Centrifuge Modelling of Single-Propped Flexible Retaining Walls Under Seismic Actions

A comprehensive experimental programme consisting of a series of model tests of flexible retaining walls embedded in dry sand was carried out in the geotechnical centrifuge of Cambridge University Engineering Department, in the framework of the ReLUIS project, to obtain data to calibrate simplified and advanced methods of analysis of the behaviour of these structures under seismic actions. Two additional tests have been performed recently; they consist of a model of a pair of retaining walls supported by one level of props near the top and an identical model with one added level of props at dredge level, representing the base slab which is usually in place when an earthquake occurs.. The main results of the actual model test are illustrated in detail and compared to those obtained for the initial ReLUIS research programme, with emphasis on the case of single-propped walls. An interpretation of the experimental results is carried out through the classical pseudo-static approach