Soil-Structure Interaction of Reinforced Concrete Ringwalls in Granular Fill

ABSTRACT: A methodology using soil-structure interaction is proposed to determine the amount of horizontal steel reinforcement of a concrete ringwall. The method requires the determination of the horizontal stress (hoop stress) that is applied on the ringwall, which depends on the steel strain developed by the ringwall horizontal steel reinforcement and the state of earth pressures acting against the ringwall. The determination of the horizontal displacement of the ringwall allows to estimate the development of active earth pressure against the inside face of the ringwall and passive earth pressure against the outside face of the ringwall. A procedure to determine earth pressures for intermediate cases is also discussed, which requires results from triaxial tests. A discussion is included indicating the fallacy of assuming Ko conditions in the design of ringwalls.