Numerical Optimization of Relief-Shelf Retaining Walls for Stabilization of Seismic and Rainfall-Sensitive Hill Slopes under Combined Loading
Abstract
Abstract Steep urban hill slopes are particularly vulnerable to instability when surcharge, groundwater and seismic actions act simultaneously, yet retaining-wall design is often evaluated using isolated loading conditions. This study develops a numerical framework for assessing and optimizing cantilever retaining-wall configurations for stabilization of a steep slope adjacent to Naini Lake, Uttarakhand, India. A two-dimensional finite-element model was developed in Optum G2 using the Mohr-Coulomb constitutive model and the Strength Reduction Method to evaluate factor of safety, displacement and stress response. Eight loading scenarios incorporating self-weight, building and vehicular surcharge, groundwater, and pseudo-static seismic loading were investigated. The natural slope exhibited a factor of safety of 1.508, which progressively decreased with increasing environmental and structural demands and reached 0.859 under simultaneous groundwater, surcharge and seismic loading. Retaining-wall location strongly influenced stabilization efficiency, with placement near the termination of the critical failure surface producing superior performance. Addition of a shear key provided a further but limited improvement, whereas relief shelves produced greater reductions in deformation and stress. The results demonstrate the importance of failure-surface-informed wall placement and relief-shelf geometry for resilient stabilization of complex hill slopes subjected to coupled hydraulic,…
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