Abstract: Water conservancy projects have highly linearized characteristics. Compared with construction projects,the individual units in water conservancy projects have the features of simple structural forms and large individual scales. The characteristics of water conservancy projects make the adjustment of the cross-sectional dimensions of individual components have a significant impact on the total project cost. This paper conducts a cross-sectional selection study on retaining walls in water conservancy projects. Using the commonly used GEO5 geotechnical analysis software,the force analysis and simulation comparison of retaining walls on soft ground under different heights are carried out. Combined with material consumption,the cost analysis and comparison of retaining walls with different cross-sectional forms are conducted using cost calculation software such as Guanglian GCCP. The results show that under the height condition of meters to 4.2 meters,the cost per linear meter of gravity retaining walls on soft ground increases from 6,300 yuan to 14,800 yuan,while the cost per linear meter of cantilever retaining walls rises from 5,800 yuan to 7,100 yuan. It can be concluded that the cantilever retaining wall is more economical than the gravity retaining wall.

Key words: section selection, force calculation, cost analysis, retaining wall