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Design of stem
Design thickness of stem
Where 1.6 is load factor, γ is unit weight of soil, Ka is active lateral earth coefficient, h is height of
earth, q is surcharge.
2. Calculate shear strength of stem
φ Vc=0.75*(2√fc’) b d [6.2]
Where 0.75 is strength reduction factor, fc’ is compressive strength of concrete, b is one foot width
of wall, d is effective depth of stem and is equal to thickness of stem minus 2” cover and half bar
size.
3. Compare shear force with shear strength, design shear reinforcement when necessary.
If φ Vc≥ Vu no shear reinforcement is required
If φ Vc< Vu increase thickness of stem or design shear reinforcement
The minimum total vertical reinforcement ratio for wall (both faces) is
0.0012 for deformed bars #5 or smaller or 0.0015 for other bars (ACI 14.3.2)
Design horizontal reinforcement for shrinkage and expansion
One of common mistake in retaining wall design is neglecting or inadequate horizontal
reinforcement. When retaining wall gets too long, the wall will crack due to shrinkage of concrete.
Vertical control joints and horizontal reinforcement are normally used to control cracks in the
stems. The spacing of control joist depends on the amount of horizontal reinforcement. Larger
spacing requires heavier reinforcement. The reinforcement ratio recommended by Concrete
Reinforcing Steel Institute (CRSI) is shown below.
The minimum total horizontal reinforcement ratio for wall (both faces) is
0.002 for deformed bars #5 or smaller or 0.0025 for others.
D=1.5*(0.0000055*T*L) [6.6]
Xu = (1.2*MR-1.6Mo)/(1.2W) [6.7]
Where W is total weight of retaining wall including stem, footing, earth and surcharge.
2. The eccentricity, eu = B/2-Xu
3. If eu ≤ B/6, the maximum and minimum footing pressure is calculated as
Qmax = 1.2 (W/B)[1+6 eu /B] [6.8]
Qmax = 1.2 (W/B)[1-6 eu /B] [6.9]
Where, Qmax, Qmin are maximum and minimum factored footing pressure, B is the width of footing.
The factored footing pressure at any point in the footing is calculated as
Q = Qmin + (Qmax-Qmin)*(B-L)/B
Where B is the width of footing, L is the distance from toe
Q = Qmax*(Lb-L)/Lb [6.11]
Where 1.2 is load factor, We is weight of earth, Whl is weight of heel, Wq is weight of surcharge,
and R is resultant of factored bearing pressure.
2. Calculated shear strength of stem.
φ Vc=0.75*(2√fc’) b d [6.13]
Where 0.75 is strength reduction factor, fc’ is compressive strength of concrete, b is one foot width
of wall, d is effective depth of stem and is equal to thickness of stem minus 2” cover and half bar
size.
3. Compare shear force with shear strength, if φ Vc< Vu, increase thickness of stem.
The critical section of moment is at the face of stem. The heel reinforcement is calculated as
follows:
1. Calculate factored moment at face of toe
Mu=1.2*(We+Whl+Wq)*C/2-R*Xr [6.14]
Where
R=Mu/(0.9bd2), m =Fy/(0.85fc’), Fy is yield strength of steel.
The required reinforcement, As = ρ bd should be within maximum reinforcement.
The required minimum reinforcement is the smaller of
Reinforcement ratio: 0.002 for grade 40, 50 deformed bars, 0.0018 for grade 60 deformed bars.
Design of toe
The forces that apply to the bottom of toe is footing bearing pressure. In a normal situation, the
length of toe is shorter than that of heel. The maximum shear force is less than of heel. The depth
of footing for heel is usually enough for toe. It is also a normal practice to bend the dowel bars at
the bottom of stem for toe reinforcement. It is normally sufficient for toe reinforcement. In some
situation, when toe is extra long, then, it will be necessary to check shear strength and design
reinforcement for toe.
Design thickness of toe
1. Calculate factored shear at one-effective depth from face of stem
If eu ≤ B/6, the factored footing pressure at one-effective depth from face of stem is
If eu > B/6, the factored footing pressure at one-effective depth from face of stem is
Q = Qmax*(Lb-Lc)/Lb [6.16]
Where Lc is the distance from edge of toe to one effective depth from front face of stem.
The factored shear force at the critical section is
Vu = (Q + Qmax)*Lc/2-Wc [6.17]
φ Vc=0.75*(2√fc’) b d
If eu ≤ B/6, the factored footing pressure at one-effective depth from face of stem is
Q = Qmin + (Qmax-Qmin)*(B-Ld)/B
If eu > B/6, the factored footing pressure at one-effective depth from face of stem is
Q = Qmax*(Lb-Ld)/Lb
Mu=R*Xr-Wt*Ld/2 [6.18]
Where Xr is the distance from the resultant force to the front face of stem, Wt is weight of concrete
and soil above toe.
Where
R=Mu/(0.9bd2), m =Fy/(0.85fc’), Fy is yield strength of steel.
The required reinforcement, As = ρ bd should be within maximum reinforcement.
The required minimum reinforcement is the smaller of