Indian Geotechnical Conference

IGC 2022
15th – 17thDecember, 2022, Kochi
Kochi Chapter

Analysis and Design of Cantilever Retaining Wall with

and without Pressure Relief Shelf

Sonjuikta Huidrom1and Rajesh Deb2

1 Research Scholar, Civil Engineering Department, The Assam Royal Global University, Gu-
wahati-781035, [email protected]
2 Assistant Professor, Civil Engineering Department, The Assam Royal Global University,

Guwahati-781035, [email protected]

Abstract. Retaining walls are built to retain earth filled of greater height. They
are widely used in the construction of basement below ground level, rail and
road projects where earth filling is required, wing wall and many more. The
cantilever retaining wall with pressure relief shelf in the side of the backfill
gives more economical value than the normal cantilever retaining wall. This
study aims to analyze and design the cantilever retaining wall with or without
pressure relief shelf. The pressure relief shelf is provided at the mid-height of
the retaining wall. The analysis and design is done in conventional and soft
computing method by using ETABS software. From the study it is found that
the effect of lateral active earth pressure exerted on the retaining wall with pres-
sure relief shelf is less than the retaining wall without shelf. The factor of safety
against sliding and overturning is more in case of retaining wall with pressure
relief shelf and also the area of reinforcement required less for the retaining
wall with pressure relief shelf, hence it is more economical.

Keywords: Cantilever retaining wall, Pressure relief shelf, Lateral earth pres-
sure, ETABS.

1 Introduction

1.1 General
A retaining wall is a structure designed to hold back the wedge of soil mass. Retain-
ing walls are constructed in several area of engineering such as dams, tunnels, mili-
tary fortifications, railroads, mines, roads, subways, etc. The lateral earth pressure and
shelf weight are consider for maintaining stability of the retaining wall. Lateral earth
pressure plays major role in retain structure, and it depends on the direction and mag-
nitude of movement of the stem, cohesive strength and also the internal friction of
retain material. The lateral earth pressure aims to be more in the lowest part of the
retaining wall than the top portion of it. Lateral earth pressure will push the wall for-
ward or overturn if not properly design. Pressure relief shelf is provided on the back-
fill side of the retaining wall to decrease the overall lateral earth pressure and increase
the overall stability of the retaining wall. A pressure relief shelf is a horizontal plat-
form provided at the stem of a retaining wall which achieved economic design. This

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Sonjuikta Huidrom 1 and Rajesh Deb 2

paper aims to find out how the pressure relief shelf works and its effect on the mid
height of retaining wall.

1.2 Objectives
1. To analyze and design the retaining wall with and without pressure relief
shelf by conventional method and soft computing method by using ETABS
software.
2. To analyze and design the retaining wall with shelf in mid height position of
the stem.
3. To compare the results of the analysis.

Fig. 1. Retaining wall with pressure relief shelf.

2 Methodology

2.1 Conventional method

The cantilever retaining wall with and without relief shelf is consider for the analysis
and design purpose. For the cantilever retaining wall without relief shelf which shows
in figure 2.1, wall height of 4.5 m, base width of 2.5 m, toe and base slab thickness of
0.4 m, width of toe slab as 0.75 m and width of heel slab as 1.55 m, stem thickness as
0.2 m throughout the height of the stem and 1 m wall length are considered and the
dimension of cantilever retaining wall with pressure relief shelf which shows in figure
2.1 are 4.5 m wall height, 2.5 m base width, toe and heel slab thickness as 0.4 m,
width of toe slab as 0.75 m and width of heel slab as 1.55 m, stem thickness as 0.2 m
throughout the height of the stem i.e., from top to bottom portion of the stem, 1 m
length of the wall and relief shelf of 0.2 m thick (1/2 of thickness of heel slab) and
0.775 m width (1/2 of width of heel slab) is provisioned at the mid height of the stem
measured from the bottom portion of the stem.

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 Fig. 2.1 Cantilever retaining wall with and without relief shelf and its pressure distribution.

Both the retaining walls are analyzed to check the stability. There are three checks to
be done for stability i.e., check for overturning moment, check for sliding and check
for soil earth pressure. Whenever the soil exerts lateral earth pressure on the retaining
wall, it tends to overturn the retaining wall about its toe it is due to the unbalanced
moments. A minimum factor of safety of 1.4 should be used to check over turning
moment. Check for sliding is done when the horizontal force tends to slide the wall
away from the backfill, it is there by resisted by the friction between soil and con-
crete. A factor of safety of 1.4 must be used against sliding. In check for soil earth
pressure, checking is done whether the soil can bear the capacity of the load that ex-
erted on the soil. Maximum pressure at the toe of the retaining wall should not exceed
the safe bearing capacity of the soil under working conditions and if it exceeds, the
soil will fail and the pressure minimum will be zero when the eccentricity exceeds
B/6. Design of both the retaining walls is done after the analysis. Design includes
fixation of base width, design of stem, design of heel slab, design of toe slab and de-
sign of relief shelf. Table 2.1 shows the parameters used for the analysis and design of
retaining wall.

Table 2.1 Design parameters

Sl. No. Parameters Value
1 Density of earth, γ 23.544 kN/m3
2 Angle of internal friction, Ø 33°
3 Safe bearing capacity, q0 149 kN/m²
4 Coefficient of friction, µ 0.5
5 Grade of concrete, M20 20 N/mm2
6 Grade of steel, Fe415 415N/mm2

2.2 Soft computing method

ETABS 2016 ultimate 16.2.1 version is used to analyze both the model of retaining
wall i.e., retaining wall with and without relief shelf. Then after the analysis the de-
sign is done manually. The design codes are assigned as IS456:2000 for concrete and
IS800:2007 for steel and the units are assigned as SI unit system. The dimension and
design parameter of retaining walls which was used in conventional method is also
used for soft computing method. For material properties, M20 grade concrete and Fe

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Sonjuikta Huidrom 1 and Rajesh Deb 2

415 grade steel are defined and assigned. The retaining walls are designed as one rigid
monolithic structure in which the based slab have been assumed to be fixed in posi-
tion, so restraints is assign as fixed support. Fig.2.3 and fig.2.4 shows the model of
retaining wall with and without relief shelf with the load acting non-uniformly in
local-3 directions on the stem portion and the load acting uniformly in the direction of
gravity on the heel portion.

Fig. 2.2. Model of retaining wall without shelf with load acting on its stem and heel portion.

Fig. 2.3. Model of retaining wall with relief shelf with load acting on its stem and heel portion.

3 Results and Discussion

3.1 Analysis and design results of conventional method

The analysis and design results of cantilever retaining wall with and without relief
shelf are compared. The following table 3.1 shows the analysis and design results of
cantilever retaining wall with and without relief shelf.

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Table 3.1.Theoretical analysis results of cantilever retaining wall with and without relief shelf

Descriptions Retaining wall without Retaining wall with

pressure relief shelf. pressure relief shelf.
Active earth pressure 71.5149 kN 35.828 kN
FOS against overturning 2.57 4.67
FOS against sliding 1.22 2.72
Eccentricity from toe 0.22 m 0.019 m
P max (Pressure intensity at 120.674 kN/m2 81.832 kN/m2
toe)
P min (Pressure intensity at 35.423 kN/m2 74.446 kN/m2
heel)
Volume of concrete
1. Base slab 1 m3 1 m3
2. Stem 0.82 m3 0.82 m3
3. Relief shelf — 0.355 m3
Total volume of concrete re- 1.82 m3 2.175 m3
quired
Area of reinforcement
a) Toe of base slab
• Longitudinal reinforcement 383.33 mm2 275.257 mm2
• Distribution reinforcement 480 mm2 480 mm2
b) Heel of base slab
• Longitudinal reinforcement 801.46 mm2 370.59 mm2
• Distribution reinforcement 480 mm2 480 mm2
c) Stem
• Longitudinal reinforcement 2177.16 mm2 1633.87 mm2
• Distribution reinforcement 240 mm2 240 mm2
d) Relief shelf
1. Longitudinal reinforcement — 328.807 mm2
2. Distribution reinforcement — 240 mm2
Total area of reinforcement 4561.95 mm2 4048.524mm2
required

It is observed that the active earth pressure is reduced in case of the retaining wall
with pressure relief shelf due to the provision of pressure relief shelf in the mid
height. Retaining wall with pressure relief shelf is more stable than retaining wall
without shelf. For the retaining wall without relief shelf, shear key is provided due to
the failure in sliding but in case of retaining wall with pressure relief shelf there is no
need to provide shear key, since it was safe in sliding. It is also observed that the fac-
tor of safety against overturning and sliding is more in retaining wall with shelf. The
eccentricity is decreased in retaining wall with relief shelf hence it is more economi-
cal than the retaining wall without shelf. The area of reinforcement required is also
reduced in case of retaining wall with relief shelf when comparing with retaining wall
without relief shelf.

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Sonjuikta Huidrom 1 and Rajesh Deb 2

3.2 Analysis and design results of soft computing method

The following figures show the ETABS analysis results of cantilever retaining wall
with and without pressure relief shelf. ETABS analysis produced the design moment
and shear forces of cantilever retaining wall with and without pressure relief shelf.

Fig. 3.1. Shear force and moment diagram of stem and base portion of cantilever retaining wall
without shelf.

Fig. 3.2. Deformed shape after adding load and rendered view of retaining wall without shelf.

Fig.3.1 and fig.3.2 shows the shear forces diagram, moment diagram, deformed
shaped and rendered view of cantilever retaining wall without relief shelf. These de-
sign moment and shear force values of stem portion are obtained after the analysis
and it is observed that the moment at the base portion of slab is zero.

Fig. 3.3. Shear force and moment diagram of stem portion above and below the relief shelf.

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 Fig. 3.4. Soil pressure diagram for the base and pressure relief shelf portion.

Fig. 3.5. Deformed shape after adding load and rendered view of retaining wall with shelf.

Fig. 3.4, 3.5 and 3.6 shows the moment diagram, shear force diagram, soil pressure
and rendered view of the stem portion of retaining wall with pressure relief shelf.
These design moment, shear force and soil pressure values are obtained after the
analysis. The moment obtained at the base slab is zero and soil pressure on the relief
shelf is obtained as 45.5kN/m2. The moment and shear force that obtained after the
analysis is used for the design of stem and relief shelf portion of cantilever retaining
wall with and without pressure relief shelf. After the analysis and design, the results
of both the analysis are compared. Table 3.2 shows the analytical results of cantilever
retaining wall with and without pressure relief shelf.

Table 3.2. Analytical results of cantilever retaining wall with and without pressure relief shelf.

Descriptions Retaining wall with- Retaining wall with pressure

out pressure relief relief shelf.
shelf.
Active earth pressure -7.0632, 28.959 (-7.0632, 13.773) Above shelf
(-7.0632, 15.186) Below shelf
FOS against overturning 2.57˃1.4 4.67 ˃1.4
FOS against sliding 1.22<1.4 2.72˃1.4
Eccentricity from toe 0.22 m 0.019 m
P max (Pressure intensi- 120.674 kN/m2 81.832 kN/m2
ty at toe)
P min (Pressure intensity 35.423 kN/m2 74.446 kN/m2
at heel)

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Sonjuikta Huidrom 1 and Rajesh Deb 2

Volume of concrete
4. Base slab 1 m3 1 m3
5. Stem 0.82 m3 0.82 m3
6. Relief shelf — 0.355 m3
Total volume of concrete 1.82 m3 2.175 m3
required
Area of reinforcement
e) Toe of base slab
• Longitudinal rein- 383.33 mm2 275.257 mm2
forcement
• Distribution rein- 480 mm2 480 mm2
forcement
f) Heel of base slab
• Longitudinal rein- 801.46 mm2 370.59 mm2
forcement
• Distribution rein- 480 mm2 480 mm2
forcement
g) Stem
• Longitudinal rein- 2177.16 mm2 1210.92 mm2
forcement
• Distribution rein- 240 mm2 240 mm2
forcement
h) Relief shelf
3. Longitudinal rein- — 245.28mm2
forcement
4. Distribution rein- — 240 mm2
forcement
Total area of reinforce- 4561.95 mm2 3542.047mm2
ment required

It is observed that the active earth pressure is assigned in different position of the stem
for retaining wall with pressure relief shelf due to the provision of relief shelf in the
mid height position. Retaining wall with pressure relief shelf is safe in overall stabil-
ity since the factor of safety is more than 1.4 when compared to retaining wall without
relief shelf and there is no need to provide shear key. The eccentricity is decreased in
retaining wall with relief shelf hence it is more economical than the retaining wall
without relief shelf. The total area of reinforcement required is much more less in case
of retaining wall with relief shelf when comparing with retaining wall without relief
shelf.

4 Conclusion

In a retaining wall with pressure relief shelf, the total active earth pressure is de-
creased due to the provision of shelf in the mid height of the retaining wall. The de-
sign moment of the stem portion obtained from soft computing method is less than

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conventional method. The overturning moment obtained for retaining wall with relief
shelf is less than the retaining wall without relief shelf. The design moment of pres-
sure relief shelf obtained from soft computing method is less than the conventional
method. Factor of safety against overturning and sliding is more in retaining wall with
pressure relief shelf. Also the retaining wall with pressure relief shelf is safer against
overturning and sliding than retaining wall without pressure relief shelf, so there is no
need for shear key in retaining wall with shelf. Retaining wall with pressure relief
shelf attains overall stability when comparing with retaining wall without relief shelf.
The area of reinforcement required for toe and heel slab is less in retaining wall with
pressure relief shelf than the retaining wall without relief shelf. It is also obtained that
the total area of reinforcement required for retaining wall with pressure relief shelf is
less than the total area of reinforcement required for retaining wall without pressure
relief shelf.

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