Bearing capacity failure of tied-back walls - a complex case of soil-wall interaction

The paper presents a study of bearing capacity failures of tied-back walls induced by vertical forces applied by the anchors. A review of some failures or incidents and small scale test results as well as an attempt of numerical simulation of a “case history” are included. Subsequently, a simple numerical case study is analysed in order to identify the main features of that mode of failure and the parameters that govern the response of the system. Emphasis is put on the mobilization of the skin resistance on both wall faces. Some practical conclusions are extracted.