Course: Soil Mechanics: Retaining Walls Lateral Earth Pressure Theory

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Course:
Soil Mechanics
Retaining Walls
Lateral Earth Pressure Theory
Retaining Walls
Elevation changes are an
unavoidable part of site

development
They can result either
from changes in the land
elevation or a land/water
boundary
They are dealt with in one
of two ways:
Earth slopes
(unreinforced and
reinforced)
Retaining Walls
Retaining Walls
Necessary in situations where
gradual transitions either take
up too much space or are
impractical for other reasons
Retaining walls are analysed
for both resistance to
overturning and structural
integrity
Two categories of retaining
walls
Gravity Walls (Masonry,
Stone, Gabion, etc.)
In-Situ Walls (Sheet Piling,
cast in-situ, etc.)
Lateral Earth Pressure Coefficient and

Conditions of Lateral Earth Pressure
Lateral Earth Pressure Coefficient K
K = lateral earth pressure coefficient
x = horizontal effective stress
z = vertical effective stress
Ratio of resultant horizontal stress to applied
vertical stress
Similar to Poissons Ratio for elastic materials
x
K
z
Conditions of Lateral Earth Pressure

Coefficient
At-Rest Condition
Condition where wall
movement is zero or
minimal
Ideal condition of wall,
but seldom achieved in
reality
Active Condition
moves away from the
backfill
The lower state of
lateral earth pressure
Passive Condition
moves toward the
backfill
The higher state of
lateral earth pressure
Effect of Wall
Movement
At Rest Lateral Earth Pressure

Coefficient Ko
Jakys Equation
Relationship of
K o 1 sin
Modified for
Overconsolidated Soils
K o 1 sin OCR
sin
Applicable only when
ground surface is level

In spite of theoretical
weaknesses, Jakys
equation is as good an
estimate of the coefficient
of lateral earth pressure
as we have
Poissons Ratio with AtRest Lateral Earth

Pressure Coefficient
(Normally Consolidated Soils)
Ko
1
2 1
1
tan 1
tan 2
Purely
cohesionless
soils only
Example of At Rest Wall Pressure

Given
Retaining Wall as
Shown
Find
Po, from At Rest

Conditions
At Rest Pressure Example

Compute at rest earth pressure coefficient
K o 1 sin
K o 1 sin 30 0.5
Compute Effective Wall Force
Po z K o 120 20 0.5
kips
lbs
12,000
12
ft
ft
b
2
2
20
h
6.67'
3
2
1 1
(valid for all theories)
Earth Pressure Theories
Rankine Earth Pressure Equations

Level Backfills
Development of Active Earth

Pressure
Example of Rankine Active Wall

Pressure
Given
Retaining Wall as
Shown
Find
PA, from Active

Conditions
Rankine Active Pressure Example
K A tan 45
2
30 1
2
K A tan 45
Compute Effective
2
3
Wall Force
2
1
2
120
20
Po 1 z1 K a
kips
3
8
ft
b
2
2
Compute active
earth pressure
coefficient
Development of Passive Earth Pressure
Rankine Passive Pressure Example
Rankine Passive Pressure Example

Compute passive
earth pressure
coefficient
Compute Effective
Wall Force
K P tan 45
2
30
2
K P tan 45
3
2
Po z K P 120 20 3
kips
72
ft
b
2
2
2
1 1
Summary of Rankine and At Rest

Wall Pressures
72,000 lbs.
12,000 lbs.
8000 lbs.
Rankine Theory with Inclined

Backfills
Rankine Coefficients with Inclined

Backfills
Inclined and level backfill equations are identical when = 0
Groundwater Effects
Steps to properly
compute horizontal
stresses including
groundwater effects:
Compute total vertical stress

Compute effective vertical
stress by removing
groundwater effect through
submerged unit weight; plot
on Po diagram
Compute effective horizontal
stress by multiplying
effective vertical stress by K
Compute total horizontal
stress by directly adding
effect of groundwater unit
weight to effective horizontal
stress
Groundwater Example
Walls with Cohesive Backfill

Retaining walls should generally have
cohesionless backfill, but in some cases

cohesive backfill is unavoidable
Cohesive soils present the following weaknesses

as backfill:
Poor drainage
Creep
Expansiveness
Most lateral earth pressure theory was first
developed for purely cohesionless soils (c = 0)

and has been extended to cohesive soils
afterward
Theory of
Cohesive
Soils
1 sin
2
tan K p
1 sin
4 2
Passive Case
(Wall Driving)
Active Case
(Overburden
driving)
1 sin
2
tan K a
1 sin
4 2
Rankine Pressures with Cohesion

(Level Backfill)
Active
2
K a tan
4 2
3 vo K a 2c K a
Overburden Driving
Passive

K p tan
4 2
1 vo K p 2c K p
2
Wall Driving
Comments on Rankine Equations

Valid if wall-soil friction is
2c
Zo
Ka
not taken in to account

Do not take into
consideration soil above
critical height Zo
Do not take into
consideration sloping
walls
For practical problems,
should use equations as
they appear in the book
Coulomb Theory
Typical
Values of
Wall
Friction
Example of Coulomb Theory
Given
Wall as shown
above
Find
KA
KP
PA
PP
Solution for Coulomb Earth

Pressures
Compute Coulomb Active
Pressure
KA = 0.3465
Compute Total Wall
Force
PA = 8316 lb/ft of wall
Compute Coulomb
Passive Pressure
KP = 4.0196
Compute Total Wall
Force
PA = 96,470 lb/ft of wall
Log-Spiral
Failure Surface
A more realistic
way to model soil

failure in many
cases
Requires use of
suitable chart for
KA and KP
Especially useful to
address weakness
in Coulomb
passive pressure
(AASHTO)
Difference in Failure Surface between

Rankine/Coulomb and Log-Spiral
Log-Spiral Method Charts
Log-Spiral Method Table
Differences between Coulomb and LogSpiral Passive Earth Pressure Coefficients
Log-Spiral Passive Pressure Charts
Effects of
Surface
Loading
Effects of Earthquake Loading

In seismically active areas, earthquake loading
can be a major cause of catastrophic retaining

wall failure
Most common method of analyzing retaining
walls for earthquake loads is the MononobeOkabe Procedure
Developed in Japan in the 1920s

Tends to be conservative
A pseudo-static method, i.e., turns a dynamic
problem into an equivalent static one
Although newer methods are coming into use,
still the standard method for analyzing
earthquake loads on retaining walls
Assumptions of M-O Method
M-O
Governing
Equations
(Active
and
Passive)
Nomenclature
for M-O
Equations
Note: M-O passive
equations assume planar
surfaces, thus are subject to
same limitations as Coulomb
method. Book charts for
passive pressures based on
log-spiral failure surface,
should use these instead of
equations
Simplified M-O Equations
Observations on the M-O

Equations
M-O Active
Example
Questions

Course: Soil Mechanics: Retaining Walls Lateral Earth Pressure Theory

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Vulcanhammer.

unavoidable part of site

Lateral Earth Pressure Coefficient and

Conditions of Lateral Earth Pressure

At Rest Lateral Earth Pressure

Applicable only when

ground surface is level

Poissons Ratio with AtRest Lateral Earth

Example of At Rest Wall Pressure

Po, from At Rest

At Rest Pressure Example

(valid for all theories)

Earth Pressure Theories

Rankine Earth Pressure Equations

Development of Active Earth

Example of Rankine Active Wall

PA, from Active

Rankine Active Pressure Example

Development of Passive Earth Pressure

Rankine Passive Pressure Example

Rankine Passive Pressure Example

Summary of Rankine and At Rest

Rankine Theory with Inclined

Rankine Coefficients with Inclined

Inclined and level backfill equations are identical when = 0

Compute total vertical stress

Walls with Cohesive Backfill

cohesionless backfill, but in some cases

Cohesive soils present the following weaknesses

Most lateral earth pressure theory was first

developed for purely cohesionless soils (c = 0)

Rankine Pressures with Cohesion

Comments on Rankine Equations

not taken in to account

Example of Coulomb Theory

Solution for Coulomb Earth

Compute Total Wall

PA = 8316 lb/ft of wall

Compute Total Wall

PA = 96,470 lb/ft of wall

way to model soil

Difference in Failure Surface between

Log-Spiral Method Charts

Log-Spiral Method Table

Differences between Coulomb and LogSpiral Passive Earth Pressure Coefficients

Log-Spiral Passive Pressure Charts

Effects of Earthquake Loading

can be a major cause of catastrophic retaining

Developed in Japan in the 1920s

Assumptions of M-O Method

Simplified M-O Equations

Observations on the M-O

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