Bizarre retaining wall detail

[MIStructE_IRE]

Saw this on the Reddit structural engineering forum.

Has anyone ever seen anything like this? Apparently its been built now.. Can’t say I’ll be copying the detail anytime soon!

 

[jayrod12]

Assuming competent rock, I guess it could work. But I get the heebie jeebies about relying on epoxy for that amount of tension. That wall looks pretty tall.

 

[KootK]

There's a lot there to potentially not like:

1) Offset lap between dowel below and rebar above. There are transvers bars it seems.

2) Dowel reduces flexural lever arm of wall.

3) Detail doesn't actually locate the dowels.

4) Shear transfer is via friction through 20 MPa infill and pure dowel action maybe. Unless the SOG is doing that.

5) Shear breakout of the dowel if it's not a shear friction thing.

Not saying that it's impossible but I'd sure want to see testing or detailed calcs before giving it the okay.

 

[JStructsteel]

#5's @ 12" o.c. developed 16" into concrete. Based on a 8' tall wall. Plausible. Even more fun is drilling 40" holes into rock, 7/8" diameter.

Dont know how long that wall is, but thats alot of drilling and epoxy.

 

[Settingsun]

I've come across a wall that was presumed to be of this nature but no drawings were available so exact details not known. It lasted over 50 years before collapsing due to undermining. Like many wall failures, it was raining at the time so possibly blocked drains as well. About 4m tall at the highest point and generally over 3.2 from memory.