Sm. Gourvenec et W. Powrie, Three-dimensional finite element analyses of embedded retaining walls supported by discontinuous earth berms, CAN GEOTECH, 37(5), 2000, pp. 1062-1077
A series of three-dimensional finite element analyses has been carried out
to investigate the effect of the removal of sections of an earth berm suppo
rting an embedded retaining wall. For the particular wall-berm geometry and
ground conditions considered in these analyses, relationships between the
wall movement, the length of berm section removed, the spacing between succ
essive unsupported sections, and the time elapsed following excavation are
presented and discussed. The analyses show that, for a given elapsed time,
wall movements are proportional to the length of the excavated berm section
provided that the unsupported sections are sufficiently widely spaced. If
the spacing between unsupported sections is reduced below some critical val
ue, wall movements then depend on both the length of and distance between t
he excavated berm sections.