Retaining Walls - Design of Reinforced Concrete - page 394

The cantilever retaining wall or one of its variations is the most common type of re-
taining wall. Such walls are generally used for heights from about 10 to 25 ft. In dis-
cussing retaining walls, the vertical wall is referred to as the stem . The outside part of the
footing that is pressed down into the soil is called the toe , while the part that tends to be
lifted is called the heel . These parts are indicated for the cantilever retaining wall of Fig-
ure 13.1(c). The concrete and its reinforcing are so arranged that part of the material be-
hind the wall is used along with the concrete weight to produce the necessary resisting
moment against overturning. This resisting moment is generally referred to as the righting
moment .
When it is necessary to construct retaining walls of greater heights than approxi-
mately 20 to 25 ft, the bending moments at the junction of the stem and footing become
so large that the designer will, from economic necessity, have to consider other types of
walls to handle the moments. This can be done by introducing vertical cross walls on the
Figure 13.2 More retaining walls.