Buy article PDF
The purchased file will be sent to you
via email after the payment is completed.
US$ 35
|
Computers and Concrete Volume 35, Number 2, February 2025 , pages 203-217 DOI: https://doi.org/10.12989/cac.2025.35.2.203 |
|
|
|
Reliability-based design optimization of gravity retaining walls |
||
Noureddine Rhayma, Mohamed Khorchani and Pierre Breul
|
||
| Abstract | ||
| Reliability-Based Design Optimization (RBDO) allows designers to minimize cost function while guaranteeing minimal performances cast as admissible failure probabilities related to some performance functions. Uncertainties in the geotechnical design exist in estimating in-situ engineering soil properties and determining subsoil profiles. Due to the uncertain properties of backfill soil and also foundation soil, the stability evaluation of retaining walls must take in consideration uncertainties in the structural design of the wall (Juang 2013). RBDO based on the first order reliability method (FORM) is presented in this paper for gravity retaining wall design. In the first part, we will focus on the choice of the better RBDO method to be used to optimize the shape of the wall taking into account variability of backfill and the soil support layer two variants of retaining wall are compared. The second part of this paper is dedicated to some parametric analyses. Through original parametric studies to evaluate the effect of the random variables (r.v.) distribution, r.v. dispersion and correlalations betwen r.v. etc., we prove that the variability of soil parameters should not be neglected as most works in this context. We even performed an optimization considering the variability of design variables (it corresponds to execution defects and are rarely taken into account in the literature) and evaluated their costs on the implementation of the structure. Rather, it should be accepted as a positive contribution to geotechnical design, as its modeling and consistent use lead, with limited additional calculations and conceptual effort on the part of the designer, to a more reliable and economical design. | ||
| Key Words | ||
| gravity wall; MPA; RBDO; retaining wall; RIA; weight optimization | ||
| Address | ||
| Noureddine Rhayma and Mohamed Khorchani: 1) Department of civil engineering, National School of Engineering of Gabes, University of Gabes, Tunisia, 2) Mechanical Modelling, Energy & Materials (M2EM) Laboratory, LR24ES23, ENIG, University of Gabes. Gabes, Tunisia Pierre Breul: Institut Pascal - UMR CNRS, Clermont Auvergne INP, Clermont Auvergne University, Clermont-Ferrand, France | ||