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person123
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- Are the calculations for a retaining wall different when it is around an enclosed area?
Normally when designing a retaining wall, you check for failure due to sliding, overturning, and insufficient bearing capacity. However, if I have a retaining wall which is around an enclosed pit, it doesn't seem reasonable to perform the same checks for sliding and overturning (the retaining wall is continuous concrete around the perimeter, not four separate walls). With overturning for example, you have the entire weight of the wall countering the moment in addition to the soil on the opposite side. Instead, it seems important to check for whether the wall would cave in as shown below, from a plan view. Is this correct, or is there something I'm not understanding?
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