assignment is a 4-5 page long research paper(including the cover and the references pages)that will be submitted in the middle of Week #4 of this course. The Library Research Assignment is to be on a...

Free-standing retaining wall designs
A retaining wall can be defined most appropriately using lateral soil pressure. Any wall that is designed to sustain lateral soil pressure is a retaining wall. There are many types of retaining walls. These may be Gravity walls, Piling walls, Cantilever walls, Anchored walls and Freestanding walls.
Freestanding retaining walls are those that do not enjoy any kind of lateral support at the top. Freestanding retaining walls are used at highway underpasses, sometimes in buildings and cuttings and embankments. The structure of freestanding retaining walls needs to be strong with a solid base since they do not have any support.
When such walls are under consideration, various dimensions have to be considered. The most important dimension that require consideration though would be the ground-level difference that the freestanding wall is supposed to support.
Before designing
Before designing free-standing retaining walls, the following aspects require investigation:
(a) Soil stability especially around the wall;
(b) Toughness of the wall being constructed;
(c) Structure of the retaining wall;
(d) Impact of the wall on adjacent structures
Basic pressure
The basic pressure to be considered for free-standing walls can be obtained by adding up all the pressures. This would be equal to -
Normal Loading plus static earth pressure plus water pressure plus pressure due to surcharge
While too much pressure is not good, as a rule the total pressure should not be less than 5kN/m either. Pressures arising from existing constructions or possible future constructions in the area should also be considered to make for a long-standing and durable retaining wall.
The earth pressure experienced by a...