ANALYSIS OF CANTILEVER RETAINING WALL ACCORDING TO EUROCODES IN DRAINED AND UNDRAINED CONDITIONS

Retaining cantilever walls are typically designed under drained conditions, assuming that proper drainage is implemented, correctly constructed, and functions throughout the structure's lifespan. However, when appropriate drainage cannot be constructed—such as in walls that cut into and retain a natural slope, where the wall is built adjacent to nearly vertical excavated soil, designers usually rely on effective soil parameters and effective stresses. This paper analyzes a 6 m high cantilever wall retaining different types of backfill soils. Firstly, a non-cohesive, granular soil is considered using effective soil parameters in drained conditions. Next, the analysis is performed under undrained conditions (for example, when drainage fails and the water table is above the footing) using the same soil parameters. Finally, a cohesive, clayey soil is analyzed using total soil parameters in undrained conditions. The results, including the differences in the required dimensions of the wall that satisfy stability conditions in static conditions according to Eurocode 7, are compared. Additionally, all analyses are repeated under seismic conditions using pseudo-static methods to apply horizontal and vertical seismic forces on the structure, in accordance with Eurocode 8.