Article

Streamline Your Retaining Wall Workflow with RSWall and Settle3

Published on: Jun 23, 2025 Updated on: Jun 23, 2025 Read: 4 minutes

Author:

Sina Javankhoshdel, Senior Manager - LEM

Accurate settlement calculations are critical for the safe and effective design of retaining walls, particularly when dealing with complex soil-structure interactions. Rocscience provides a practical workflow, allowing users to efficiently evaluate settlement beneath retaining walls by transferring model data from RSWall to Settle3. This approach ensures compliance with modern design standards and supports optimal structural performance.

In this article, we walk through a practical example, analyzing a gabion wall constructed over a cohesive-frictional foundation, from initial design in RSWall to detailed settlement assessment in Settle3.

Step-by-Step Settlement Analysis for Retaining Walls

The case study demonstrates how to export a completed RSWall model to Settle3 for settlement calculations, using a gabion wall as the example. The objective is to design the wall to meet LRFD criteria for all key failure modes before evaluating settlement below the wall using Settle3.

1. Wall Geometry

The model features a 6 m high gabion wall with six rows of baskets of varying dimensions, designed in accordance with AASHTO (2020) standards. As shown below:

2. Soil Properties

Table 1. Soil Parameters

Property	Unit Weight (kN/m³)	Friction Angle (°)	Cohesion
Retained	21	32	0
Foundation	20	30	5
Front Face	22	32	0

3. Design Methodology

The Generalized Wedge Method is used to calculate active earth pressure.
The Caquot and Kerisel Method is used to calculate passive earth pressure.
The following external failure modes are checked:

Sliding
Overturning
Bearing

Figure 2. Failure Modes in RSWall for the Gabion Wall

4. Internal Stability Results

Figure 3. RSWall Internal Stability Results

All Capacity-to-Demand Ratios (CDRs) for external failure modes exceed 1.0, indicating that the internal stability design is satisfactory.

5. Overall Stability Analysis

RSWall is directly integrated with Slide2, enabling seamless transfer of the model for overall stability assessment.

Figure 4. Slide2 Gabion Model Imported from RSWall

For this analysis, the non-circular Cuckoo Search method is combined with the Spencer Limit Equilibrium Method (LEM).

Figure 5. Slide2 Overall Stability Results

The resulting Factor of Safety (FS) = 1.5, which is acceptable for design purposes.

6. Settlement Analysis Using Settle3

To perform settlement calculations in Settle3, follow these steps:

6.1. Export the Wall and Soil Profile to DXF

In RSWall, the wall and foundation profiles can be exported to DXF:

6.2. Define the Foundation Profile in Settle3

Use the Section Creator in Settle3 to import the DXF and extrude the section to the required depth:

Figure 7. Extrude Section Layers Option in Settle3

6.3. Define Embankment Loads

The wall and retained soil are defined using the Load by Zone tool in the embankment section of Settle3. Coordinates from the DXF are used to model the layers: