Soil properties Page 1 of 10

Soil properties Top Previous Next

Soil Strata are allocated properties via Soil Types in the Soil Types section. The properties of a stratum can be changed during
construction by substituting one soil type for another.

For definitions of individual soil properties see below

Soil description
Bulk Unit Weight
Cohesionless or Cohesive soil type
Normally / Over-Consolidated (NC/OC)
Drained and Undrained analysis
Coefficient of Earth Pressure at Rest - Ko
Active and Passive Earth Pressure Coefficients, Ka, Kac, Kp, Kpc
Drained and Undrained Cohesion
Soil modulus
Datum elevation for E, Cu and Ko
Poisson's Ratio
see also Import Soil Properties
Copy soil properties
Factor all soil strengths or moduli

Soil description Top Previous Next

A text of up to 20 characters. Soil descriptions are shown on the graphical output of the soil profile.

see also Soil properties

Bulk Unit Weight Top Previous Next

Many soils have different Bulk Unit Weights above and below the water table. For each soil type, two values of Bulk Unit Weight
may be specified, one for material above the water table (partially saturated or dry) and one for material below the water table
(saturated bulk unit weight).

Note: Saturated Bulk Unit Weight is therefore usually greater than Dry Bulk Unit Weight.

The program automatically uses the appropriate values in the analysis according to the position of the water table.

The units of bulk unit weight must be consistent with those used for cohesion and surface loads:-

Cohesion Corresponding units of

units bulk unit weight

kN/m² kN/m³
kg/cm² kg/cm³
lb/ft² lb/ft³

Submerged unit weights must NOT be specified. Water pressures on submerged ground are taken account of by the program
in the analysis.

see also Soil properties

Cohesionless or Cohesive soil type Top Previous Next

All soil types are defined as Cohesionless or Cohesive. The following restrictions apply:

Soil types Restrictions Typical material

Always "drained".
Sand, gravel,
Cohesionless soil Cohesion value is zero.
cohesionless silt
Kac and Kpc are zero

Medium/long term
Drained Cohesive soil No restrictions
behaviour of clays

Ka value is 1
Short/medium term
Undrained Cohesive soil Kp value is 1
behaviour of clays
Poisson's Ratio = 0.49

see also Soil properties

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Normally / Over-Consolidated (NC/OC) Top Previous Next

All soil types are defined as Normally Consolidated or Over-Consolidated (NC/OC). The modulus of NC cohesionless soils is
defined in a different way from the other types:

Soil type Typical material Modulus model

Uncompacted Modulus = 0 at GL
NC cohesionless hydraulic fill increasing linearly
*** see Note with depth

Compacted
OC cohesionless
granular fill
Constant modulus,

V.soft clay with optional linear

NC cohesive
(Cu < 10kPa)
variation with depth

OC cohesive Firm/stiff clay

*** Note on the Normally Consolidated Cohesionless Soil Type

The main feature of the NC Cohesionless soil type is that the modulus is zero at ground and increases linearly with depth. Do not
use it except for uncompacted Hydraulic Fill. For other soil types it will give inappropriately large displacements.

see also Soil properties

Drained and Undrained analysis Top Previous Next

Cohesive soils are defined as behaving in either a Drained or Undrained manner. Drained and Undrained analyses are applicable
as follows:-

Type of analysis Applicability

Drained analysis Medium/long term behaviour

Undrained analysis Short/medium term behaviour

Drained soil
The analysis of Drained cohesive soil is carried out in effective stress terms (pore pressures have time to reach equilibrium).

Undrained soil
The analysis of Undrained cohesive soil is carried out in total stress terms (there is insufficient time for pore pressures to reach
equilibrium). Limiting active pressures in Undrained soil take account of the "minimum equivalent fluid density" criterion (Section
13.1.4) and the "maximum water filled tension crack depth" criterion (Section 13.1.5). Soil pressures in Undrained strata are
reported in Total stress terms.

Critical conditions for Drained and Undrained analysis.

Soft and very soft clays tend to be weakest under undrained (short term) loading and gain strength with time. Stiff and very stiff
clays tend to be strong under undrained (short term) loading and lose strength with time. It is important to check behaviour under
all relevant conditions. The following table gives some indication of the likely critical conditions for soft and stiff clays.

Soil type Critical situation

Undrained analysis
Soft to very soft clay
(Short term)

Drained analysis
Stiff to very stiff clay
(Long term)

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Drained and undrained cohesion

For drained cohesive soils the drained cohesion, C' must be specified. For undrained cohesive soils the undrained cohesion, Cu
must be specified.

see also Soil properties

Coefficient of Earth Pressure at Rest - Ko Top Previous Next

Definition of Ko
Ko defines the initial soil pressure on the wall at the start of the Bending moment and Displacement analysis i.e. after the wall has
been installed before the first construction stage. Ko is defined as the ratio of horizontal to vertical effective stress:-
Ko = ph'/pv'

Ko values are only used in the Bending moment and Displacement analysis (Section 15.3) and have no effect at all on the Factor
of Safety calculations (Sections 15.1 and 15.2).

Typical values of Ko
For normally consolidated soils the value of Ko is given approximately by Jaky's formula:

Ko = 1 - sinϕ

where ϕ is the drained angle of friction.

For over consolidated soils the value of Ko can be much higher and in the case of very stiff clays can be in excess of 2. Values can
be obtained from pressure meter tests or from published papers such as Burland, Simpson and StJohn (1979).

In the case of OC clays, Ko may vary with depth. The program allows a linear variation of Ko with depth. The datum elevation is
the same as for a varying Cu and a varying Young's modulus.

see also Rate of change of Ko with depth (dKo/dy)

Datum elev for E, Cu and Ko
Use of Ko in the analysis
Soil properties

Rate of change of Ko with depth (dKo/dy) Top Previous Next

Ko is allowed to vary with depth within a soil type. A positive value of dKo/dy indicates Ko increasing with depth. The datum
elevation for Ko is the same as for the cohesion and modulus.

see also Soil properties

Use of Ko in the analysis Top Previous Next

Values of Ko are used at various points in the calculation:-

Initial conditions
The program uses Ko values firstly to calculate the initial earth pressures on the wall immediately after wall installation and before
the construction sequence begins. The initial horizontal total pressure is calculated according to the equation:-
ph = pv'.Ko + u
This calculation is carried out in effective stress terms for both drained and undrained soil types. The reason for this is that the Ko
state is a "state" i.e. the starting point for a series of stress changes. The terms "drained" and "undrained" are used only in relation
to the stress changes themselves.

Changing soil properties

The value of Ko is also used in the construction activity "Change soil properties" if Ko values are reset (Section 12.7). This facility
is useful for modelling the build up of Ko pressures after the end of construction in a stiff overconsolidated clay with a high initial Ko
value.

Fill materials
Ko values are used to calculate the initial earth pressures on the wall due to soil placed during a Filling construction stage. The
initial horizontal total pressure should is calculated according to the equation:-

ph = pv'.Ko + u

Active and Passive Earth Pressure Coefficients, Ka, Kac, Kp, Kpc Top Previous Next

These are the earth pressure coefficients which determine the limiting values of active and passive pressures which the soil can
exert on the wall.

Active and Passive Earth Pressure Coefficients can be calculated according to formulae presented in the UK National Annex to
EN1997, Appendix C.

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Ka, Kac and Kp, Kpc are calculated as functions of:

φ Soil friction angle

β Backfill slope angle
tanδ/tanφ Wall friction coefficient

See the sign convention for β and δ.

For cohesionless soils, Kac and Kpc are assumed to be zero. For undrained cohesive soils, Ka and Kp are assumed to be unity.

For interactive help on Ka, Kac, Kp or Kpc press F1 at the Soil Properties menu when editing one of these parameters. The
values of Ka, Kac, Kp and Kpc calculated by the WALLAP help facility are values of the horizontal components, as required.

See Berms and Sloping backfill for help on modelling complex ground profiles.

For seismic conditions you should define a seismic loading stage . WALLAP automatically modifies the earth pressure
coefficients to take account of the specified accelerations.

see also:- Formulae for calculating earth pressure coefficients

Values of Kac from CP No.2 (1951)
Values of horizontal component of Kp based on Caquot and Kerisel (1949)
Values of Kpc from CP No.2 (1951)
Ka and Kp values for Seismic loading
Soil properties

Formulae for calculating earth pressure coefficients Top Previous Next

UK National Annex to Eurocode 7 (EN 1997-1:2004) , Appendix C

Sample procedures to determine limit values of earth pressures on vertical walls
This is the default formula. You should definitely use this method when Factors of Safety are to be calculated by the "Strength
Factor Method" or when there is a Berm excavation

This formula is also presented by Bond and Harris in Decoding Eurocode 7 p.410. .

Coulomb formula
This is an alternative formula. It has two disadvantages
1. It is inaccurate at high angles of Wall friction and Slope angle.
2. It only gives values of Ka and Kp, NOT Kac and Kpc.

Mononobe and Okabe

This is a modified form of the Coulomb formula for seismic conditions. This formula is only included out of interest. If you want to
model seismic loading you should define your earth pressure coefficients in the usual way for static conditions using the
Eurocode formula (above) and define the seismic loading as a construction stage

See also Description of the Seismic Loading Calculation

Values of Kac from CP No.2 (1951) Top Previous Next

Values of Kac from CP No.2 (1951)

Wall Wall Soil friction angle, ϕ (degrees)

friction adhesion
angle ratio
δ Cw/C 0 5 10 15 20 25

0 0 2.00 1.83 1.68 1.54 1.40 1.29

0 1 2.83 2.60 2.38 2.16 1.96 1.76

ϕ 0.5 2.45 2.10 1.82 1.55 1.32 1.15

ϕ 1 2.83 2.47 2.13 1.85 1.59 1.41

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For interactive help on Ka and Kac press F1 at the Soil Properties menu when editing Ka or Kac.

Values of horizontal component of Kp based on Caquot and Kerisel Top Previous Next

Values of horizontal component of Kp based on Caquot and Kerisel (1949)

Wall friction angle (degrees)

Soil
friction 0 +5 +10 +15 +20 +25 +30 +35
angle
(degrees)

10 1.420 1.550 1.620

15 1.698 1.883 2.049 2.115

20 2.040 2.277 2.554 2.771 2.827

25 2.464 2.848 3.208 3.566 3.848 3.891

30 3.000 3.556 4.072 4.627 5.159 5.534 5.561

35 3.690 4.481 5.298 6.136 6.990 7.831 8.413 8.355

40 4.600 5.779 7.031 8.365 9.754 11.25 12.68 13.75

45 5.828 7.582 9.575 11.78 14.25 16.88 19.71 22.49

50 7.549 10.22 13.54 17.38 21.87 26.89 32.58 38.86

For interactive help on Kp and Kpc press F1 at the Soil Properties menu when editing Kp or Kpc.

Values of Kpc from CP No.2 (1951) Top Previous Next

Values of Kpc from CP No.2 (1951)

Wall Soil friction angle, phi (degrees)

Wall
friction
Adhesion
ratio,
ratio,
δ /ϕ ` Cw/C
0 5 10 15 20 25

0 0 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8 3.1

0 0.5 2.4 2.6 2.9 3.2 3.5 3.8

0 1 2.6 2.9 3.2 3.6 4.0 4.4

1 0.5 2.4 2.8 3.3 3.8 4.5 5.5

1 1 2.6 2.9 3.4 3.9 4.7 5.7

For interactive help on Kp and Kpc press F1 at the Soil Properties menu when editing Kp or Kpc.

Ka and Kp values for Seismic loading Top Previous Next

To model seismic loading:

1. Enter values of Ka and Kp for static conditions in the soil properties.

2. Define the seismic accelerations in a seismic loading stage in the Construction Sequence

The program will automatically adjust the active and passive limit pressures during the Seimic Loading stage.

The Mononobe and Okabe formula for calculating Ka and Kp under seismic conditions is included in the Help facility within
WALLAP. This formula is only included out of interest. If you want to model seismic loading you should define your earth
pressure coefficients in the usual way for static conditions using the Eurocode formula and define the seismic loading as a

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construction stage

Definitions
Seismic accelerations are expressed as a proportion of gravitational acceleration "g". Accelerations which tend to cause collapse
are defined as positive:-

Horizontal acceleration is defined as positive when acting from the active to the passive side, thereby increasing Ka and
decreasing Kp. Vertical acceleration is defined as positive downwards.

Calculation sequence
To model seismic conditions you should model the structure under static conditions, concluding with a Seismic loading stage in
the construction sequence. The earth pressure cofficients in the soil properties must be those for static conditions. WALLAP will
automatically enhance the soil pressures to take account of the accelerations defined in the Seismic loading stage

See also Description of the Seismic Loading Calculation

Drained and Undrained Cohesion Top Previous Next

Drained cohesion
For drained cohesive soils the drained cohesion, c' must be specified. The drained cohesion may be derived from drained triaxial
tests or (more usually) undrained triaxial tests with pore pressure measurement. The latter are susceptible to error if the rate of
testing is not sufficiently slow. High values of drained cohesion should be regarded with suspicion.

Undrained cohesion
For undrained cohesive soils the undrained cohesion, cu must be specified. Undrained cohesion values may be obtained from
undrained triaxial tests or estimated from correlations with SPT values. For over-consolidated clay the following correlation may be
used:-

Cu(kN/m²) ≅ 4.5 x N

where N is the SPT value. The following table gives an approximate indication of cohesion values in terms of the usual borehole
log descriptions:-

Consistency

soft firm stiff

Undrained shear
20 - 40 40 - 75 75 - 150
strength, kN/m2

Cohesion varying with depth (dC/dy)

For undrained cohesive soil the cohesion may be specified to vary linearly with depth according to the equation:-
C = Co + (Yo - Y).dC/dY
where Co is the cohesion at a datum elevation Yo and dC/dY is the rate of increase of cohesion with depth (see Figure 3). A
positive value of dC/dY indicates C increasing with depth. The datum elevation for C is the same as for the modulus and Ko.

Figure 3. Variation of cohesion with depth

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See also Datum elev for E, Cu and Ko

Soil properties

Soil modulus Top Previous Next

See the following topics for modulus of the various type of soil
Modulus of NC cohesionless soil
Modulus of OC cohesionless soil
Modulus of drained cohesive soil
Modulus of undrained cohesive soil
Modulus varying with depth, dE/dy
Factor all soil moduli
Datum elev for E, Cu and Ko

see also Soil properties

Modulus of NC cohesionless soil Top Previous Next

Normally consolidated cohesionless soils are not often encountered. Uncompacted hydraulic fill and wind blown sand fall into this
category but most cohesionless deposits should be modelled using the OC cohesionless model

The Young's modulus of a normally consolidated (uncompacted) cohesionless soil increases linearly from zero at ground level and
is related to its density. For retaining walls the following values are suggested by Terzaghi (1954) .

Relative density

Loose Medium Dense

Modulus kN/m2/m depth

Dry or moist sand 880 2800 7100

Submerged sand 560 1800 4600

see also Soil modulus

Modulus of OC cohesionless soil Top Previous Next

The Young's modulus of an over-consolidated (compacted) cohesionless soil is approximately proportional to its SPT N value
according to the equation:

Young's modulus (kN/m²) ≅ F x SPT N value

where F is in the range 2000 to 6000 for retaining walls in sands and gravels (Stroud and Butler, 1975)

see also Soil modulus

Modulus of drained cohesive soil Top Previous Next

The drained modulus, E' (at any particular strain level) will differ from the undrained modulus, Eu ( Henkel, 1972 ). However on
account of the uncertainties inherent in measuring or estimating soil modulus, and the insensitivity of designs to modulus values
the values given in Tables 6.3 and 6.4 may be used for both drained and undrained modulus.

see also Modulus of undrained cohesive soil

Soil modulus

Modulus of undrained cohesive soil Top Previous Next

The following table may be used as a preliminary guide to values of Young's Modulus for cohesive soil:-

Consistency
soft firm stiff

Undrained shear
20 - 40 40 - 75 75 - 150
strength, kN/m2

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Young's Modulus 1600 6000 20000

kN/m2 - 6000 - 20000 - 75000

Approximate values of Young's Modulus for cohesive soil

The stress-strain behaviour of clays is non-linear and so the value of Eu itself depends on the strain level at which the modulus is
measured. The value of Eu entered in the data should therefore relate to the magnitude of the strains which occur during
excavation. In the absence of direct measurements, Eu may be derived from published correlations between Eu and undrained
shear strength, cu. The relationship is of the form:-

Eu = M.Cu

where M depends on the strain at which Eu is measured. The following table is based on data from Burland et al. 1979:-

Strain level Eu/cu (=M)

2.0% 150
1.0% 250
0.4% 400
0.2% 600

0.1% 800

Approximate relationship between Young's Modulus

and undrained cohesion

Modulus varying with depth, dE/dy

Soil modulus may be specified to vary linearly with depth according to the equation:-

E = Eo + (yo - y).dE/dy

where Eo is the modulus at a datum elevation yo and dE/dy is the rate of increase of modulus with depth.

The datum elevation, yo, for E is the same as for the cohesion.

see also Soil modulus

Datum elevation for E, Cu and Ko Top Previous Next

This is the Datum Elevation, y(o) for parameters which vary with depth within a soil type. Each parameter is defined by a base
value [ E(o), Cu(o) Ko(o) ] and its rate of variation.

It is expected (but not essential) that the Datum Elevation will lie within the stratum to which the soil type is allocated. A warning
message will be displayed if this condition is not fulfilled.

see also Soil properties

Soil modulus

Poisson's Ratio Top Previous Next

Poisson's Ratio is used in the Bending moment and Displacement analysis. It is used in two different parts of the calculation:-

Changes in wall pressure due to vertical stress changes

Several types of construction stage (e.g. Filling, Excavation, Water pressure change, Surcharge application) cause a change in
vertical (effective) stress in the soil. The corresponding "immediate" (elastic) change in wall pressure is calculated according to the
equation:

Δph' = 2.Δpv'.ν/(1-ν)

See Appendix D of the User Guide for full details of the calculation sequence.

Soil spring values

Poisson's Ratio is used in conjunction with Young's Modulus in the calculation of the Soil spring values which represent the elastic
response of the soil to wall displacements.

Typical values of Poisson's ratio

For granular (cohesionless) soils Poisson's ratio is usually in the range 0.2 to 0.3.

For drained over-consolidated clays (and unloading of normally consolidated clays) Poisson's ratio is usually in the range 0.1 to
0.2.

For undrained clays Poisson's ratio is fixed at a value of 0.49; the theoretical value of 0.5 would lead to numerical problems in the

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Finite Element solution.

see also Soil properties

Copy soil properties Top Previous Next

Soil properties can be copied from one soil type to another. To copy the properties of soil type i to soil type j

1. Select the soil types tab

2. Move the cursor to soil type i
3. Type Ctrl+C or right click within the soil properties menu and select Copy. This copies the properties of soil type i to the
WALLAP clipboard
4 Move the cursor to soil type j
5. Type Ctrl+V or right click within the soil properties menu and select Paste. This pastes the properties of soil type j from
the WALLAP clipboard

See also Import Soil Properties

Factor all soil strengths or moduli Top Previous Next

You can factor the strengths or elastic moduli of all soil types or a selected range of soil types.

Factor soil strengths ( Ctrl + F )

Factor soil moduli ( Ctrl + E )

This facility is completely unrelated to the use of partial factors in Limit State analysis.
Changes to modulus or strength made with this facility become permanent changes to the soil properties. Whereas Partial Factors
are used to adjust the soil properties (temporarily) at the time of the analysis.

see also Soil modulus

Factor soil strengths Top Previous Next

You can factor the strengths of all soil types or a selected range of soil types. This facility is useful when carrying out a parametric
study.

Do not use this facility for applying partial factors for the purpose of Limit State Analysis. If you want to apply Partial Factors of
Safety for the purpose of doing an Ultimate Limit State Analysis then you should define the appropriate partial factors under FoS
options

1. Type Ctrl+F at the Soil Properties menu or select Edit | Factor soil strengths from the Main menu.
2. Enter the factor by which you want to divide the strength. Different factors can be applied to Drained and Undrained friction and
cohesion
2. Select the range of soil types you wish to factor.
3. Type F or click on Factor strengths to implement the change.

All strength parameters (cohesion and friction) of the selected range are divided by the same factor. Strengths can be increased or
decreased by a factor of up to 100. The change is a permanent change to the data set.

see also Factor soil moduli

Limit State Analysis

Factor soil moduli Top Previous Next

You can factor the elastic moduli of all soil types or a selected range of soil types.

Do not use this facility for applying partial factors for the purpose of Limit State Analysis. If you want to apply Partial Factors of
Safety for the purpose of doing an Ultimate Limit State Analysis then you should define the appropriate partial factors under FoS
options

1. Type Ctrl+E at the Soil Properties menu or select Edit | Factor moduli from the Main menu.
2. Enter the factor by which you want to divide the moduli.
2. Select the range of soil types you wish to factor.
3. Type F or click on Factor moduli to implement the change.

All moduli of the selected range are divided by the same factor. Moduli can be increased or decreased by a factor of up to 100.

see also Factor all soil strengths or moduli

Factor soil strengths

Sign convention for wall friction and sloping backfill Top Previous Next

The sign conventions for Wall friction angle, δ

and Backfill slope angle, β

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are shown below

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