Seismic stability analysis of gravity retaining wall supporting c-φ soil with cracks

This article presents an analytical approach for the seismic stability analysis of gravity retaining wall with c-phi backfill soil. Cracks which are pre-existing (open before the collapse) and are form as part of slope collapse are considered. For a translational failure mechanism assumed, formulas are provided to calculate directly the yield acceleration and the inclination of failure surface. Factors such as cracks and cracks opening, wall back inclination, soil-wall friction, backfill slope are easily to be coupled into the formulations. Both the depth and most adverse location of the crack can be determined from the optimization procedure. Comparisons are made with existing methods and the influences of cracks opening are discussed. The influence of a crack presence on seismic stability of soil-wall system is distinct and pre-existing (opened) cracks have more adverse effect. (C) 2019 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of The Japanese Geotechnical Society.