Module 6: Earthquake resistant retaining wall design
About this document
Introduction
Module 6 of the Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering Practice guidelines covers the principles of the seismic design of retaining walls of a routine nature throughout New Zealand and should be used in conjunction with established handbooks which cover other aspects of retaining wall design in all situations and soil conditions.
Contents
Developed jointly by MBIE and the New Zealand Geotechnical Society, Module 6 is part of the Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering Practice series and relates specifically to earthquake-resistant retaining wall design.
High level changes in this version include
- Updates and additions to:
- Section 4: Performance objectives for retaining structures with earthquake loading
- Section 5: Seismic design parameters
- Section 6 : Design of new retaining structures - inclusion of explicit consideration of mechanically stabilised earth walls
- Appendix B: Worked example 1 - Changes made to worked example 1, design of cantilever pole retaining walls to resist earthquake loading, to reflect new analysis from John Wood
- Appendix E: Worked example 4 - Changes made to worked example 4, design of a tied-back retaining wall to resist earthquake loading to include higher wall dimensions
- Minor content revisions, clarifications and updates, including consideration and incorporation of relevant existing feedback
- Updated Reference section.
Previous version
View the previous version (Version 0)
Resources
Other resources that are available include:
- New Zealand Dam Safety Guidelines (2015) on the New Zealand Society on Large Dams website
- Bridge Manual on the New Zealand Transport Association website
- Tied-back walls and soil nailed walls on the US Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration website.