Review on retaining walls performance during earthquakes

ABSTRACT: Seismic design of earth retaining structures can be performed using different methods, relying on analytical or numerical solutions, and associated with several underlying assumptions regarding the performance of the structures and the failure mechanisms. However, there remain questions regarding the applicability in practice and field performance of each method. Post-earthquake reconnaissance missions provide insights into the performance of earth retaining structures during earthquakes and offer the opportunity to evaluate and validate the different design methods. This paper presents a review of case histories of the performance of earth retaining structures under seismic loading. The case histories combine different types of walls and geological settings and are retrieved from post-earthquake reconnaissance mission reports and scientific publications. This review aims to provide a broad dataset that will enhance the current understanding of retaining wall failure mechanisms and the accuracy of existing methods and provide data that can be used to validate future design methods.