This 2-hour online course is part 1 of a two part course for analyzing and designing cantilever type retaining wall structures. The purpose of these walls is to hold back or support soil banks, and other storage materials such as coal, gravel, etc. at a higher elevation on one side of the wall than the other side. Part 1 involves the description of retaining walls, a review of the soil mechanics necessary to calculate the forces acting on the wall, and resisting the movement of this structure. Further, this course describes the procedure for evaluating the stability of the retaining wall.

The body of this course is presented in a word document format which you must download. This course includes a multiple-choice test at the end.

After the completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Describe what a retaining wall is.
• Calculate active and passive soil pressures acting on retaining structures
• Determine the size of the footing necessary to resist the forces acting on a cantilever type retaining wall.
• Evaluate the stability of retaining walls.