Engineering and Construction

Temporary retaining walls are often used during construction, such as for the support of the sides of an excavation that is made below-grade in order to construct the building foundation. If the temporary retaining wall has the ability to develop the active wedge (Fig. 11.3), then the basic active earth pressure principles described in the previous sections can be used for the design of the temporary retaining walls.

Especially in urban areas, movement of the temporary retaining wall may have to be restricted to prevent damage to adjacent property. If movement of the retaining wall is restricted, the earth pressures will typically be between the active  kA and at-rest  ko values. Common types of temporary retaining systems and braced excavations are shown in Fig. 11.17.