Nathanael Savalle¹, Eric Vincens¹, and Stephane Hans²
1)  University of Lyon, LTDS, UMR CNRS 5513, Ecole Centrale de Lyon, Ecully, France
36 Avenue Guy de Collongue 69134 Ecully Cedex
e-mail: {nathanael.savalle, eric.vincens}@ec-lyon.fr
2)  University of Lyon, LTDS, UMR CNRS 5513, Ecole Nationale des Travaux Publics de l’Etat,
Vaulx-en-Velin, France
3)  rue Maurice Audin 69518 Vaulx-en-Velin Cedex
e-mail: stephane.hans@entpe.fr

Keywords: Seismic, Scaled-down experiments, Dry stone, Masonry, Earthquake, DEM.

Abstract. Dry stone retaining walls (DSRWs) are vernacular structures, present worldwide, and made of rubble stones assembled with a precise know-how without any mortar. As many of them were built in the XIXth century and have not been maintained for decades, they need today some repairs or even sometimes whole reconstruction. However, the lack of national or international standards for the dry stone construction makes these necessities difficult to achieve. Recent researches have given a step forward into the understanding of the static behaviour of DSRWs. But since many of these DSRWs are built in seismic areas, there is a need for seismic recommendations. This work intends to provide some clues in this respect. A pseudo-static analysis has been first carried out as recommended by the Eurocode 8. First, some experiments were performed where a scaled-down wall retaining a backfill was tilted until failure. The results have been used to validate a numerical model based on a mixed continuum-discrete approach. The tilting angle of the mock-up at failure found by the simulations was found very close to the one obtained through the experiments. It validates this code for studying the behaviour of DSRWs by a pseudo-static approach, the next step will involve a validation for carrying out dynamic investigations on DSRWs.