Behavior of Flexible Cantilever Wall Under Seismic Loading

A series of two-dimensional finite element analyses are performed to study the response of flexible cantilever retaining walls under varying intensities of seismic loading and relative density of soil. The soil is considered dry, cohesionless, and modeled using the non-linear elastoplastic constitutive relation. The present study investigates the behavior of flexible cantilever walls in terms of lateral displacement, earth pressure thrust, and the propagation of failure planes at different inclinations. It is found that there is an increase in residual displacement and a decrease in the earth pressure thrust up to 0.5 g, with an increase in seismic loading. Further, the strain concentration is maximum at the heel of the wall, followed by the toe of the wall, and there is an initiation of multiple rupture surfaces in two directions originating from the heel of the cantilever wall towards the ground surface. Later, a relationship between peak ground acceleration, lateral displacement of the wall, and total active earth pressure thrust is proposed based on the current study.