Crib and Modular Retaining walls

Crib walls
Crib walls are very adaptable They come in treated wood, fabricated steel, or reinforced concrete. They can be built in complex curves They can be assemble from a kit with little skilled labor.

 They usually lean against a slope to provide passive resistance and thus a batter angle

 Plant growth in the wall helps with excess seepage and noise prevention and looks less imposing

 This crib wall was built in a creek The picture on the right is one year later

 Fire retardant and termites could be are necessity to treat wood cribs

 Their joints allow for expansion and contraction in different seasons. Which would crack any large gravity wall

 Back fill should be course but not susceptible to frost that could cause expansion and more lateral force

 This crib wall is 100% recycled waste polymer

Japanese crib wall Bamboo crib wall

 They work from bottom to top and compact a new layer with each level. Note the batter angle and backfill step on the top to absorb water

Design Problems

Massive structures that require a lot of backfill and compaction cribs are relativly indifferent to settlement

The silo theory is used in the design of the crib units and takes into account the pressure from compaction in the cell that needs to be equal to the pressure from the back. The designer builds the headers and stretchers to with stand these forces.

Modular walls

When people think about earth retaining structures they think about these walls

The definition of modular walls is so broad that any material could be used as one. It is its function that puts it in its own class

They don t require skilled labor For most of the projects it s used doesn't require any

 It is preferred to use blocks that can withstand lots of pressure and look good doing it

Who says you must conform?

There are many companies who have developed methods to get ahead of the competition

More Allan blocks

Pisa 2

And Boral

Each company has a geographic advantage that the others can t compete in besides their design differences

They are very easy to construct and can be integrated with other systems for added strength such as geogrid and tie backs to name a few

Conclusion
These types of walls are the most abundant and require the least engineering know how, but with the use of other earth retaining techniques such as tie backs, rebar, micro piles, and geogid, they can adapt easily to situations where complex systems would be more favorable.

Questions?