• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.63-69
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• 2002

The Second Namsan Tunnel required renovation. The landscape design was conducted as part of the comprehensive programs for renovation. The landscape design covered site analysis, design development, a working drawing and a maintenance plan. In May of 2001, the Second Namsan Tunnel was renovated and reopened to traffic. The tunnel was recreated as a new type of tunnel with function and beauty. The entrance and retaining wall of the tunnel has public character. Users are greatly affected by the entrance and retaining walls along roads. The landscape architect had to find new materials and methods to improve the environment and to combine artwork with the entrance and walls of the tunnel. The surface of the tunnel entrance and retaining walls are artistically treated with ceramic tiles and paint. Various regional characteristics and cultural meaning are symbolically expressed. Or the tunnel entrance from the Joong-gu side, entitled "Glory of the Future", the hibiscus symbolizes the bright and glorious future of Korea. On the retaining walls, entitled "Hope", the promising Joong-gu is symbolized through image of Korean magpies, mountains, rocks, roses, winds and nature. As for the tunnel entrance from the Yongsan-gu side, entitled "Vivid Spirit", pine trees symbolize the Koreans′strong will and an enterprising spirit. On the retaining walls, entitled "Lively Motions", Yongsan-gu is symbolized through image of pigeons, mountains, rocks, roses, winds and clear skys. The entrance and retaining wall of the Second Namsan Tunnel, whose surfaces are treated with tiles and paint with artistic value, would create an atmosphere using large-scale wall paintings. In this artwork, users would perceive a unique sense of place through the symbolic images of the vertical planes of the tunnel.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2002.03a
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• pp.541-548
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• 2002

This paper presents the results of stability analyses on soil-reinforced segmental retaining walls in a tiered arrangement. As-built design sections of four different walls were analyzed within the context of the limit equilibrium-based current design guidelines. The appropriateness of the original designs were then evaluated. Slope stability analyses against the compound failure mode, which Is frequently Ignored during design, were additionally peformed based on the method recommended by FHWA design guideline. The results indicate that the as-built designs of most of the walls examined do not meet the minimum factors of safety for the external and internal stabilities, and for the compound failure mode. The implications of the findings from this study are discussed.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.237-251
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• 2021

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the performance of the proposed hybrid teaching-learning based optimization algorithm on the optimum design of reinforced concrete (RC) cantilever retaining walls. For this purpose, three different design examples are optimized with 100 independent runs considering continuous and discrete variables. In order to determine the algorithm performance, the optimization results were compared with the outcomes of the nine powerful meta-heuristic algorithms applied to this problem, previously: the big bang-big crunch (BB-BC), the biogeography based optimization (BBO), the flower pollination (FPA), the grey wolf optimization (GWO), the harmony search (HS), the particle swarm optimization (PSO), the teaching-learning based optimization (TLBO), the jaya (JA), and Rao-3 algorithms. Moreover, Rao-1 and Rao-2 algorithms are applied to this design problem for the first time. The objective function is defined as minimizing the total material and labor costs including concrete, steel, and formwork per unit length of the cantilever retaining walls subjected to the requirements of the American Concrete Institute (ACI 318-05). Furthermore, the effects of peak ground acceleration value on minimum total cost is investigated using various stem height, surcharge loads, and backfill slope angle. Finally, the most robust results were obtained by HTLBO with 50 populations. Consequently the optimization results show that, depending on the increase in PGA value, the optimum cost of RC cantilever retaining walls increases smoothly with the stem height but increases rapidly with the surcharge loads and backfill slope angle.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 1999.11c
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• pp.69-83
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• 1999

Soil-reinforced segmental retaining walls(SRW) have been proven to be high earthquake-resistant structure during recent earthquakes in United States and Japan. The mechanicals behavior of the SRWs under seismic loading, however, has not been fully understood. Although the seismic design issues for the civil engineering structures have gained much attention in Korea due to the increase in frequency of earthquake occurrence, the seismic design for the SRWs has not been being implemented. This study has been undertaken with the aim of developing a more rational seismic design/analysis method for soil-reinforced segmental retaining walls. This paper present fundamentals of current seismic design/analysis method and the results of a comparative study between NCMA and FHWA design guidelines, Practical implications of the findings from this study are discussed in great detail.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.111-127
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• 2013

In this paper, a new version of gravitational search algorithm based on opposition-based learning (OBGSA) is introduced and applied for optimum design of reinforced concrete retaining walls. The new algorithm employs the opposition-based learning concept to generate initial population and updating agents' position during the optimization process. This algorithm is applied to minimize three objective functions include weight, cost and $CO_2$ emissions of retaining structure subjected to geotechnical and structural requirements. The optimization problem involves five geometric variables and three variables for reinforcement setups. The performance comparison of the new OBGSA and classical GSA algorithms on a suite of five well-known benchmark functions illustrate a faster convergence speed and better search ability of OBGSA for numerical optimization. In addition, the reliability and efficiency of the proposed algorithm for optimization of retaining structures are investigated by considering two design examples of retaining walls. The numerical experiments demonstrate that the new algorithm has high viability, accuracy and stability and significantly outperforms the original algorithm and some other methods in the literature.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.525-545
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• 2020

This paper presents a new structural system to use as retaining walls. In civil works, there is a general trend to use traditional reinforced concrete (RC) retaining walls to resist soil pressure. Despite their good resistance, RC retaining walls have some disadvantages such as need for huge temporary formworks, high dense reinforcing, low construction speed, etc. In the present work, a composite wall with only one steel plate (steel-concrete) is proposed to address the disadvantages of the RC walls. In the proposed system, steel plate is utilized not only as tensile reinforcement but also as a permanent formwork for the concrete. In order to evaluate the efficiency of the proposed SC composite system, an experimental program that includes nine SC composite wall specimens is developed. In this experimental study, the effects of different parameters such as distance between shear connectors, length of shear connectors, concrete ultimate strength, use of compressive steel plate and compressive steel reinforcement are investigated. In addition, a 3D finite element (FE) model for SC composite walls is proposed using the finite element program ABAQUS and load-displacement curves from FE analyses were compared against results obtained from physical testing. In all cases, the proposed FE model is reasonably accurate to predict the behavior of SC composite walls under out-of-plane loads. Results from experimental work and numerical study show that the SC composite wall system has high strength and ductile behavior under flexural loads. Furthermore, the design equations based on ACI code for calculating out-ofplate flexural and shear strength of SC composite walls are presented and compared to experimental database.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.7 no.6
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• pp.909-935
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• 2014

The seismic characteristics of two semi-gravity reinforced concrete cantilever retaining walls are examined via an experimental program using an outdoor shake table (one with and the other without concrete masonry sound wall on top). Both walls are backfilled with compacted soil and supported on flexible foundation in a steel soil container. The primary damages during both tests are associated with significant lateral displacements of the wall caused by lateral earth pressure; however, no collapse occurs during the tests. The pressure distribution behind the walls has a nonlinear trend and conventional methods such as Mononobe-Okabe are insufficient for accurate pressure estimation.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.329-341
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• 2024

Retaining structures are one of the most important elements in the stabilization of excavations and slopes in various engineering projects. Mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls are widely used as retaining structures due to their flexibility, easy and economical construction. These benefits are especially prominent for projects built on soft and weak foundation soils, which have relatively low resistance and high compressibility. For high retaining walls on weak foundations, conventional design methods are not cost-effective. Therefore, two alternative solutions for different foundation weakness are proposed in this research: optimized multi-tiered MSE walls and single tier wall with foundation improvement. The cost optimization considers both the construction components and the land price. The results show that the optimal solution depends on several factors, including the foundation strength and more importantly, the land price. For low land price, the optimized multi-tiered wall is more economical, while for high land price (urban areas), the foundation improvement is preferable. As the foundation strength decreases, the foundation improvement becomes inevitable.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2003.06a
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• pp.3.1-11
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• 2003

Recently the problems related to the failure of the retaining wall structure has become great concern since the damage to the properties and human losses have occurred in the rainy season. However, a detail guideline on safety inspection and appropriate diagnosis on the retaining wall structure have not yet proposed and therefore, the inspection process and results are mainly dependant upon the engineers. The objective of this study is to propose objective and quantitative evaluation method for the condition based on the damage shapes and material types. In this purpose, composing materials of retaining wall are divided Into concrete, gabion, stone and reinforced earth, and then the evaluation items and method are suggested on the basis of the materials and structural characteristics of the retaining wall.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.13 no.7
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• pp.5-12
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• 2012

Recently the installation of reinforced earth retaining walls in the domestic construction site has increased, surpassing conventional RC walls. These reinforced walls have various types depending on the reinforcing material, installation method and the form of face panel. However, there are difficulties in design and construction management due to the unproved safety of construction method. In case of reinforcing materials, despite the fact that they come in all different sizes and types produced by small businesses or partially imported with cheap price and low quality, no proper standards for designing the walls have been suggested. In order to apply reinforced retaining wall system to broad cases and design the walls effectively considering site conditions, specific design and construction guidelines for efficient construction management are needed. In conclusion, this study verified that reduction factors can be greatly affected by grain sizes and stiffness of backfill materials and granularity range, therefore in case of relatively large construction site, it is required to redesign the reinforced retaining wall by evaluating site installation resistance test, applying respective reduction factors to each backfill material and select the right geogrid depending on the usage of retaining wall so as to enhance the safety of reinforced earth retaining walls with efficiency.