‫ﺑﺴﻢ ﷲ اﻟﺮﺣﻤﻦ اﻟﺮﺣﯿﻢ‬

REINFORCED CONCRETE - II
(An Elective Course)

LECTURE #20
Design of Cantilever Retaining Walls

By

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 28, 2017

 Contents
2

 Objectives of the Present Lecture

 Design of stem
 Design of Heel
 Design of Toe
 Design Problem

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 28, 2017

 Objectives of the Present Lecture
3

 To illustrate design procedure for cantilever

retaining walls.

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 28, 2017

 Design of Stem
4

 The values of shear and moment at

the base of the stem due to lateral
earth pressures are computed and
used to determine the stem thickness
and necessary reinforcing.
 Because the lateral pressures are
considered to be live load forces, a
load factor of 1.7 is used.
 It will be noted that the bending
moment requires the use of vertical
reinforcing bars on the soil side of the
stem.
 In addition, temperature and
shrinkage reinforcing must be
provided.

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 28, 2017

 Contd.
5

 The minimum reinforcement should

comply with SBC 304 provisions of
Section 14.3.
 The major changes in temperature
occur on the front or exposed face of
the stem.
 For this reason most of the horizontal
reinforcing (perhaps two thirds)
should be placed on that face with
just enough vertical steel used to
support the horizontal bars.
 The bending moment in the stem
decreases rapidly above the base; as a
result, the amount of reinforcing can
be similarly reduced.

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 28, 2017

 SBC Provisions

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui 6 May 28, 2017

 Heel Design
7

 The major force applied to the

heel of a retaining wall is the
downward weight of the backfill
behind the wall.
 Although there is some upward
soil pressure, it can be neglected
because it is relatively small.
 The value of Vu is determined at
the face of the stem due to the
downward loads.
 This shear is often of such
magnitude as to control the
thickness, but the moment at the
face of the stem should be
checked also.

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 28, 2017

 Heel Design(Contd.)
8

 Because the load consists of soil

and concrete, a load factor of
1.4 is used (assuming loads as
Dead load) for making the
calculations.
 Bars in the heel will be in the
top of the footing.
 The percentage of flexural steel
required for the heel will
frequently be less than the ρmin
of 1.4/fy and 0.25√fc’/fy.

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 28, 2017

 Toe Design
9

 The toe is assumed to be a beam

cantilevered from the front face of
the stem.
 Normally weight of earth above the
toe is neglected and it is designed for
upward soil pressure. Tension, thus
develops on the bottom face.
 Because this upward soil pressure is
primarily caused by the lateral force
H, a load factor of 1.7 is used for the
calculations.
 The maximum moment for the
design is taken at the face of the
stem, whereas the maximum shear
for design is assumed to occur at a
distance d from the face of the stem.

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 28, 2017

 Toe Design(Contd.)
10

 The average designer makes

the thickness of the toe the
same as the thickness of the
heel, although such a
practice is not essential.
 It is a common practice in
retaining wall construction to
provide a shear key between
the base of the stem and the
footing.

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 28, 2017

 Calculation of the Required Area of Steel
(Approach-1)
11
Step 1 : Calculate trial value of As assuming jd  0.95d
Mu
As 
f y  jd 

Step 2 : Calculate Improved value of As

As f y
a
0.85 f c' b
 a
Moment arm jd   d  
 2
Mu
As 
f y  jd 
As
Step 3 : No. of bars 
Ab

CE 370 (RC Design- I) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 28, 2017

 Calculation of the Required Area of Steel
(Approach-2)
12
Mu
Step 1 : Calculate Rn 
bd 2

0.85 f c' 
1  1  2 Rn '


Step 2 : Calcualte ρ   
fy  0.85 f c 
As   (bd )

As
Step 3 : No. of bars 
Ab

CE 370 (RC Design- I) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 28, 2017

 Problem-1
13
15 kN/m2 Surcharge
Design the cantilever 0.3 m
retaining wall whose
dimensions are shown in the
figure if fc’ = 21 MPa, fy = 420 Backfill
MPa. The soil weighs 16
kN/m3, and a surcharge of 6.3 m
15 kN/m2 is present. The 5.85 m
coefficient of sliding friction
equals 0.50 for concrete on
soil. Assume ka = 0.32;
allowable soil pressure = 200
kN/m2, and unit weight of 0.45 m A
concrete = 24 kN/m3. 1.2 m 1.95 m
0.45 m
3.6 m

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 28, 2017

 Calculation of factored lateral forces

Surcharge = 15 kN/m2 heq

0.3 m

Backfill

6.3 m
5.85 m H2
W H1
3.15 m
2.1 m

0.45 m A
1.2 m 1.95 m 54.9 kN/m2
0.45 m
3.6 m 8.2 kN/m2

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui 14 May 28, 2017

 Design of Stem
15
The lateral forces applied to the stem are calculated using a load factor of 1.7.

Backfill soil pressure :

At the base : pa  1.7  k a wh   1.7  0.32  16  6.3  54.9 kN/m 2
1
Total Pressure : H1   54.9  6.3  172.9 kN
2

Surcharge pressure :
surcharge weight 15
heq    0.94 m
w 16
Surcharge pressure  1.7  k a wheq   1.7  0.32  16  0.94   8.2 kN/m 2
Total Surcharge Pressure :
H 2  8.2  6.3  51.7 kN
CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 28, 2017
 M u  H 1  2.1  H 2  3.15  172.9  2.1  51.7  3.15
 M u  525.9 kN.m

0.18 f c' 0.18  21

Use     0.009
fy 420

0.85 f c'

1  1  2 Rn ' 
 Mu
ρ  where Rn 
fy  0.85 f c  bd 2
2
0.85 f c'   f y  
 Rn  
1  1   
2   0.85 f c'  

2
0.85  21   0.009  420  
 Rn  1  1     3.38 MPa
2   0 . 85  21  
Mu 2 Mu Mu 525.9  106
Rn  d  d    415.8 mm
bd 2 bRn bRn 0.9  1000  3.38
 h  d  cover  bar dia/2  415.8  50  25/2  478.3 mm Say 500 mm
 d  500 - 50 - 12.5  437.5 mm  d  437.5 mm

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui 16 May 28, 2017

 Vertical Steel
17
Mu Mu 525.9  106
Rn    3.05 MPa
bd 2 bd 2 0.9 1000  437.52

Vertical Steel
0.85 f c'
   
1  1  2 Rn '   0.85  21 1  1  2  3.05   0.00802
ρ
fy 
 0.85 f c  420  0.85  21 
 As  0.00802bd  0.00802 1000  437.5  3508.8 mm 2
Use 25 mm bars; No. of bars  3508.8/490  8 bars; Spacing  (1000/8)  125 mm
Use 25 mm bars @ 125 mm c/c( As  3920 mm 2 )
As 3920
ρ   0.00896  ρmin ( 0.0015) OK
bd 1000  437.5

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 28, 2017

 Horizontal Steel
18

Horizontal Steel
Provide minimum horizontal steel, ρmin  0.0020 (Bar size is less than 16 mm)
(300  500)
 As  0.0020bt average  0.0020 1000   800 mm 2
2
Use 12 mm bars; No. of bars  800/113  8 bars;
Use one - third (8/3  3)inside face and two - thirds (2  8/3  6)outside face.
Spacing inside face  (1000/3)  333 mm Say 300 mm
Spacing outside face  (1000/6)  166 mm Say 150 mm
Use 12 mm bars @ 150 mm outside face and 12 mm bars @300 mm inside face

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 28, 2017

 0.3 m
Temperature and
shrinkage
reinforcing
ϕ12 @300 mm c/c

ϕ12 @150 mm c/c 6.3 m

5.85 m
Stem reinforcing
for moment
ϕ25 @125 mm c/c

0.45 m A
1.2 m 1.90 m
0.50 m
3.6 m

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui 19 May 28, 2017

 Checking shear stress in stem
20

Actually, Vu at a distance d from the top of the footing can be used, but for
simplicity

Vu  H1  H 2  172.9  51.7  224.6 kN

 f '   1 21 
Vc   c 
bd   1000  437.5  334146 N  334.1 kN
 6  6 
   
Vc  0.75  334.1  250.6 kN  Vu OK

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 28, 2017

 Design of Heel

Vu at the face of stem :

Vu  (5.85  0.94) 1.90  16 1.4  (0.45  1.90  24)  1.4  317.7 kN
d  450  75  25 / 2  362.5 mm (Clear cover  75 mm)
 f '   1 21 
Vc   c 
bd   1000  362.5  276863.9 N  276.9 kN
 6   6 
 
Vc  0.75  276.9  207.7 kN  Vu No Good
Try 700 mm Depth (d  700  75  25 / 2  612.5 mm) (Clear cover  75 mm)
Vu  (5.85  0.94) 1.90  16 1.4  (0.70  1.90  24)  1.4  333.6 kN
 f '   1 21 
Vc   c 
bd   1000  612.5  467804.6 N  467.8 kN
 6   6 
 
Vc  0.75  467.8  350.9 kN  Vu OK
CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui 21 May 28, 2017
 Contd.
l2 l 1.90
M u at face of stem  wu  Vu  333.6   316.92 kN.m
2 2 2
Mu 316.92  106
Rn  2
 2
 0.94
bd 0.9 1000  612.5

 0.25 f ' 1.4   0.25 21 1.4 

ρmin  larger of  c
, 
 ,   0.00272,0.00333
 fy fy   420 420 
 
 ρmin  0.00333
0.85 f c'
  
1  1  2 Rn '   0.85  21 1  1  2  0.94 

ρ
fy 
 0.85 f c  420  0.85  21 
 ρ  0.00230  ρmin ( 0.00333)  ρ  ρmin  0.00333
 As  0.00333bd  0.00333  1000  612.5  2039.6 mm 2
Use 25 mm bars; No. of bars  2039.6/490  5 bars; Spacing  (1000/5)  200 mm
Use 25 mm bars @ 200 mm c/c( As  2450 mm 2 )

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui 22 May 28, 2017

Temperature and shrinkage
Use 12 mm bars @ 450 mm c/c in the long direction.
steel is normally considered
unnecessary in the heel and
toe.
However, some designers 0.3 m
prefer to provide this steel to Temperature and
shrinkage
serve as spacers for the reinforcing
flexural steel and to form mats ϕ12 @300 mm c/c
out of the reinforcing.
ϕ12 @150 mm c/c 6.3 m
5.6 m Stem reinforcing
for moment
ϕ25 @125 mm c/c
ϕ25 @200 mm c/c

0.7 m A
1.2 m 1.90 m ϕ12 @450 mm c/c
0.50 m
3.6 m

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui 23 May 28, 2017

 Check for development length
24
cb  K tr
Assume  2.5
db
9 fy  9 420 1.0 1.0 1.0
ld  db  d b  32.9d b
10 f c  cb  K tr 
' 10 1.0 21 2.5
 
 db 
 ld  32.9  25  822.5 mm  available length (l1 )  1900  75  1825 mm OK
clear cover  75 mm

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 28, 2017

 0.3 m Refer
Design of Lecture 19
Toe for footing
soil
pressure
calculations
6.3 m
5.6 m

0.7 m A
1.2 m 1.90 m
y1 (262.31  24.31) 0.50 m

2.4 3.6
3.6 m
 y1  158.7 kN/m 2
1.2 m
14.3×1.7=24.31 kN/m2
154.3×1.7=262.31 y1
kN/m2
262.31-(158.7+24.31)=79.3 kN/m2
CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui 25 May 28, 2017
 Contd.
V1  (158.7  24.31)  1.2  219.6 kN
1
V2   1.2  79.3  47.6 kN
2
Vu  V1  V2  219.6  47.6  267.2 kN
d  700  50  25  25 / 2  612.5 mm
 f '   1 21 
Vc   c 
bd   1000  612.5  467804.6 N  467.8 kN
 6   6  For exact calculations calculate
 
Vc  0.75  467.8  350.9 kN  Vu OK the shear at a distance d from
the front face of the stem
l 2l 1.2 2 1.2
M u at face of stem  V1  V2  219.6   47.6 
2 3 2 3
 M u  131.76  38.08  169.8 kN.m
Mu 169.8  106
Rn  2
 2
 0.50
bd 0.9  1000  612.5
CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui 26 May 28, 2017
 Contd.
 0.25 f ' 1.4   0.25 21 1.4 
ρmin  larger of  c
, 
 ,   0.00272,0.00333
 fy fy   420 420 
 
 ρmin  0.00333
0.85 f c'
  
1  1  2 Rn '   0.85  21 1  1  2  0.5 

ρ
fy 
 0.85 f c  420  0.85  21 
 ρ  0.00121  ρmin ( 0.00333)  ρ  ρmin  0.00333
 As  0.00333bd  0.00333 1000  612.5  2039.6 mm 2
Use 25 mm bars; No. of bars  2039.6/490  5 bars; Spacing  (1000/5)  200 mm
Use 25 mm bars @ 200 mm c/c( As  2450 mm 2 )

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui 27 May 28, 2017

 Check for Development length
28
cb  K tr
Assume  2.5
db
9 fy  9 420 1.0 1.0 1.0
ld  db  d b  32.9d b
10 f c  cb  K tr 
' 10 1.0 21 2.5
 
 db 
 ld  32.9  25  822.5 mm  available length (l1 )  1200  75  1125 mm OK
clear cover  75 mm

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 28, 2017

 Reinforcement details
29
0.3 m
Temperature and
shrinkage
reinforcing
ϕ12 @300 mm c/c

ϕ12 @150 mm c/c 6.3 m

5.6 m Stem reinforcing
for moment
ld ϕ25 @125 mm c/c
Clear cover ϕ25 @200 mm c/c
= 75 mm
ld = 0.82 m
0.7 m
1.2 m 1.90 m ϕ12 @450 mm c/c
0.50 m
3.6 m
ld

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 28, 2017

 Further Reading
30

Read more about the design of cantilever retaining

walls from:

Design of Reinforced Concrete by Jack C. McCormac

and Russell H. Brown, Eighth Edition, John Wiley &
Sons.

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 28, 2017

 Thank You
31

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 28, 2017