SEISMIC ANALYSIS AND BEHAVIOUR OF GRAVITY RETAINING WALLS : THE CASE OF KALAMATA HARBOUR QUAYWALL

The case of the seismic behaviour of Kalamata harbour quaywall during the large Kalamatas earthquake (M s = 6.2, 13.9.86) is used for a systematic critical review of the different design methods of gravity retaining walls. The overall wall behaviour is studied with a two dimensional finite element model. The classical procedures of a seismic design of gravity walls based on the «limited strength» criterion (Mononobe-Okabe method), and the more recent methods based upon the concept of «acceptable limited displacement» (Richards and Elms), have also been applied. All the results are compared with the existing measurements