Seismic Active Resistance of a Tilted Cantilever Retaining Wall considering Adaptive Failure Mechanism

Abstract

In this paper, the seismic active resistance of a slanted cantilever retaining wall holding a cohesionless backfill is computed using the method of stress characteristics in association with the pseudodynamic approach. Dissimilar to the past investigations reported in literature adopting the limit analysis or the limit equilibrium method, a preordained failure mechanism is not assumed in this analysis. Various parameters such as inclination and roughness of the wall, angle of internal friction of the backfill soil, and phase difference of the seismic waves are considered in this study. The present results are compared with the results reported in literature. The present values of seismic active earth pressure coefficients are found to be higher than the values obtained from the pseudodynamic analysis, assuming the linear failure surface, but are found to be lower than the magnitudes derived from the pseudostatic analysis where constant ground acceleration is considered throughout the influence domain.