Effect of Grouting, Concrete Cover, and Combined Reinforcement on Masonry Retaining Walls

Masonry retaining walls used in civil engineering projects, such as highway embankments and slope protections, easily crack due to complex internal pore structures and exposure to harsh environmental conditions. To address these problems, practical reinforcement methods, including grouting reinforcement, concrete cover reinforcement, and combined reinforcement, were proposed to maintain retaining walls in this study. Nine cases of different reinforcement schemes were adopted to investigate the effects of grouting volumes, grouting hole numbers, and reinforcement methods. The results showed that as the grouting volume and grouting hole numbers increased, the cracks occurred at a lower height, showing a higher moment resistance capacity. In addition, the cracking moment was enhanced with a thicker concrete cover. Furthermore, combined grouting and concrete cover reinforcement improved the structural integrity and showed the best performance, in which the failure mode shifted from brittle to ductile. However, concrete cover reinforcement is associated with a higher price and longer construction cycle. Thus, decisions should be made depending on the engineering requirement.

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