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Effects of soil non-linearity on the seismik distressof retaininig walls

Y. Tsompanakis, P. N. Psarropoulos

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Summary

Despite the structural simplicity of retaining walls, their seismic response is a rather complicated problem.What makes that response so complicated is the dynamic interaction between the wall and the retained soil,especially when material and/or geometry non-linearities are present. This paper aims to examine how and towhat extent the potential soil non-linearity may affect both the dynamic behavior of a rigid non-slidingretaining wall and also the seismic response of the retained soil layer. For this purpose an extensive parametricstudy, based on two-dimensional dynamic finite-element analyses, is conducted. Soil non-linearity isrealistically taken into account via a computationally efficient equivalent-linear procedure. The examinednumerical model is studied under different excitations and various levels of the imposed ground motionmaximum accelerations to examine more thoroughly the influence of material non-linearity. The results of thisstudy justify the hypothesis that the non-linear soil behavior has a considerable impact not only on the dynamicearth pressures developed on the wall, but on the amplification of the acceleration levels on the backfill soil aswell. Therefore, it becomes evident that seismic codes and geotechnical design practice should take this impactinto serious consideration.

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