Information Base for the Optimal Choice of Retaining Structures

Abstract

The tools developed in the design of retaining structures focus mainly on aspects of design and stability analysis of the structural components. We propose in this paper the construction of an information base that serves not only to calculate conventional retaining structures, but can also help in the selection of the optimal type of structure, best suited to the economic and environmental situation of a project. For this purpose, we begin firstly by a general patterning of retaining structures, and then, we conduct a systematic analysis of the retaining structures built in its environment, to detect any kind of existing interaction and interrelation. Structuring and formalizing the derived information is the last step of this work. We present in this paper only an information base that eliminates the bad retaining structures related to the project context.