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Principles of Geotechnical Engineering 7th Edition by Braja M Das (1) - 509-528
Principles of Geotechnical Engineering 7th Edition by Braja M Das (1) - 509-528
radial line and the spiral intersect. This basic property is useful particularly in solving
problems related to lateral earth pressure.
tf s¿ tan f¿ (14.6)
The curved lower portion BC of the failure wedge is an arc of a logarithmic spiral defined
by Eq. (14.1). The center of the log spiral lies on the line CA (not necessarily within the
limits of points C and A). The upper portion CD is a straight line that makes an angle of
(45 f /2) degrees with the horizontal. The soil in the zone ACD is in Rankine’s passive
state.
Figure 14.3 shows the procedure for evaluating the passive resistance by trial
wedges (Terzaghi and Peck, 1967). The retaining wall is first drawn to scale as shown in
Figure 14.3a. The line C1A is drawn in such a way that it makes an angle of (45 f /2)
degrees with the surface of the backfill. BC1D1 is a trial wedge in which BC1 is the arc of
a logarithmic spiral. According to the equation r1 roeu tan f , O1 is the center of the spiral.
(Note: O1B ro and O1C1 r1 and BO1C1 u1; refer to Figure 14.2.)
Now let us consider the stability of the soil mass ABC1C 1 (Figure 14.3b). For equi-
librium, the following forces per unit length of the wall are to be considered:
œ
1. Weight of the soil in zone ABC1C1 W1(g)(Area of ABC1C1œ)(1).
œ
2. The vertical face, C1C1 , is in the zone of Rankine’s passive state; hence, the
force acting on this face is
P 1 g1d1 2 2 tan 2 a45 f¿ b (14.7)
d112
2 2
3
B (a)
O1 l
W(1)
A C
1
l l
P(1) 1
d1
P
d1 d(1)
P1
3
d
W1 C1
B F
1
f
(b)
2
31
O P P P P2
1 p 3 1
A C1
Pp
H
d
Trial 2
Trial 1
1
C
B Trial 3
(c)
Figure 14.3 Passive earth pressure against retaining wall with curved failure surface
493
494 Chapter 14: Lateral Earth Pressure: Curved Failure Surface
Now, taking the moments of W1 , Pd(1) , F1 , and P1 about the point O1 , for
equilib-rium, we have
or W1 3lW1124 Pd1123l1 4 F1 30 4 P1 3lP1124 (14.8)
1 Wl P l (14.9)
3 1 W112 d112 1 4
P1 l
P112
where lW(1) , l1 , and lP(1) are moment arms for the forces W1 , Pd(1) , and P1 , respectively. The
preceding procedure for finding the trial passive force per unit length of the wall
is repeated for several trial wedges such as those shown in Figure 14.3c. Let P1 , P2 , P3
, . . . , Pn be the forces that correspond to trial wedges 1, 2, 3, . . . , n, respectively. The
forces are plotted to some scale as shown in the upper part of the figure. A smooth curve
is plotted through the points 1, 2, 3, . . . , n. The lowest point of the smooth curve defines
the actual passive force, Pp, per unit length of the wall.
16
16 d
f 1
14
14
0.8 0.6
12
12
10
10 f 40 0.4
Kp
8
8
Kp
0.2
6
6 0
f 30
4 4
2 2
0 0
0 10 20 30 40 20 25 30 35 40 45
d (deg) Soil friction angle, f (deg)
Figure 14.4 Variation of Kp with f and d based on the procedure of Figure 14.5 Kp based on Shields and Tolunay’s analysis (Note u 0)
Terzaghi and Peck (1967) (Note: u 0) (Based on Terzaghi and Peck, 1967) (Based on Shields and Tolunay's analysis)
495
496 Chapter 14: Lateral Earth Pressure: Curved Failure Surface
KK R (14.12)
p p(d 0)
The variations of Kp(d 0) are given in Table 14.1. The interpolated values of R are given in
Table 14.2.
Table 14.1 Variation of Kp(d 0) [see Eq. (14.12) and Figure 14.3a]*
F u (deg)
(deg) 30 25 20 15 10 5 0
20 1.70 1.69 1.72 1.77 1.83 1.92 2.04
21 1.74 1.73 1.76 1.81 1.89 1.99 2.12
22 1.77 1.77 1.80 1.87 1.95 2.06 2.20
23 1.81 1.81 1.85 1.92 2.01 2.13 2.28
24 1.84 1.85 1.90 1.97 2.07 2.21 2.37
25 1.88 1.89 1.95 2.03 2.14 2.28 2.46
26 1.91 1.93 1.99 2.09 2.21 2.36 2.56
27 1.95 1.98 2.05 2.15 2.28 2.45 2.66
28 1.99 2.02 2.10 2.21 2.35 2.54 2.77
29 2.03 2.07 2.15 2.27 2.43 2.63 2.88
30 2.07 2.11 2.21 2.34 2.51 2.73 3.00
31 2.11 2.16 2.27 2.41 2.60 2.83 3.12
32 2.15 2.21 2.33 2.48 2.68 2.93 3.25
33 2.20 2.26 2.39 2.56 2.77 3.04 3.39
34 2.24 2.32 2.45 2.64 2.87 3.16 3.53
35 2.29 2.37 2.52 2.72 2.97 3.28 3.68
36 2.33 2.43 2.59 2.80 3.07 3.41 3.84
37 2.38 2.49 2.66 2.89 3.18 3.55 4.01
38 2.43 2.55 2.73 2.98 3.29 3.69 4.19
39 2.48 2.61 2.81 3.07 3.41 3.84 4.38
40 2.53 2.67 2.89 3.17 3.53 4.00 4.59
41 2.59 2.74 2.97 3.27 3.66 4.16 4.80
42 2.64 2.80 3.05 3.38 3.80 4.34 5.03
43 2.70 2.88 3.14 3.49 3.94 4.52 5.27
44 2.76 2.94 3.23 3.61 4.09 4.72 5.53
45 2.82 3.02 3.32 3.73 4.25 4.92 5.80
*Based on Zhu and Qian, 2000
14.4 Coefficient of Passive Earth Pressure (Kp) 497
Example 14.1
Consider a 3-m-high (H) retaining wall with a vertical back (u 0 ) and a horizontal
granular backfill. Given: g 15.7 kN/m3, d 15 , and f 30 . Estimate the passive force,
Pp, by using
a. Coulomb’s theory
b. Terzaghi and Peck’s wedge theory
c. Shields and Tolunay’s solution (method of slices)
d. Zhu and Qian’s solution (method of triangular slices)
Solution
Part a
From Eq. (13.70),
1 2
Pp 2 KpgH
498 Chapter 14: Lateral Earth Pressure: Curved Failure Surface
Part c
Pp 1 KpgH2
2
From Figure 14.5, for f30 and d15 (i.e d¿ 0.5) the value of K is 4.13. Hence,
P f¿ p
p a 2 b 14.13 2115.7 213 22 292 kN/m
1
Part d
From Eq. (14.12),
K K R
p p(d 0)
For f 30° and u 0, Kp(d 0) is equal to 3.0 (Table 14.1). Again, for u 0
and
d /f 0.5, the value of R is about 1.52. Thus, Kp (3)(1.52) 4.56.
■
Pp 121 214.56115.7 213 22 322 kN/m
The relationship for passive earth pressure on a retaining wall with a granular horizontal
backfill and vertical back face under earthquake conditions was evaluated by Subba Rao
and Choudhury (2005) using the pseudo-static approach to the method of limited equi-
librium. The failure surface in soil assumed in the analysis was similar to that shown in
Fig. 14.3 (with u 0; that is, vertical back face). The notations used in the analysis were
H height of retaining wall
Ppe passive force per unit length of the wall
f soil friction angle
d angle of wall friction
f 40 kk
h
12 8 f 40
k 0
k k
h
9 6 40
e)
e)
40
K gp(
K gp(
6 30 4 30
30 30
20
3 20 2 10 20
10 20 d 10 d
10 1 .5
f f
0 0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
kh kh
(a) (b)
¿ 0.5
Figure 14.6 Variation of Kpg(e): (a) d /f1; (b) d
¿
2 cos d¿
where Kpg(e) passive earth-pressure coefficient in the normal direction to the wall.
Kpg(e) is a function of kh and kv. The variations of Kpg(e) for d /f 0.5 and 1 are
shown in Figure 14.6. The passive pressure Ppe will be inclined at an angle d to the back
face of the wall and will act at a distance of H/3 above the bottom of the wall.
BRACED CUTS
Sheet pile
Strut
Wale B
X X
C
(a) (b)
Figure 14.7 Braced cut: (a) cross section; (b) plan (section at X–X )
Proper design of these elements requires a knowledge of the lateral earth pressure
exerted on the braced walls. The magnitude of the lateral earth pressure at various depths
of the cut is very much influenced by the deformation condition of the sheeting. To
under-stand the nature of the deformation of the braced walls, one needs to follow the
sequence of construction. Construction of the unit begins with driving the sheetings. The
top row of the wales and struts (marked A in Figure 14.7a) is emplaced immediately after
a small cut is made. This emplacement must be done immediately so that the soil mass
outside the cut has no time to deform and cause the sheetings to yield. As the sequence of
driving the sheetings, excavating the soil, and placing rows of wales and struts (see B and
C in Figure 14.7) continues, the sheetings move inward at greater depths. This action is
caused by greater earth pressure exerted by the soil outside the cut. The deformation of
the braced walls is shown by the broken lines in Figure 14.7a. Essentially, the problem
models a con-dition where the walls are rotating about the level of the top row of struts.
A photograph of braced cuts made for subway construction in Chicago is shown in Figure
14.8a. Figures 14.8b and 14.8c are photographs of two braced cuts—one in Seoul, South
Korea, and the other in Taiwan.
The deformation of a braced wall differs from the deformation condition of a
retaining wall in that, in a braced wall, the rotation is about the top. For this reason, nei-
ther Coulomb’s nor Rankine’s theory will give the actual earth-pressure distribution. This
fact is illustrated in Figure 14.9, in which AB is a frictionless wall with a granular soil
backfill. When the wall deforms to position AB , failure surface BC develops. Because the
upper portion of the soil mass in the zone ABC does not undergo sufficient deformation,
it does not pass into Rankine’s active state. The sliding surface BC inter-sects the ground
surface almost at 90 . The corresponding earth pressure will be some-what parabolic, like
acb shown in Figure 14.9b. With this type of pressure distribution, the point of
application of the resultant active thrust, Pa , will be at a height of naH mea-sured from
the bottom of the wall, with na 13 (for triangular pressure distribution na 13 ). Theoretical
evaluation and field measurements have shown that na could be as high as 0.55.
Image not available due to copyright restrictions
501
Image not available due to copyright restrictions
A C 90
Sand
H P
na H
Logarithmic spiral
b c
KagH
B B KogH
(a) (b)
Figure 14.9 Earth-pressure distribution against a wall with rotation about the top
502
14.7 Determination of Active Thrust on Bracing Systems of Open Cuts — Granular Soil 503
b l W(1)
1
O
1
l
P(1)
A f 90
b1
g
f
H c0
d W1
P1
na H f
F1
B B
(a)
b b b
2 1 3 P P
P2 1 P3 a
O1
A
b2 b1 b3
H
d
P
a Trial 3
naH
Trial 1
Trial 2
B B
(b)
Figure 14.10 Determination of active force on bracing system of open cut in cohesionless soil
504 Chapter 14: Lateral Earth Pressure: Curved Failure Surface
O1B r1. Also, it is interesting to see that the horizontal line that represents the ground
surface is the normal to the curve of sliding at the point b1, and that O1b1 is a radial line.
The angle between them is equal to f , which agrees with the property of the spiral.
To look at the equilibrium of the failure wedge, let us consider the following forces
per unit length of the braced wall:
P1 Wl (14.14)
1 W112
l
P 112
where lW(1) and lP (1) are the moment arms for the forces W1 and P1, respectively.
This procedure of finding the active thrust can now be repeated for several wedges
such as ABb2 , ABb3 , . . . , ABbn (Figure 14.10b). Note that the centers of the logarithmic-
spiral arcs will lie on lines b2b2œ, b3b3œ, . . . , bnbnœ, respectively. The active thrusts
P1 , P2 , P3 , . . . , Pn derived from the trial wedges are plotted to some scale in the upper
portion of Figure 14.10b. The maximum point of the smooth curve drawn through these
points will yield the desired maximum active thrust, Pa, on the braced wall.
Kim and Preber (1969) determined the values of Pa /0.5gH2 for braced excava-
tions for various values of f , d , and na. These values are given in Table 14.3. In general,
the average magnitude of Pa is about 10% greater when the wall rotation is about the top
as compared with the value obtained by Coulomb’s active earth-pressure theory.
Pa /0.5GH 2 Pa /0.5GH 2
F D F D
(deg) (deg) na 0.3 na 0.4 na 0.5 na 0.6 (deg) (deg) na 0.3 na 0.4 na 0.5 na 0.6
10 0 0.653 0.734 0.840 0.983 35 0 0.247 0.267 0.290 0.318
5 0.623 0.700 0.799 0.933 5 0.239 0.258 0.280 0.318
10 0.610 0.685 0.783 0.916 10 0.234 0.252 0.273 0.300
15 0 0.542 0.602 0.679 0.778 15 0.231 0.249 0.270 0.296
20 0.231 0.248 0.269 0.295
5 0.518 0.575 0.646 0.739
25 0.232 0.250 0.271 0.297
10 0.505 0.559 0.629 0.719
30 0.236 0.254 0.276 0.302
15 0.499 0.554 0.623 0.714
35 0.243 0.262 0.284 0.312
20 0 0.499 0.495 0.551 0.622 40 0 0.198 0.213 0.230 0.252
5 0.430 0.473 0.526 0.593
5 0.192 0.206 0.223 0.244
10 0.419 0.460 0.511 0.575
10 0.189 0.202 0.219 0.238
15 0.413 0.454 0.504 0.568
15 0.187 0.200 0.216 0.236
20 0.413 0.454 0.504 0.569
20 0.187 0.200 0.216 0.235
25 0 0.371 0.405 0.447 0.499 25 0.188 0.202 0.218 0.237
5 0.356 0.389 0.428 0.477 30 0.192 0.205 0.222 0.241
10 0.347 0.378 0.416 0.464 35 0.197 0.211 0.228 0.248
15 0.342 0.373 0.410 0.457 40 0.205 0.220 0.237 0.259
20 0.341 0.372 0.409 0.456 45 0 0.156 0.167 0.180 0.196
25 0.344 0.375 0.413 0.461
5 0.152 0.163 0.175 0.190
30 0 0.304 0.330 0.361 0.400 10 0.150 0.160 0.172 0.187
5 0.293 0.318 0.347 0.384 15 0.148 0.159 0.171 0.185
10 0.286 0.310 0.339 0.374 20 0.149 0.159 0.171 0.185
15 0.282 0.306 0.334 0.368 25 0.150 0.160 0.173 0.187
20 0.281 0.305 0.332 0.367 30 0.153 0.164 0.176 0.190
25 0.284 0.307 0.335 0.370 35 0.158 0.168 0.181 0.196
30 0.289 0.313 0.341 0.377 40 0.164 0.175 0.188 0.204
45 0.173 0.184 0.198 0.213
* After Kim and Preber, 1969. With permission from ASCE.
4cu
f sa gH 1 g sa 0.2 gH to 0.4 gH
2 H gH
sa 0.65 gH tan 45 2 for gH
cu 4 for cu 4
0.25H
0.25H
H 0.5H
0.75H
0.25H
s s s
a a a
(a) (b) (c)
A A
B
B C C
D E
D
F E Figure 14.12
sa
Example 14.2
A 7-m-deep braced cut in sand is shown in Figure 14.13. In the plan, the struts are
placed at s 2 m center to center. Using Peck’s empirical pressure diagram, calculate
the design strut loads.
5m
1m Sand
A f 30
3
g 16 kN/m
2m
2m
2m
Bottom of cut
Solution
Refer to Figure 14.11a. For the lateral earth pressure diagram,
sa 0.65gH tan 2 a45 f¿ b 10.65 2116 217 2 tan 2 a45 30 b 24.27 kN/m2
2 2
508 Chapter 14: Lateral Earth Pressure: Curved Failure Surface
B2
1m
1m 2
24.27 kN/m
A C
2
24.27 kN/m
2m 2m
B1
Assume that the sheeting is hinged at strut level B. Now refer to the diagram in Figure
14.14 We need to find reactions at A, B1, B2, and C. Taking the moment about B1, we
have
2A124.27 213 2 a 2 b; A 54.61 kN/m
3
Hence,
2
C 97.08 kN/m
So
B2 (24.27)(4) 97.08 0
The strut loads are as follows:
At level A: (A)(s) (54.61)(2) 109.22 kN
14.10 Summary
This chapter covers two major topics:
• Estimation of passive pressure using curved failure surface in soil
• Lateral earth pressure on braced cuts using the general wedge theory and pressure
envelopes for design of struts, wales, and sheet piles.
Passive pressure calculations using curved failure surface are essential for the case
in which d f /2, since plane-failure surface assumption provides results on the unsafe side
for design.
In the case of braced cuts, although the general wedge theory provides the force per
unit length of the cut, it does not provide the nature of distribution of earth pressure with
depth. For that reason, pressure envelopes are necessary for practical design.
Problems
14.1 Refer to the retaining wall shown in Figure 14.15. Given: u 10 , a 0,
g 15.5 kN/m3, f 35 , d 21 , and H 6 m. Estimate the passive force, Pp , per unit
length of the wall. Use Tables 14.1 and 14.2.
14.2 Refer to Figure 14.15. Given: H 15 ft, g 100 lb/ft3, f 30 , d 23 f¿, a 0, and u 0.
Calculate the passive force per unit length of the wall using Figure 14.5.
Granular backfill
H g
u f
c0
d
Figure 14.15
510 Chapter 14: Lateral Earth Pressure: Curved Failure Surface
g
c
f
d
H
d
P
a
na H
Figure 14.16
2 ft
A Struts—8 ft center to center
5 ft
B
5 ft Sand
22 ft g 8 ft
C
f
D 5 ft
8 ft
5 ft
(b) Plan
(a) Section
Figure 14.17
References 511
References
HIJAB, W. (1956). “A Note on the Centroid of a Logarithmic Spiral Sector,” Geotechnique, Vol. 4, No.
2, 96–99.
KIM, J. S., and PREBER, T. (1969). “Earth Pressure Against Braced Excavations,” Journal of the Soil
Mechanics and Foundations Division, ASCE, Vol. 95, No. SM6, 1581–1584.
PECK,R. B. (1969). “Deep Excavation and Tunneling in Soft Ground,” Proceedings, 7th International
Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Mexico City, State-of-the-Art Vol.,
225–290.
SUBBA RAO, K.S., AND CHOUDHURY, D. (2005). “Seismic Passive Earth Pressures in Soil,” Journal
of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol.
131, No. 1, 131–135.
SHIELDS, D. H., and TOLUNAY, A. Z. (1973). “Passive Pressure Coefficients by Method of Slices,”
Journal of the Soil Mechanics and Foundations Division, ASCE, Vol. 99, No. SM12, 1043–1053.
TERZAGHI, K. (1941). “General Wedge Theory of Earth Pressure,” Transactions, ASCE, Vol. 106, 68–
97.
TERZAGHI, K., and PECK, R. B. (1967). Soil Mechanics in Engineering Practice, 2nd ed., Wiley,
New York.
ZHU, D. Y., AND QIAN, Q. (2000). “Determination of Passive Earth Pressure Coefficient by the
Method of Triangular Slices,” Canadian Geotechnical Journal, Vol. 37, No. 2, 485–491.