Computer aided design of reinforced concrete retaining walls in earthguake zones by using analytical and finite element methods

SUMMARY Computer Aided Design of Reinforced Concrete Retaining Walls in Earthquake Zones by Using Analytical and Finite Element Methods It is obvious that retaining walls showing constructional properties also need to be constructed against earthquakes. However, according to technical literature such kind of special engineering structures are damaged beyond the acceptable limits because of earthquakes. This shows that earthquake safety of retaining walls are not at the level of contemporary regulations. This situation, if the necessary care at the construction stage is showed, is attributed to calculation procedures used in their designs. The main purpose of this study is forming a reference which can be used in practical applications by merging the information which is generally not sufficient for many cases and scattered in the references with the help of a synthesis work about the reinforced concrete retaining walls, and developing a computer program for designing reinforced concrete retaining walls in earthquake regions according to the regulation of structures to be constructed in disaster regions in Turkey. The study performed for this purpose includes three main and one appendix. In the first chapter, with an synthesis work about retaining walls and calculation of pressures acting on these walls, general information is given including regulation recordings about the structures to be constructed in disaster region. In the second chapter, a computer program developed for the use of analytical and numerical procedures to design reinforced- concrete retaining walls to be constructed in earthquake zones and various numerical applications are performed with this program are given. The main results and suggestions obtained from the whole study are summarised in the third chapter and this last chapter is followed by the list of references and an appendix including source code of a computer program developed for calculation of reinforced concrete cantilever retaining walls in the earthquake regions. The obtained results show that the computer program developed according to the regulation of structures to be constructed in the disaster regions in Turkey gives correct results for numerical applications of retaining walls considered in this study. Key Words: Retaining Walls, Synthesis Work, Earthquake Analysis, Computer Program, Analytical and Numerical Procedures. vn tC YÜKSEKÖ?RETİM KORULU DOKÜMANTASYON MERKEZİ