width of the base slab (i.e., the heel of the footing).
• Use a key to the base slab. If a key is included, the passive force per unit length of the wall becomes larger.
The Stability of Retaining Walls (Overturning and Sliding)

Figure 24: Alternatives for increasing the

factor of safety with respect to sliding

134
3.4.3 CHECK AGAINST BEARING CAPACITY
FAILURE In addition to the over turning and sliding
checking, the retaining wall must be checked against
bearing failure. This check can be regarded as bearing
capacity check that should satisfy the shear strength
and settlement of the bearing soil. The illustration of
the total loads on the retaining walls is given in Figure
22 and the details of the bearing capacity check of the
retaining walls is given in Figure 25.

Figure 25: Explanation of the check for the bearing

capacity failure.
The Stability of Retaining Walls (Overturning and Sliding

The maximum and minimum pressure under the base

can be obtained from:

136
The explanation of the eccentricity (e) is given below:

137
3.6.1 EXAMPLE NO. 1
The cross section of a cantilever retaining wall is shown in the figure below.
Calculate the factors of safety with respect to overturning, sliding, and bearing capacity.

138
Solution:
H′= 0.7 + 6.0 + 0.458=7.158 m
Since the soil behind the wall inclined with α=10° , hence, the value of Ka should be calculated
from the following equation

To calculate the FS against overturning and sliding, the following table can be prepared: (use the unit
weight of concrete =23.58 kN/m3 .

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 ‫خطاء حسابات‬
The Stability of Retaining Walls (Overturning and Sliding)

Ca = 2/3 C’a ‫قريبا‬%%‫ت‬

H.W ., Please try to find the FS sliding by taking into consideration the passive zone on the left side.
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