Geotechnical Engineering > Retaining Structures

The primary functions of a retaining structure are: Separate an area of low elevation from an adjacent higher elevation area Prevent slope failure or soil movementCreate usable land on sloped terrainSupport excavationsProtect infrastructure such as roads and buildings Retaining structures do this by resisting lateral earth pressure generated by the retained soil or prevent it from collapsing by anchoring into them or reinforcing them. In […] Read More

Geotechnical engineering is one of the five main branches in civil engineering, which can further be categorized into soil mechanics, foundation engineering, retaining structures and excavations. Geotechnical engineering is a branch that interacts with all other branches, after all, every structure needs foundation system. Geotechnical engineering failures are usually among the costliest to fix, if the fix is possible at all in the first place. […] Read More

In this post we will look at various aspects of un-anchored retaining structures analysis and design. The anchored systems will be covered in hopefully another post. Read More