Methodologies for Conservation and Maintenance of Anchored Retaining Walls

Abstract Brazil has a wide mesh of pipelines, of which more than 8,500 kilometers are operated by TRANSPETRO. Pipeline right-of-ways cross a variety of soil relief, including the Serra do Mar, a formation of scarps, in order to transport petroleum products from the coast to the largest cities in the country. Anchored retaining walls are commonly necessary for soil stabilization. An efficient risk management is required for these structures, to avoid social, economic and environmental damages in case of poor performance. A case study of 77 anchored walls was presented. It was shown that is possible to manage a large number of structures, with a large variability in age, including structures until approximately 60 years old. All standards recommend geotechnical instrumentation. Parametric numerical analysis where performed for guiding instrument location. A distance of 0.25H from the wall, where H is the wall high, was suggested to install the inclinometer, in order to monitor soil displacements behind the wall. However, when there is another purpose, such as to monitor the entire slope or highways near the ROWs, geotechnical instrumentation can be installed according to these necessities. Based on a bibliographic review, a case study and on numerical analysis results, a summary of a long-term maintenance program for anchored walls was presented. The program aims to implement risk management for large numbers of structures. With that, it is possible to guarantee operational conditions to all and increase the service life for older structures.