Behaviour of retaining walls which are constructed in saturated clay soil under dynamic loads

In this study, behavior of retaining walls constructed in clay soil has been determined under static and dynamic loads. Analyses of static and dynamic behavior of gravity and centilever walls have been done by Plaxis 2D software packet program. The heights of the walls are selected such as 5 m, 10 m and 15 m. Active earth pressure are calculated by Rankine Active Earth Pressure Theory. Factor of safeties such as overturning, sliding and bearing capacity are selected 2.0, 1.5 and 3.0, respectively. Three different earthquake loads such as Van, Turkey, Petrolia-California, ABD and Volcano-Hawaii, ABD are chosen to determine the dynamic behavior of walls. Records of earthquake loads were taken "United States Geological Survey" (USGS) official web site. Format of earthquake records is "strong motion CD" (.smc) due to Plaxis 2D software packet program. As a result of analyses, 5.0 m and 10 m heights of retaining walls can be safely constructed in the earthquake zones having the magnitude up to 7.0. 15 m height of retaning walls can not be safely constructed due to the insufficient wall diamentions.