Forensic analysis of failure of retaining wall

Abstract

In this paper, results of forensic analysis of a cantilever retaining wall for road approach embankments which showed distress in the form of translation, vertical settlements and rotation is presented. Extensive geotechnical soil investigation and field measurements of distress are collected. The paper presents prominent causes of failure of cantilever retaining wall using forensic geotechnical investigation. Back analysis of the cantilever retaining wall is performed using classical conventional methods and finite elements analysis. From the results of the conventional analysis and finite element methods, it is observed the retaining wall designs based on prescriptive guidelines may not lead to satisfactory designs and considerations of deformations is important. Back analysis of failure showed that the mechanism of failure is a combination of sliding and overturning and the deformations are in conformity with the predictions obtained from the numerical analysis.