A finite element analysis for the stability of drystone masonry retaining walls

Masonry-faced walls are common in many countries, particularly in hilly areas. Many of these structures are used to support highways or buildings. The stability of a drystone retaining wall is likely to depend on factors not being taken into account in conventional methods of analysis, for example in a limit equilibrium analysis, because the deformation behaviour of a drystone wall involves:

For such types of structure, a numerical modelling analysis may provide a useful way to understand the failure mechanisms involved and to quantify the degree of wall stability if the numerical modelling analysis can reproduce the behaviour of wall...