Cantilever walls - Cantilever wall design

Cantilever walls are walls that do not have any supports and thus have a free unsupported excavation. Cantilever
walls restrain retained earth by the passive resistance provided by the soil below the excavation. Many engineers use
the cantilever wall term to actually describe gravity walls. In reality both gravity and vertical embedded walls types
can be categorized as cantilever if no lateral bracing support is provided by means of tiebacks, struts, etc. This
sections examines vertical cantilever walls and the basic design methods used for cantilever wall analysis.

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT THE

DESIGN OF Cantilever walls
WITH deepEx software
or click here to arrange a free online video
presentation
of deepEx on secant pile walls with our technical
experts
In general, the maximum excavation for a cantilever wall can reach up to 6m or 18ft. Deeper cantilever walls have
been constructed but these required more expensive wall systems such as T-type diaphragm walls. Cantilever walls
offer some advantages:

Advantages of cantilever walls:

 Cantilever walls offer an unbstructed open excavation

 Cantilever walls do not require installation of tiebacks below adjacent properties
 Cantilever walls offer a simpler construction procedure as the construction staging is much simpler.
Disadvantages of cantilever walls:

 Maximum excavation for cantilever walls is rather limited, typically to 18 ft (6m) maximum.
 It is generally not recommended to use cantilever walls next to adjacent buildings.
 Control of lateral wall displacements depends on the mobilization of passive earth resistance.
 For deeper cantilever excavations the wall stiffness may have to be considerably increase. This can limit the available
space within the excavation.

Analysis methods for cantilever walls:

Cantilever walls are very often designed with limit equilibrium methods. In this approach, the designer calculates
active and passive earth pressures. Water and other surcharges are also applied if applicable. Two methods in Limit
Equilibrium analysis are available:

a) Free earth method for cantilever walls:

This is the simplest approach. It requires that the designer only balances the overturning and resisting moments.
Active earth pressures are assumed on the retained side and passive earth pressures are typically assumed on the
excavation side. The required embedment for a safety factor of 1 is then obtained at the point of zero moment. The
limitation of the method is that shear forces are not balanced. As a result, it is recommended that the obtained
embedment for FS=1 is multiplied by approximately 1.2 (to obtain the wall embedment for a safety factor of 1).

b) Fixed earth method for cantilever walls:

The fixed earth method offers a more robust approach as it balances both overturning moments and shears.
However, analytical solutions for the fixed earth method are limited to very special conditions. The fixed earth
method works by finding the critical pivot point about which rotational moments and shear forces balance. This is
done by assuming active earth pressures on the excavation side and passive earth pressures on the retained side
below the pivot point. Since closed form solutions with the fixed earth method are limited it is recommended that a
Winkler spring analysis will typically offer the best results instead of the classical fixed earth solution.

c) Practical recommendations for cantilever walls

To obtain an adequate safety the typical required wall embedment in cantilever walls is in the order of 1.5 times the
excavation height. While cantilever walls offer the advantage of an easy excavation the typical maximum depths are
in the order of 15 ft or (4.5m). Beyond that depth, stiffer less economical wall sections will be required to limit
horizontal wall displacements to tolerable limits. Whie deeper cantilever walls have been successfully used with small
sections, their success was often the result of higher observed soil strengths in the field when compared to the
typical conservative design values. Horizontal wall movements should be monitored when constructing deeper
cantilever walls.
Combined sheet pile walls - king pile-sheet pile wall combinations
Combined sheet pile walls are typically formed by joining a pair of sheet pile sections with regularly spaced king pile
patterns. sheet Combined sheet pile walls are mostly used in marine applications where they provide increased
stiffness combined to regular sheet pile walls. In marine applications, it is common for the king piles to be driven to a
greater depth so that greater axial capacity is obtained.
Combined steel sheet piling is used in many types of temporary works and permanent structures. The sections are
designed to provide the maximum strength and durability. The design of the section interlocks facilitates pitching and
driving and results in a continuous wall with a series of closely fitting joints. Care should be taken since special
interlocks are required between the king piles and the sheet pile walls. Corrosion protection is required for permanent
combined sheet pile walls.

For earth retaining systems, the most typical configurations include:

Single H-king pile - sheet pile wall combination

Double H-king pile - sheet pile wall combination

Pipe pile - sheet pile wall combination

King pile wall advantages
 Increased wall stiffness
 Increased wall moment resistance
 Sheet piles can be terminated at higher elevations
 King piles can extend deeper to better bearing strata
 Might offer a better alternative to other systems
 Ideal for heavy marine applications
King pile wall disadvantages
 Increased cost when compared to standard sheet piles
 Installation more complex compared to sheet piles
 Greater coating surface when compared to sheet piles