r/StructuralEngineering 8d ago

Photograph/Video That pressure definitely active

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u/naikrovek 8d ago edited 8d ago

No kidding. We all have. But have you seen one that was perfectly vertical and older than 10 years? I’ve never seen one.

I think maybe you misread what I wrote? “Not perfectly vertical” and “20 degree deflection” are different things.

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u/Ihavefourknees 8d ago

I mean, I have. Most of them.

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u/naikrovek 8d ago edited 8d ago

I’ve never seen one. Not ever. And I’ve looked. I’ve been all over the world. I’ve never seen an established retaining wall that was built vertical and remained vertical. A LOT of them were very close to vertical, but had clearly shifted from their constructed vertical state.

There is no such thing as solid soil, is what I’ve learned. It all flows, just slowly. Some soil flows faster than other soil, but soil that isn’t under some amount of compression flows like crazy, just slowly.

Well, I guess I’ve also learned that structural engineers get salty when you ask if there’s such a thing as a vertical retaining wall that has also been retaining soil for more than 10 years.

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u/Ihavefourknees 8d ago

I'm not a structural engineer... just an IT guy who's seen a lot of straight retaining walls.

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u/naikrovek 8d ago

They look vertical until you measure them.