WallAid: A knowledge-based system for the selection of earth retaining walls

Many types of earth retaining wall exist. The selection of the most appropriate type for a particular situation is not straightforward, and common practice is to select a type which the engineer has used previously elsewhere. This practice does not often lead to the most appropriate choice. The paper describes the development, use and evaluation of a prototype knowledge-based system to aid the selection of the most appropriate earth retaining wall. The working prototype system described in the paper is being extended. This is aided greatly by feedback from users and to encourage evaluative feedback, the software is made freely available.