Reliability Analysis of a Semi-gravity Retaining Wall Designed to Eurocode 7

T. C. Nwofor; B. Worlu; M.C. Ezegbirika

Abstract

This research investigated the structural integrity of a semi-gravity retaining wall when subjected to potential sliding and overturning failures, while adhering to the guidelines outlined in Eurocode 7. It is widely acknowledged that the factor of safety alone is insufficient for risk assessment, and previous research has demonstrated the challenges in identifying how much safer a retaining wall becomes as the factor of safety increases. The dependability index, the element of safety, and the failure probability are all investigated in this study. This relationship was investigated by varying the height and bottom width of the wall, which were controlled by Eurocode 7 limit state functions in sliding and overturning. In the first order reliability approach (FORM), the Hasofer-Lind formulation was used. While Microsoft Excel was used for the reliability analysis technique, the results of the extra analysis showed that the reliability index was a better predictor of failure than the factor of safety in both cases of sliding and overturning failure of the retaining wall. While the factor of safety would either remain constant (as in the case of overturning failure with varying bottom widths) or show a smaller change in values In instances of sliding failure with varied bottom widths, the analysis revealed a consistent relationship: as the reliability index increased, the probability of failure consistently decreased.