ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: In engineering practice retaining walls are very frequently used to support, apart from soil layers, structures founded on the retained soil layers. Thus, it is evident that the dynamic response of each component of this complex system (wall, soil, and structure) may affect substantially the response of the rest, and vice versa, during a seismic event. This phenomenon, which could be adequately described as “dynamic wall-soil-structure interaction’’ (DWSSI), is a rather complicated issue that combines: (a) the dynamic interaction between the wall and the retained soil layers, and (b) the “standard’’ dynamic interaction of a structure with its underlying soil layers. In the present study the influence of the wall flexibility on the freefield ground shaking behind the wall is investigated using finite element numerical simulations. Subsequently, a simple structure founded on the retained soil is included in the numerical models. A parametric study is being performed in order to examine at what extend the presence of the wall may affect the inertial accelerations imposed on the structure (with respect to its position and its fundamental eigen-period). In addition, it is investigated how the location and/or the characteristics of the structure may affect the dynamic earth pressures induced on the retaining wall. Despite the fact that there exist many “open issues’’ in DWSSI, the numerical results of the current study provide a clear indication of the direct dynamic interaction between a retaining wall and its retained soil layers and structures.
