Retaining Walls

Cast-in-place reinforced concrete cantilevered retaining walls provide an ideal solution on highway projects to accommodate a change in elevation over a limited distance. Designers must evaluate the loads likely to act on the retaining walls. These loads result from earth pressures from the adjacent earth mass, water pressure, surcharge, and equipment.

Here are some useful design tips:

• Consider the minimum practical wall thickness to be 8 inches. As walls become higher or more heavily loaded, greater thicknesses become more economical.
• For higher walls, or walls in which two mats of reinforcing are used, the minimum thickness should be 12 inches.
• Control the width of vertical cracks by either adding horizontal reinforcing bars or spacing the construction joints more closely.
• The amount of horizontal reinforcement needed for serviceability can vary from none for walls under 18.5 feet in length to 0.005 times the gross area for walls without contraction joints.
• Objectional horizontal cracks are rare in cantilevered retaining walls - unless associated with a structural deficiency.
• Ornamental molds can be added to the formwork to create unique designs on the face of the reinforcing wall.

Click on the demos below to find out how to build better retaining walls!

	CRSI Retaining Wall CRSI Retaining Wall Program is a Windows® program which provides the designer with optimized solutions for reinforced concrete retaining walls.
	CRSI Advanced Retaining Wall Graphically see the effect of each input item on stability and design of the wall including changes in dimensions, soil properties or rebar splices reflected instantly to scale on screen.

	CRSI Design Handbook A major design reference for cast-in-place reinforced concrete construction, the CRSI Design Handbook provides design professionals with information for design and analysis of common reinforced concrete structural elements such as columns, beams, footings, and floor systems.

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