Dynamic Response Analysis of Cantilever Walls Under Sequential Earthquake Loadings

Retaining structures have been pivotal in multiple facets of construction industry, profoundly transforming the economic dynamics of their respective regions. The effectiveness of these structures has been lucidly demonstrated across various sectors, encompassing civil and mining industries. The critical importance of these structures cannot be overstated, since its failure under intricate loadings presents a direct risk to public safety. Seismicity of any region poses a direct threat to these structures, and numerous catastrophic failure case studies have been thoroughly detailed out. Sequential earthquake loading embodies a complex loading scenario which has not been thoroughly embarked on to delineate seismic responses of earth retaining structures. Seismicity of any region mainly comprise of foreshocks, leading to small duration tremors, followed by mainshocks, prolonging over a wide duration. This study conveys a numerical modeling approach via PLAXIS 2D, outlining the seismic responses of 6 m high cantilever wall, retaining a dry non-cohesive geo-material, subjected to three different sequential earthquake excitations. The acquired outcomes are highlighted in terms of acceleration responses at different locations within the generated model, dynamic variations of earth thrusts as well as seismic active earth pressure coefficients followed by incurred deformation contours at the end of the shaking events. This comprehensive analysis entails detailed insights on the seismic design aspects of the cantilever earth retaining walls subjected to convoluted earthquake loadings such as sequential seismic excitations.