Tutorial 1: Cantilever Retaining Wall

Example 17.1 - Principles of Foundation Engineering. Braja Das.

Calculate the factors of safety for overturning, sliding, and bearing capacity of the cantilever wall shown in the picture.

1. Whether you are in My workspace or in a project’s work location, go to the App.
2. On the left panel, locate the Models list and click the New model button to open the menu. Then, select Retaining Wall and choose the Cantilever wall template.
   

1. On the right panel, locate the Type of analysis section and make sure the Block by block analysis switch is set to off.
   

1. In the Foundation soil section, turn on the Include passive earth pressure (sliding only) switch. Then, enter the values for Cohesion, Friction angle, Unit weight, and Embedment depth.
   

1. In the Backfill section, enter the values for Surface angle and Water table level.
2. Expand Layer 1 by clicking on it, then enter the values for Cohesion, Friction angle, Unit weight, Saturated unit weight, and Thickness. Choose a Color for the soil and click the button to save changes.
   

1. In the Structure section, enter the Unit weight of the structure material (e.g., concrete).
   
2. No additional structural elements are needed. Expand Element 1 by clicking on it, select Trapezoid as the Geometry, and input the values for Upper base, Lower base, Height, Internal wall angle, and Offset. Click the button to save changes. Repeat the process for Element 2, which is a rectangle.
   

1. Once all parameters are set, verify that the structure appears as expected.
2. Click the icon at the top of the right panel to run the model.
3. The Results tab will be enabled and will display the analysis results.
   

Below is a summary of key variables and their expected versus obtained values.

The difference in the Factor of safety for bearing capacity is due to the fact that the book calculates $F_{cd}$ using $B'$ instead of $B$, which is not recommended according to its own criterion expressed in Chapter 6.11.

• Das, B. M., & Sivakugan, N. (2018). Principles of Foundation Engineering.