Stone Masonry Retaining Wall 4

[LQQD]

Hi all,
I've been asked to design a stone masonry gravity retaining wall (rocks + mortar) 9.6 feet tall.
I know EN 1996 (Eurocode) covers stone masonry, is there any American code for this?
Thanks!
SGR

 

[GC_Hopi]

You need a competent tradesman. Stone walls are highly dependent of the material and labor. There is some basic information the design code, TMS 402. Here is a article and trade organization. Link Link

 

[STrctPono]

We still do lots of natural rock (basalt rock) gravity walls with mortared joints in my location. It's still a very popular design choice due to the abundance of basalt rock and the presence of lots of stone masons that were trained in that art. They can actually be very durable walls if properly designed. Unfortunately, they many times get improperly designed and built by Contractors. The Achilles heel for these walls is improper geometric proportioning.

The design for gravity walls is covered under IBC in terms of overturning, sliding, and bearing pressure factor of safety. The caveat with unreinforced mortared stone walls is that there is an additional requirement to ensure they are proportionally sized so as not to overstress the mortar joints. This does not come from any US code book that I am aware of. Take this for what is is worth, but the State DOT that we do lots of work for has the following requirement for unreinforced mortared rock retaining walls. This is what I use whenever I design one.

Compressive Stress (Under any loading condition) = 100 psi
Tensile Stress (Under sustained loads only) = 0 psi
Tensile Stress (With extreme event loads) = 10 psi

 

[dik]

I did a stone one in Atlanta, Georgia about 45 years back... was ashlar gravity wall about 15' tall if memory serves... first exposure to a southern accent. I thought TV exaggerated it to 'sell'... not at all, they toned it down so TV viewers could understand it... some funny stories from back then...

Rather than think climate change and the corona virus as science, think of it as the wrath of God. Feel any better?

-Dik

 

[Canuck65]

Look up "Rockery Design and Construction Guidelines" by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. FHWA-CFL/TD-06-006 (there might be a newer version). Lots of good info

 

[bridgebuster]

This is a link to the FHWA rockery manual:

Link