Model test on the load bearing mechanism of inclined pile-sheet retaining wall

The inclined pile-sheet retaining wall differs from the traditional pile-sheet retaining wall in the stress and distribution of earth pressure behind the wall because of the inclination of the retaining plates. Its mechanism is unclear while its existing design and calculation method are limited. This study therefore conducted 6 groups of indoor physical model tests of the retaining wall with different inclination angles of the retaining plate to explore the mechanism of inclined pile-sheet retaining wall. Specifically, we investigated the deformation and failure characteristics under a horizontal load and analyzed the effect of the inclination angle on the internal forces acting on the pile and plate. Results show that, under horizontal load, larger inclination angle of the retaining plate led to increasing bending moment acting on the pile. The effect of the inclination angle on the bending moment increased significantly with the increasing depth of the pile. The bending moment reached its maximum in the middle of the retaining plate and decreased toward both sides, showing a parabolic distribution. It increased with increasing inclination angle of the retaining plate. The surface stress on the soil side of the retaining plate first increased and then decreased along the depth of the pile. It increased with rising inclination angle. Hence, the inclination angle significantly affects the load-bearing mechanism of the sheet pile wall. Moreover, larger inclination angle leads to higher load-bearing capacity of the sheet pile wall. The straight pile-sheet retaining wall shows a higher bearing capacity than the inclined pile-sheet retaining wall.