11

Water-retaining Structures and

Retaining Walls
The design of both of these types of structure is based on fundamental principles
and analysis techniques which have been discussed in previous chapters. Because
of their specialised nature, however, design is often governed by factors which
may be regarded as secondary in normal reinforced concrete work. Such structures
are relatively common, in one form or another, and hence justify coverage in some
detail.

11.1 Water-retaining Structures

This category inc1udes those which are required to contain, or exc1ude, any non-
aggressive aqueous liquid. Since water is that most commonly involved, however,
the rather loose title is frequently used to describe such structures. Common
structures of this type include water towers and reservoirs, storage tanks inc1uding
sewage disposal and treatment systems, and floors and walls of basements and
other underground constructions where it is necessary to prevent ingress of
groundwater.
As it is important to restrain cracking so that leakages do not take place the
design is gene rally governed by the requirements of the serviceability limit state,
but stability considerations are particularly important and design must take
careful ac count of the construction methods to be used. British Standard Code
of Practice BS 8007 offers guidance on the design and construction of this
category of structure, and is based on a limit state philosophy as embodied in
BS 8110.
Elastic design methods have traditionally been used, and these are also sum-
marised in this chapter although not inc1uded in BS 8007.
Code of Practice BS 8007 recommends modifications to the detailed limit
State design requirements of BS 8110, with the principal features being:
(a) Use of r f = 1.4 for liquid loads.
(b) Use. of concrete grade C35A (this has a maximum water/cement ratio of

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 WATER-RETAINING STRUCTURES AND RETAINING WALLS 297
0.55 and minimum cement content of 325 kgjm 3 - that is, durability
performance comparable to grade C4O).
(c) Exposure classification of internal members and both faces of members
exposed to liquid on at least one face is severe, giving minimum cover of
40 mm. If a more severe exposure condition exists, BS 8110 durability
requirements may dominate.
(d) Maximum crack width limited to 0.2 mm unless the aesthetic appearance
iscritical, when 0.1 mm is required to avoid staining of the concrete.
(e) Maximum bar spacing of 300 mm.
(f) Anchorage bond stresses for straight horizontal bars in sections subjected
to direct tension must be reduced to 70 per cent of the usual values.
(g) At least 75 mm blinding concrete is required below ground slabs.
Design procedures are aimed primarily at providing appropriate combinations of
movement joints and reinforcement to limit crack widths to the required values.

11.1.1 Design and Construction Problems

To ensure a watertight structure the concrete must be adequately reinforced in
sections where tension may occur. For this reason it is irnportant to be able to
envisage the deflected shape of the structure and its individual elements. Tensile
stresses due to any direct tensile forces as well as those due to bending must be
incIuded in the design calculations.
Continuity reinforcement to prevent cracking must be provided at corners and
at member junctions. This reinforcement must extend well beyond where it is
required to resist the tensile stresses, particularly when these stresses occur on the
face in contact with the liquid.
The design should consider the cases where the structure is full of liquid
(allowing for blocked outlets) and also when it is empty. The structure when empty
must have the strength to withstand the active pressure of any retained earth.
Since the passive resistance of the earth is never certain to be acting, it should
generally be ignored when designing for the structure full.
Cracking may occur not only from flexure and shrinkage, but also from sub-
sidence and in some areas earthquakes. Careful attention must thus be given to
geological aspects of a proposed site and in particular to the possibilities of
differential settlement. It may sometimes be necessary to provide movement
joints to cater for this, in addition to expansion and contraction joints required
to allow for thermal and shrinkage movements. Flexural cracking can be control-
led by careful design and detailing and is discussed in chapter 6, while shrinkage
and thermal effects can be reduced considerably by careful attention to the
construction factors listed in section 1.3.
With a thick section, the heat generated by hydration cannot readily be dis-
sipated, and the resulting temperature rise in the body of the concrete may be
considerable. In addition to the normal precautions, it may be necessary to use
low-heat cements and to restrict the size of pours, for example. Experimental
work has shown that in walls and slabs greater than 500 mm in thickness, the
outer 250 mm on each face may be regarded as the surface zone and the remainder
as core. Minimum reinforcement quantities to control thermal and shrinkage
cracking should thus be based on a maximum member thickness of 500 mm.