Joints in Retaining Walls, again...
Joints in Retaining Walls, again...
(OP)
Good day all,
We are building a retaining wall along the sea front so the wall will be continously exposed to sea water spray, its in a very windy area and thus very aggressive environment for concrete.
The wall is total about 300m long. I am thinking of placing joints at 6m centres. My questions are:
1. Should I have rebar running through the joint so that, in time there is no differential movement between wall sections?
2. If so, is this not a bad detail in such a corrosive environment, of course there will be a joint sealant which should ensure no moisture gets to the rebar, but there is no guarentee the sealnt will be maintained in yeras to come.
3. Should rebar have to run accross joints, should these then be stainless steel dowels?
4. What about no joints, controlling cracking by placement of a large amount of horizontal distribution steel, is this an option?
Thanks for your opinions and advice
We are building a retaining wall along the sea front so the wall will be continously exposed to sea water spray, its in a very windy area and thus very aggressive environment for concrete.
The wall is total about 300m long. I am thinking of placing joints at 6m centres. My questions are:
1. Should I have rebar running through the joint so that, in time there is no differential movement between wall sections?
2. If so, is this not a bad detail in such a corrosive environment, of course there will be a joint sealant which should ensure no moisture gets to the rebar, but there is no guarentee the sealnt will be maintained in yeras to come.
3. Should rebar have to run accross joints, should these then be stainless steel dowels?
4. What about no joints, controlling cracking by placement of a large amount of horizontal distribution steel, is this an option?
Thanks for your opinions and advice






RE: Joints in Retaining Walls, again...
As far as differential movement on either side of the joint, you can get different opinions on that. Some engineers like to place in smooth dowels (stainless if necessary), embedded in one side and in a sleeve on the other. I prefer nothing. If you're getting forces enough to move the walls differently, the dowels are not effective. Retaining walls are designed deflect uniformly and I would trust that.
As far as sealants, some are very good, but by their nature you're only going to get 20 years out of them. Maintenance is vital.
RE: Joints in Retaining Walls, again...
Make sure you have lots of cover to main reinforcing... 2-1/2" to 3" is not too much... For permanence, can you use HDG rebar?.. I don't like epoxy bars...
Stainless steel dowels sounds like a plan; make sure you pick the right SS...
I've not done much in marine environments... maybe someone else can fill in the blanks...
Dik
RE: Joints in Retaining Walls, again...
RE: Joints in Retaining Walls, again...
RE: Joints in Retaining Walls, again...
RE: Joints in Retaining Walls, again...
RE: Joints in Retaining Walls, again...