A Study on Causes and Stability of Masonry Retaining Walls by Case Analysis

Abstract

Masonry retaining walls, which have been used since long time, have recently been widely used in the construction of small complexesas an easy-to-purchase material and eco-friendly structure. Disasters owing to the collapse of these masonry retaining walls have frequently occurred over time. The purpose of this study is to quantitatively evaluate the causes for the collapse of masonry retainingwalls by collecting and analyzing collapse data using collapse phenomenon field trips, literature review, and search tools, and to use this analysis data, to suggest measures to prevent the collapse of masonry retaining walls. As a result of collecting and analyzing collapse case data, this study found that the main causes of masonry retaining wall collapse were the loss of foundation ground (scour), ground displacement owing to the excavation of adjacent land, settlement owing to ground softening because of rainfallinfiltration, poor drainage, and inclination of stonework. The causes for collapse were of eight types, including slope sliding additionalloading, and vibration, and 16 types when literature data were included. An analysis of the collapse frequency based on the causes for collapse revealed that the two causes for collapse, foundation and drainage, accounted for approximately 60% of the total cause,and measures for stability and Governing law of critical factor were proposed using this result.