ASCE 7-22 Retaining Wall Load Combinations Checklist

ASCE/SEI 7-22 establishes minimum design loads and associated load combinations for structural safety across all building types—including retaining walls, which are classified as 'other structures' or 'earth-retaining structures' under Chapter 3 and referenced in Chapter 6 (Wind), Chapter 11 (Seismic), and Chapter 2 (Load Combinations). Unlike typical buildings, retaining walls must resist overturning, sliding, bearing failure, and global stability under both static (e.g., soil pressure, surcharge) and dynamic (e.g., seismic active/passive earth pressure) actions. The checklist systematically verifies inclusion and proper factoring of all relevant load effects—especially lateral earth pressure (per Rankine/Coulomb or site-specific analysis), hydrostatic pressure, and seismic inertial forces—within the nine mandatory strength-level (LRFD) and three allowable-stress (ASD) combinations defined in Section 2.4. It also prompts evaluation of load modification factors (e.g., ρ for redundancy, λ for importance, β for seismic soil-structure interaction) and clarifies exclusions (e.g., simultaneous application of full wind and seismic loads per Section 2.4.1). Practitioners use this checklist during design review, peer checking, and regulatory submittals to mitigate omissions—particularly for hybrid loading scenarios such as seismic + fluid + dead load—that commonly trigger noncompliance in plan checks.