LATERAL EARTH PRESSURES

Why We Need to Study

Earth Pressure?
4
How to prevent these failures
then?

5
 3. Lateral Earth Pressure
 Retaining wall: is a structure that is used to
support a vertical or near vertical slopes of soil.

 The resulting horizontal stress from the soil on

the wall is called lateral earth pressure.

 To determine the magnitude of the lateral earth

pressure, a geotechnical engineer must know the
basic soil parameters that is, unit weight,  angle
of friction  and cohesion c – for the soil retained
behind the wall.
8
 3.1. Definitions of Key Terms
 At rest earth pressure coefficient (k0) is the ratio
between the lateral and vertical principal effective
stresses when an earth retaining structure is at rest.

 Active earth pressure coefficient (ka) is the ratio between

the lateral and vertical principal effective stresses when
an earth retaining structure moves away from the retained
soil.

 Passive earth pressure coefficient (kp) is the ratio

between the lateral and vertical principal effective
stresses when an earth retaining structure is forced to
move against a soil mass. 9
 3.2. Lateral Earth Pressure at Rest
 Consider a vertical wall of height H,
as shown in Fig. 3.1, retaining a soil
having a unit weight of .
 At any depth z below the ground
surface the vertical effective stress is:

'
  z  u
v (3.1)
 If the wall is not allowed to move at all either way
from the soil mass or to the soil mass (or in other words
if there is no lateral expansion or compression in the
backfill soil), the lateral pressure is called at rest earth
pressure.
10
 In this case, the lateral earth pressure  x' at a depth
z is:
 x  k 0 z
' '
(3:2)
where k0 is coefficient of at rest earth pressure.
 You must remember that k0 applies only to effective stresses not to
total stresses.

The magnitude of k0 depends on the

type of the soil, its degree of
compaction, plasticity characteristics,
and degree of disturbance.

11

Fig3.1: At rest earth pressure.

For truly normally consolidated soil that
exhibits zero cohesion, a value for k0 may be k  1  sin  '
0 (3.3)
calculated from the following generally
accepted empirical equation.
 For over-consolidated soils the value of k0 is higher than that
given by Eq. (3.3).
 Suggested the following relationship:
k 0 ,OCR
k 0 ,NC
 (OCR) n (3.4)
Where
k0,OCR-the coefficient of at rest earth pressure for over-consolidated
k0.NC - the coefficient of at rest earth pressure for normally consolidated soil,
OCR- is the over-consolidation ratio, and
n - is a number depending on the plasticity characteristics of the soil
Based on statistical analysis of several laboratory test results,
12
Mayne & Kulhawy (1982) proposed that n  sin  '
k 0,OCR  (1  sin  ' )(OCR) sin ' (3.5)
EXAMPLE 3.1
For the retaining wall shown in Fig. E3.1, determine the
total resultant lateral earth force at rest per unit length of the
wall. Also determine the location of the resultant earth
pressure. Assume that the soil is a normally consolidated
soil.

13

Fig E3.1
3.3. Active and Passive Lateral Earth Pressures
 Failure of the backfill soil occurs by two
mechanisms depending on the direction of wall
displacement.

 If the displacement of the wall is away from the

backfill soil the resulting failure is called active
and the lateral pressure exerted on the wall by the
backfill soil is called active lateral earth pressure
or simply active earth pressure.
14
 A passive failure occurs if the wall is displaced
towards the backfill soil until the limiting
displacement is achieved.

 In this case, the wall exerts a pressure on the

backfill soil, and the passive resistance provided
by the backfill soil against the wall displacement
is called passive earth pressure.
 In the next sections, we will deal with two active
and passive earth pressure theories:
 Rankine (1857) and
 Coulomb (1776). 15
 3.4 Rankine Active and Passive Earth
 Pressures
Consider a vertical frictionless (smooth) wall retaining a
soil mass in both front and back of the wall as shown in
Fig. 3.2a

16
Fig3.2 a) A smooth retaining wall, b) Mohr’s circles for at rest, active and passive states.
 If the wall remains rigid and no movement occurs, then the
vertical and horizontal (lateral) effective stresses at rest on
element A, at the back of the wall, and B, at the front of the wall
are given by Eqns. (3.1 and 3.2) in section 3.2.
 Mohr’s circle for at rest state is shown by circle ① in Fig. 3.2b.
 Let us now assume a rotation about the bottom of the wall
sufficient to produce slip planes in the soil mass behind and in
front of the wall (Fig. 3.3)

Fig3.3: Failure planes within a soil mass Fig3.4: Rotation required to mobilize 17

near a retaining wall active and passive pressures.

 The rotation required, and consequently the lateral
displacement or strain, to produce slip planes in front of
the wall is much larger than that required for the back of
the wall, as shown in Fig. 3.2.
 The soil mass at the back of the wall is assisting in
producing failure, thus it is in the active pressure state
while the soil mass at the front of the wall is resisting
failure, thus in the passive pressure state.

18
 What happens to the lateral effective stresses on elements
A and B when the wall is rotated?

 The vertical stress will not change on either element but

the lateral effective stress on element A will be reduced
while that for element B will be increased.

 We can now plot two additional Mohr’s circles:

 To represent the stress states of element A (circle ②)
and
 To represent the stress state of element B (circle ③).

19
 Both circles are drawn such that the decrease (element A)
or increase (element B) in lateral effective stresses is
sufficient to bring the soil to Mohr-coulomb failure state.
 Both circles ② and ③ will touch the Mohr-coulomb
failure line,

 The stress states of soil elements A and B are called

the Rankine active state and the Rankine passive
state, respectively.

 For the Rankine active state, the failure planes are

oriented at:
 '
 a  45 0  (3.5)
2 20
 For the Rankine passive state, the failure planes are
oriented at:
'

 p  45 0  (3.6)
2

 For the active state, the lateral effective stress  3' is

equal to  a' as shown in Fig. 3.2b (Mohr’s circle ②).

 Substituting  a' into Eqn. (2.17) in Chapter 2, the

Rankine active lateral effective stress is:

1  sin  ' 1  sin  '

 a'   z'  2c '
1  sin  ' 1  sin  '
(3.7)
21
'
  k a  2c ' k a
z
Where,
1  sin  ' 2 '
ka   tan (45  ) (3.8)
1  sin  ' 2

Ka=is called the active earth pressure coefficient

 For
'
the passive state, the lateral effective stress
p '1
'

becomes the major principalz stress and the
 3'
vertical effective stress becomes the minor
principal stress as shown in Fig. 3.2 b
(Mohr’s circle ③). 22
 Therefore, using Eqn. (2.16) in Chapter 2, the Rankine
passive lateral effective stress is:
1  sin  ' 1  sin  '
 'p   z'  2c'
1  sin  ' 1  sin  '
(3.9)
  z' k p  2c' k p

where,
1  sin  ' 2 '
kp   tan (45  ) (3.10)
1  sin  ' 2
Kp= is called the passive earth pressure coefficient
23
 Based on Eqns. (3.8 and 3.10), we can easily get the
following relation for the active and passive earth
pressure coefficients:
1
kp  (3.11)
ka

 Equations (3.7) and (3.9) indicate that, for a

homogeneous soil layer, the lateral earth pressure varies
linearly with depth z.

24
Fig3.5 : pressure distribution in c-  'soil: a) c-  'soil
b) active, c) passive state. 25
 Fig3.5 shows the active and passive lateral stress
distribution for a smooth wall retaining a c- ' soil.

 In the active state case, the soil at depth zo is subjected to

a tensile stress.
 Soils do not have tensile strength, as a result tension
cracks will occur down to a depth z0, where the tensile
stress becomes zero.
 At depth z0 (known as depth of tension crack), the stress
is zero, thus,
2c'
0   ' z 0 k a  2c ' k a  z 0  (3.12)
 ' ka

26
 The lateral earth force is the area of the lateral stress
diagram (Fig. 3.13), which

 For the Rankine active state, is:

H
Pa   ( ' zk a  2c' k a )  12 k a  ' H 2  2c' H k a (3.13)
0

 For the Rankine passive state, is

H
Pp   ( ' zk p  2c' k p )  12 k p  ' H 2  2c' H k p (3.14)
0

27
 For most retaining wall construction, a granular backfill
is used and c’ = 0, therefore, for granular soils Eqns.
(3.13) and (3.14) can be rewritten as:

2
Pa  k a  ' H
1
2 (3.15)
and
2
Pp  k p  ' H
1
2
(3.16)

28
EXAMPLE 3.2
Draw the active pressure diagram per meter length of
an 8 m high smooth vertical retaining wall. Also,
calculate a) tension crack depth and b) the resultant
(total) active force and its location.
The properties of the backfill soil are c’ = 20 kPa,
 ' =250 and  =17.5 kN/m3. Note that the tension
zone is usually ignored for finding the magnitude
and location of the resultant force.

29
3.5 Lateral Earth Pressure due to Surcharge
 Surfaces stresses (due to surcharge) also impose lateral
pressure on retaining walls.
 A uniform surface stress, qs will transmit a uniform
active lateral earth pressure of kaqs and a uniform passive
lateral earth pressure of kpqs.

30
The active and passive lateral stresses due to the soil (i.e. c’,  '
soil), and the uniform surfaces stresses are then:

'
  k a ' z  k a qs
a (a)
'
  k p ' z  k p qs
p (b)

 The corresponding active and passive lateral forces are

also given by:

2
Pa  k a  ' H  k a q s H
1
2
(c)

Pp  12 k p  ' H 2  k p q s H (d)
31
 Fig3.6: Variation of active and passive lateral earth
pressures, hydrostatic pressure, and a uniform surface
stress with depth. (Note: backfill soil is granular). 32
 For a c’,  ' backfill, Eqns. (a) and (b) will become:
'
  k a  ' z  k a q s  2c' k a (e)
a

'
  k p  ' z  k p q s  2c' k p
p
(f)

 The corresponding active and passive lateral forces are

also given by:
Pa  12 k a  ' H 2  k a q s H  2c' H k a (g)
2
Pp  k p ' H  k p qs H  2c' H k p
1
2 (h)
 Note that for a purely cohesive saturated clay with undrained
shear strength parameter of cu and,  'u=0, ka = kp = 1. 33
 3.6. Lateral Earth Pressure When
Groundwater is Present
 If groundwater is present, you need to add the
hydrostatic pressure (pore water pressure) to the lateral
earth pressure.
 For example, if the groundwater level is at a distance hw
from the base of the wall as shown in Fig. 3.6, the
hydrostatic pressure is,
u   w hw (i)

 And the hydrostatic force is:

Pw  12  w hw2 (ii)
34
 3.7 Rankine Active & Passive Earth Pressure
for Inclined Granular Backfill
 If the backfill of a frictionless retaining wall is a granular
'

soil (c=0, ) and rises at an angle (   ' ) with respect
to the horizontal (Fig3.7), the Rankine active earth
pressure coefficient ka is expressed in the form:

cos   cos 2   cos 2  '

k a  cos  (a)
2 2 '
cos   cos   cos 
 The Rankine active stress on the wall is:
' '
   zk a
a (b)
35
  And the Rankine active lateral force is:
' 2
Pa  k a  H1
2 (c)

 Note that, the direction of the lateral force Pa is inclined at

an angle  to the horizontal and intersects the wall at a
distance of H/3 from the base of the wall.

36

Fig3.7: Rankine Active Earth Pressure for Inclined Granular Backfill

 The Rankine passive pressure coefficient kp for a
wall with a granular sloping backfill is:
2 2 '
cos   cos   cos 
k p  cos  (d)
2 2 '
cos   cos   cos 

The Rankine passive stress and passive lateral force are

calculated using equations similar to section 3.5. Eqns.(g
and h) in which ka & kp is replaced.

As in the case of the active force, the resultant force Pp is


inclined at angle with the horizontal and intersects the
wall at a distance of H/3 from the bottom of the wall.
37
 EXAMPLE 3.3
For the frictionless wall retaining a
stratified soil and shown in Fig.
E3.2, determine:
(a)The active lateral earth pressure
distribution with depth.

(b)The passive lateral earth

pressure distribution with depth.

(c)The magnitude and location of

the active and passive forces.

(d)The resultant force.

FIGURE E3.2

(e)The ratio of passive moment to

active moment.
 3.8. Coulomb’s Earth Pressure Theory
 Coulomb (1776) proposed a theory to determine the
lateral earth pressure on a retaining wall by assuming a
granular backfill (c = 0) and a plane sliding surface.

 He, however, account for the effects of friction (usually

expressed by angle ) between the backfill and the wall.

 Besides, he considered the more general case of the sloped

face of a retaining wall, and in this respect, Coulomb’s
theory is a more general approach than the Rankine theory
described earlier.
39
  Coulomb assumed a
wedge shape collapse
mechanism which is
bounded by the face of
the retaining wall, a
horizontal or inclined
ground surface and a
linear failure plane.

 The wedge slides

downwards on the
Fig3.8: Direction of active and
failure plane in the
passive forces when wall friction is
active state or upwards
present.
in the passive state.

40
Figure 3.9 Retaining wall with slopping back, wall friction, and sloping soil
surface for use with Coulomb’s method for active state.
41
 Based on the equilibrium of the forces acting on the
wedge (Fig. 3.9), Coulomb proposed the following
equation to determine the active lateral force,
2
Pa  k ac ' H
1
2
(e)

where kac is Coulomb’s active pressure coefficient, which is

determined by the following expression.
sin 2 (    ' )
k ac  2
 sin( ' ) sin( ' ) 
2
sin  sin(    ) 1   (f)
 sin(    ) sin(   ) 

42
 Note that the line of action of the active force Pa
will act at a distance H/3 above the base of the wall
and will be inclined at angle  to the normal drawn
to the back of the wall.
 In the actual design of retaining walls, the value of
the wall friction angle,  , is assumed to be between
' 2 '
2and 3.
 Retaining walls are generally constructed of
masonry or mass concrete.
 Table 3.1 shows the general range of the values of
for various backfill
 materials.
43
Table 3.1: General range of wall friction angle for
masonry or mass concrete walls
Backfill material Range of in degrees
Gravel 27 – 30
Course sand 20 – 28
Fine sand 15 – 25
Stiff clay 15 – 20
Silty clay 12 – 16

 Coulomb’s passive earth pressure is given by:

Pp  1
2 k pc ' H 2
(g) 44
 where kpc is Coulomb’s passive pressure coefficient, which
is determined by the following equation.
sin 2 (    ' )
k pc  2
2

sin  sin(    ) 1 
sin( ' ) sin( ' ) 

(h)
 sin(    ) sin(   ) 

45

Fig3.10: Retaining wall with slopping back, wall friction, and sloping soil surface for
use with Coulomb’s method for passive state.
 EXAMPLE 4
What is the total active and passive force per meter of wall for
the soil-wall system, shown in Fig. below using the Coulomb
equation? Where does Pa act? Pa  12 k ac ' H 2
Pa = ½*0.34*17.5*52 =74.38 kpa

sin 2 (    ' )
k ac  2
 sin( ' ) sin( ' ) 
sin 2  sin(    ) 1  
 sin(    ) sin(   ) 

Kac= 0.34
Pp  1
2 k pc ' H 2

Pp = ½*10.9*17.5*52 =2385.1kpa
sin 2 (    ' )
k pc  2
 sin( ' ) sin( ' ) 
sin 2  sin(    ) 1  
 sin(    ) sin(  46) 
Kpc= 10.9
Fig. E4
 SOLUTION
’=2/3*30=20o

sin 2 (90  30)

k ac  2
m
2
 sin(30  20) sin(30  10) 
sin 90 sin(90  20) 1  
 sin( 90  20) sin(10  90) 

2
Pa  * m *17.5 * 5  z
1
2

The active force Pa will act at a distance H/3 above the base of the wall

Hc=5/3=1.67m
47