No.

11 of 19
Reinforced Segmental Retaining Walls
by
Dr. Richard J. Bathurst
GeoEngineering Centre at Queens - RMC
Royal Military College of Canada

The information presented in this document has been reviewed by the Education
Committee of the International Geosynthetics Society and is believed to fairly represent
the current state of practice.

However, the International Geosynthetics Society does not accept any liability arising in
any way from use of the information presented.
 segmental
facing units
shear key or
mechanical
connector
geosynthetic
reinforcement
layer reinforced soil

geotextile
wrapped drain
retained soil

granular
levelling pad

foundation soil
 Example masonry
concrete segmental
retaining wall units
(Bathurst and Simac
1994)

Not to scale
Facing Blocks Being Cast
Different Styles of Facing
Blockwork wall in S E Asia
Wall in Residential Development
 800
Gravity
700
Walls
600

500 Crib / Bin Walls

400 MSE (Metals)

300

200 MSE
(Geosynthetics)
100

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Height of wall (m)
Koerner et al. 1998
Blockwork Wall Adjacent to Highway
Construction of Walls
Codes and Design Standards
 NCMA Design Manual (1996)

comprehensive set of guidelines for

design, analysis, construction and
specification of routine geosynthetic
reinforced segmental retaining walls
methodologies extend conventional and
widely accepted limit-equilibrium methods
of analysis used in geotechnical
engineering applications to segmental
walls
quantify performance differences between
nominally identical modular block walls
constructed with different facing units
standard test methods for connection
performance and interface shear
Dr. R.J. Bathurst
Modes of Failure

External

a) base sliding b) overturning c) bearing capacity

(excessive settlement)

Internal
d) pullout e) tensile over-stress f) internal sliding

Facing

g) connection h) column shear failure i) toppling

failure
External Modes of Failure

L
a) base sliding b) overturning c) bearing capacity
(excessive settlement)
Internal Modes of Failure

d) pullout e) tensile over-stress f) internal sliding

Facing Modes of Failure

g) connection failure h) column shear failure i) toppling

Global Stability
Typical Factors of Safety Against
(Collapse) Failure Mechanisms
a) Base sliding 1.5
b) Overturning 2.0
c) Bearing capacity 2.0
d) Tensile over-stress 1.0
e) Pullout 1.5
f) Internal sliding 1.5
g) Connection failure 1.5
h) Column shear failure 1.5
i) Toppling 2.0

Global stability 1.3 - 1.5

Construction
Details
Wall Construction
Locking Bar
General view
on Wall
During
Construction
Placing Facing Blocks
Wall Ties Fixing False Facing
Locking Geogrid Between Blocks
Safety Barriers at Top of Wall
Completed Wall with Fence
Examples Of Finished Structures
Examples Of Finished Structures
Examples Of Finished Structures