LEAP centrifuge tests on retaining walls at Cambridge University

Retaining walls and other waterfront structures were seen to suffer severe damage due to soil liquefaction in previous earthquakes. As part of the LEAP project, cantilever retaining walls with loose, saturated backfill were tested at various centrifuge centres participating in this endeavour. The toe of the retaining wall penetrated about 0.5 m into the dense sand layer underlying the loose sand layer. Retaining walls with different ratios of the retained height h over the penetration depth d were tested. As part of the LEAP project, additional testing was carried out at Cambridge to consider the effect of the wall size on its deformation following liquefaction. It will be shown that a larger wall will suffer more rotation and wall top displacement than a smaller wall with the same h/d ratio. This can have implications for numerical modelling in terms of how well the constitutive models capture the suppressed soil dilatancy at higher confining pressures. •As part of LEAP, three dynamic centrifuge tests were conducted on a retaining wall in liquefiable soil.•The effect of embedment ratios and sizes on the dynamic behaviour of retaining walls and backfill soil is investigated.•Implications are provided for the validation of numerical models based on centrifuge tests conducted at different g-levels.