Mean StDev x*

N
o
N
nx

sat
q
|'
o
T
yld
z
1
z
2
z
3
normal 17 0.4 16.58 17 0.4 -1.048 1 0.5 0 0.5 0.4 0 0 0 0
normal

sat
20 0.5 19.38 20 0.5 -1.233

sat
0.5 1 0 0.5 0.4 0 0 0 0
normal q 10 2 10.17 10 2 0.0829 q 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
normal |' 36 3.0 29.82 36 3 -2.059 |' 0.5 0.5 0 1 0.8 0 0 0 0
normal o 18 1.5 15.32 18 1.5 -1.788 o 0.4 0.4 0 0.8 1 0 0 0 0
normal
T
yield 200 15 200 200 15 -1E-06
T
yld 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
normal
z
1 4.5 0.23 4.508 4.5 0.23 0.0368
z
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.7 0
normal
z
2 6 0.3 6.068 6 0.3 0.2269
z
2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.7 1 0
normal
z
3 8 0.4 8.541 8 0.4 1.3526
z
3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
crmatrix (Correlation matrix)
K
a
K
ah
K
p
K
ph

w L d i

ea

ep
p
w1
p
w2 a |
0.3 0.29 4.991 4.814 9.8 12.20 3.66 0.137 10.9 8.24 24.83 49 13 9.9 1.5 ###
Forces Lever arm Moments Forces Lever arm Moments
(kN/m) (m) (kN-m/m) (kN/m) (m) (kN-m/m)
-36.3 4.600 -167 -10.3 4.05 -41.6
-49.3 1.506 -74.2 -24.4 5.80 -141
-168 6.854 -1152 -4.12 5.39 -22.2
-94.5 8.136 -769 -18.0 8.26 -149
265 9.48 2516 PerFn1
2E-06
1
2
3
4
5
Boxed cells contain equations. The formulae in the boxed
cells below refer to the x* values, not the mean values.
=sum(Moments)
6
7
8
9
All Normal variates: L = 12.20 m, for | =2.50, as shown, against rotational failure.

All symmetric BetaDist variates: L = 12.17m, for | =2.50. (If L = 12.20 m, | = 2.53)

All LogNormal variates: L= 12.12 m, for | =2.50. (if L = 12.20 m, | = 2.59)
= sqrt(mmult(transpose(nx),
mmult(minverse(crmat),nx)))
Ctrl+Shift, then Enter
This encapsulates equation (6b) in
a single cell, for constrained
optimization by Excel's built-in
Solver program.
Fig. 7. Reliability-based design of wall height L for target relibility index of 2.50.
The required average embedment is (L mean z
3
).
This workbook is provided by B. K. Low, author of "Reliability
retaining walls",
experinece and to enhance understanding of the reliability approach.
'
1 h
p
'
hb
p
Radians
|'* 0.52051
o* 0.26735
Steps for hands-on reliability analysis involving correlated normals:
(1) Copy mean column (cells D2:D10), and paste onto x* column (cells G2:G10).
This initializes the x* values.
(2) Click Tools\Solver, and Solve. The settings shown in Solver are explained in
the paper. Solver\Options\UseAutomaticScaling can also be activated.
(Need to first select Solver in Tools\Add-Ins, if never use it before)
(3) For L = 12.20 m, the reliability index | obtained by Solver is 2.50. The design
point is defined by the solution values in the x* column.

(If L = 11.0 m, | = 1.10. A few trial L values will lead to the required L of 12.20 m in
order to achieve | = 2.50. See also the paper's subsection "distinguishing negative
from positive reliability indices".)

The other two worksheets of this filereached via the sheet tabs
belowshow reliability-based design involving correlated lognormal and
correlated beta distributions, as described in the paper.




This Excel file, for the anchored wall design of Figs. 6 & 7,
contains the user-defined VBA macro EqvN,as listed in
Fig. 8 of the paper. You need to set Tools\Macro\Security
level to Medium to enable the macro to function.
This workbook is provided by B. K. Low, author of "Reliability-based design applied to
retaining walls", Geotechnique, Vol. 55, No. 1, 63-75, 2005. The aim is to allow hands-on
experinece and to enhance understanding of the reliability approach.
For vertical wall and horizontal surface of backfill (i.e., o = 90 and = 0), the
Coulomb equation for active earth pressure coefficient
( )
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
2
sin sin sin sin
sin sin
|
|
.
|

\
|
' + ' + +
'
=
o | o | o o
o | o
a
K

simplifies to:

( )
( ) ( ) ( )
2
sin sin cos
cos
|
|
.
|

\
|
' + ' +
'
=
| o | o
|
a
K

Similarly, for vertical wall and horizontal surface of backfill, the Coulomb equation for
passive earth pressure coefficient is:


( )
( ) ( ) ( )
|
|
.
|

\
|
' + '
'
=
| o | o
|
sin sin cos
cos
p
K
For vertical wall and horizontal surface of backfill (i.e., o = 90 and = 0), the
Coulomb equation for active earth pressure coefficient
( )
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
2
sin sin sin sin
sin sin
|
|
.
|

\
|
' + ' + +
'
=
o | o | o o
o | o
a
K

simplifies to:

( )
( ) ( ) ( )
2
sin sin cos
cos
|
|
.
|

\
|
' + ' +
'
=
| o | o
|
a
K

Similarly, for vertical wall and horizontal surface of backfill, the Coulomb equation for
passive earth pressure coefficient is:


( )
( ) ( ) ( )
|
|
.
|

\
|
' + '
'
=
| o | o
|
sin sin cos
cos
p
K
Mean StDev x*
N
o
N
nx

sat
q
|'
o
T
yld
z
1
z
2
z
3
lognormal 17 0.4 16.61 16.99 0.39 -0.987 1 0.5 0 0.5 0.4 0 0 0 0
lognormal

sat
20 0.5 19.41 19.99 0.49 -1.183

sat
0.5 1 0 0.5 0.4 0 0 0 0
lognormal q 10 2 9.979 9.804 1.98 0.0883 q 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
lognormal |' 36 3.0 30.54 35.46 2.54 -1.936 |' 0.5 0.5 0 1 0.8 0 0 0 0
lognormal o 18 1.5 15.59 17.78 1.3 -1.684 o 0.4 0.4 0 0.8 1 0 0 0 0
lognormal
T
yield 200 15 199.4 199.4 14.9 3E-05
T
yld 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
lognormal
z
1 4.5 0.23 4.504 4.494 0.23 0.0424
z
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.7 0
lognormal
z
2 6 0.3 6.069 5.992 0.3 0.254
z
2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.7 1 0
lognormal
z
3 8 0.4 8.68 7.961 0.43 1.6566
z
3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
crmatrix (Correlation matrix)
K
a
K
ah
K
p
K
ph

w L d i

ea

ep
p
w1
p
w2 a |
0.29 0.28 5.242 5.049 9.8 12.20 3.52 0.140 11 8.24 24.06 48 13 9.6 1.5 ###
Forces Lever arm Moments Forces Lever arm Moments
(kN/m) (m) (kN-m/m) (kN/m) (m) (kN-m/m)
-34.6 4.600 -159 -10.3 4.05 -41.8
-47.8 1.503 -71.8 -25.1 5.87 -148
-163 6.852 -1119 -4.66 5.44 -25.3
-92.3 8.135 -751 -16.9 8.35 -142
258 9.53 2457 PerFn1
-3E-05
1
2
3
4
5
Boxed cells contain equations. The formulae in the boxed
cells below refer to the x* values, not the mean values.
=sum(Moments)
6
7
8
9
All Normal variates: L = 12.20 m, for | =2.50, as shown, against rotational failure.

All symmetric BetaDist variates: L = 12.17m, for | =2.50. (If L = 12.20 m, | = 2.53)

All LogNormal variates: L= 12.12 m, for | =2.50. (if L = 12.20 m, | = 2.59)
= sqrt(mmult(transpose(nx),
mmult(minverse(crmat),nx)))
Ctrl+Shift, then Enter
This encapsulates equation (6b) in
a single cell, for constrained
optimization by Excel's built-in
Solver program.
This workbook is provided by B. K. Low, author of "Reliability
retaining walls",
experinece and to enhance understanding of the reliability approach.
'
1 h
p
'
hb
p
Radians
|'* 0.53299
o* 0.27215
Steps for hands-on reliability analysis involving correlated lognormals:
(1) Enter "lognormals" in cells A2:A10. (Done)
(2) Copy mean column (cells D2:D10), and paste onto x* column (cells G2:G10).
This initializes the x* values.
(3) Click Tools\Solver, and Solve. The settings shown in Solver are explained in
the paper. Solver\Options\UseAutomaticScaling can also be activated.
(4) For L = 12.20 m, the reliability index | obtained by Solver is 2.59 when the
random variables are lognormally distributed.

The other two worksheets of this filereached via the sheet tabs
belowshow reliability-based design involving correlated normal and
correlated beta distributions, as described in the paper.




This Excel file, for the anchored wall design of Figs. 6 & 7,
contains the user-defined VBA macro EqvN,as listed in
Fig. 8 of the paper. You need to set Tools\Macro\Security
level to Medium to enable the macro to function.
This workbook is provided by B. K. Low, author of "Reliability-based design applied to
retaining walls", Geotechnique, Vol. 55, No. 1, 63-75, 2005. The aim is to allow hands-on
experinece and to enhance understanding of the reliability approach.
For vertical wall and horizontal surface of backfill (i.e., o = 90 and = 0), the
Coulomb equation for active earth pressure coefficient
( )
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
2
sin sin sin sin
sin sin
|
|
.
|

\
|
' + ' + +
'
=
o | o | o o
o | o
a
K

simplifies to:

( )
( ) ( ) ( )
2
sin sin cos
cos
|
|
.
|

\
|
' + ' +
'
=
| o | o
|
a
K

Similarly, for vertical wall and horizontal surface of backfill, the Coulomb equation for
passive earth pressure coefficient is:


( )
( ) ( ) ( )
|
|
.
|

\
|
' + '
'
=
| o | o
|
sin sin cos
cos
p
K
For vertical wall and horizontal surface of backfill (i.e., o = 90 and = 0), the
Coulomb equation for active earth pressure coefficient
( )
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
2
sin sin sin sin
sin sin
|
|
.
|

\
|
' + ' + +
'
=
o | o | o o
o | o
a
K

simplifies to:

( )
( ) ( ) ( )
2
sin sin cos
cos
|
|
.
|

\
|
' + ' +
'
=
| o | o
|
a
K

Similarly, for vertical wall and horizontal surface of backfill, the Coulomb equation for
passive earth pressure coefficient is:


( )
( ) ( ) ( )
|
|
.
|

\
|
' + '
'
=
| o | o
|
sin sin cos
cos
p
K
betadist parameters x*
N
o
N
nx

sat
q
|'
o
T
yld
z
1
z
2
z
3
betadist 4 4 15.8 18.2 16.6 16.97 0.4 -1.002 1 0.5 0 0.5 0.4 0 0 0 0
betadist

sat
4 4 18.5 21.5 19.4 19.94 0.47 -1.225

sat
0.5 1 0 0.5 0.4 0 0 0 0
betadist q 4 4 4 16 10.2 10.00 2.19 0.1126 q 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
betadist |' 4 4 27.0 45 30.3 34.65 2.21 -1.966 |' 0.5 0.5 0 1 0.8 0 0 0 0
betadist o 4 4 13.5 22.5 15.4 17.53 1.22 -1.717 o 0.4 0.4 0 0.8 1 0 0 0 0
betadist
T
yield 4 4 155 245 200 200.00 16.4 7E-06
T
yld 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
betadist
z
1 4 4 3.81 5.19 4.51 4.50 0.25 0.0462
z
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.7 0
betadist
z
2 4 4 5.1 6.9 6.1 6.00 0.33 0.3074
z
2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.7 1 0
betadist
z
3 4 4 6.8 9.2 8.61 8.09 0.35 1.5014
z
3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
crmatrix (Correlation matrix)
K
a
K
ah
K
p
K
ph

w L d i

ea

ep
p
w1
p
w2 a |
0.29753 0.29 5.14 4.96 9.8 12.20 3.59 0.141 10.9 8.18 24.39 49 13 9.9 1.5 ###
Forces Lever arm Moments Forces Lever arm Moments
(kN/m) (m) (kN-m/m) (kN/m) (m) (kN-m/m)
-35.9 4.600 -165 -10.63 4.07 -43.3
-48.4 1.508 -72.9 -24.88 5.86 -146
-165 6.856 -1131 -4.349 5.44 -23.6
-92.8 8.137 -755 -17.8 8.31 -148
261 9.50 2484 PerFn1
1E-10
1
2
3
4
5
Boxed cells contain equations. The formulae in the boxed
cells below refer to the x* values, not the mean values.
=sum(Moments)
6
7
8
9
All Normal variates: L = 12.20 m, for | =2.50, as shown, against rotational failure.

All symmetric BetaDist variates: L = 12.17m, for | =2.50. (If L = 12.20 m, | = 2.53)

All LogNormal variates: L= 12.12 m, for | =2.50. (if L = 12.20 m, | = 2.59)
= sqrt(mmult(transpose(nx),
mmult(minverse(crmat),nx)))
Ctrl+Shift, then Enter
This encapsulates equation (6b) in
a single cell, for constrained
optimization by Excel's built-in
Solver program.
This workbook is provided by B. K. Low, author of "Reliability
retaining walls",
experinece and to enhance understanding of the reliability approach.
'
1 h
p
'
hb
p
Radians
|'* 0.52881
o* 0.26945
Initial x*
17
20
10
36
18
200
4.5
6
8
This encapsulates equation (6b) in
Steps for hands-on reliability analysis involving correlated beta-
distribution variables (need Excel 2002 or later versions):
(1) Enter "betadist" in cells A2:A10. (done)
(2) Enter betadist parameters as shown, cells C2:F10. (done)
(3) Modify formulas in cells H2:I10, to read input from columns
C:F. (done)
(4) Copy mean values (cells V10:V18), and paste onto x*
column (cells G2:G10). This initializes the x* values.
(5) Click Tools\Solver, and Solve. The settings shown in Solver are
explained in the paper. Solver\Options\UseAutomaticScaling can
also be activated.
(6) For L = 12.20 m, the reliability index | obtained by Solver is 2.53
when the random variables follow symmetric beta distributions.

The other two worksheets of this filereached via the sheet tabs
belowshow reliability-based design involving correlated normal
and correlated lognormal distributions, as described in the paper.




This Excel file, for the anchored wall design of Figs. 6 &
7, contains the user-defined VBA macro EqvN,as listed
in Fig. 8 of the paper. You need to set Tools\Macro\
Security level to Medium to enable the macro to function.

This workbook is provided by B. K. Low, author of "Reliability-based design applied to
retaining walls", Geotechnique, Vol. 55, No. 1, 63-75, 2005. The aim is to allow hands-on
experinece and to enhance understanding of the reliability approach.
For vertical wall and horizontal surface of backfill (i.e., o = 90 and = 0), the
Coulomb equation for active earth pressure coefficient
( )
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
2
sin sin sin sin
sin sin
|
|
.
|

\
|
' + ' + +
'
=
o | o | o o
o | o
a
K

simplifies to:

( )
( ) ( ) ( )
2
sin sin cos
cos
|
|
.
|

\
|
' + ' +
'
=
| o | o
|
a
K

Similarly, for vertical wall and horizontal surface of backfill, the Coulomb equation for
passive earth pressure coefficient is:


( )
( ) ( ) ( )
|
|
.
|

\
|
' + '
'
=
| o | o
|
sin sin cos
cos
p
K
For vertical wall and horizontal surface of backfill (i.e., o = 90 and = 0), the
Coulomb equation for active earth pressure coefficient
( )
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
2
sin sin sin sin
sin sin
|
|
.
|

\
|
' + ' + +
'
=
o | o | o o
o | o
a
K

simplifies to:

( )
( ) ( ) ( )
2
sin sin cos
cos
|
|
.
|

\
|
' + ' +
'
=
| o | o
|
a
K

Similarly, for vertical wall and horizontal surface of backfill, the Coulomb equation for
passive earth pressure coefficient is:


( )
( ) ( ) ( )
|
|
.
|

\
|
' + '
'
=
| o | o
|
sin sin cos
cos
p
K