22-Mar-17

Theory of Lateral Earth Pressure

Prof. Prasenjit Basu

Indian Institute of Technology Bombay

Lateral Earth Pressure on Retaining walls

 Two classical theories for calculating lateral earth
pressure:
 Rankine’s theory (1857)
 Coulomb’s theory (1776)

 Stress conditions in the ground

 At rest
 Active  =K 
 Passive

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“At rest”, “Active” & “Passive” soil states

Wall moving Wall moving

outwards inwards
Retaining
wall Soil failure Soil failure
wedge wedge

F0 Fa Fp
Retained soil

At rest Active Passive

NOTE: F0, Fa and Fp shown in the figures above are

reactions acting on the soil. An equal and opposite
(lateral) force is acting on the wall
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Development of Active and Passive Earth Pressure

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Coefficient of lateral earth pressure “at rest”

 Jaky (1944) developed the following equation of K0 for

cohesionless soil in the normally consolidated state:

K0= (1- sin ϕ)

where, ϕ is friction angle  often at critical state

 Mayne & Kulhawy (1982) gave the following empirical equation

for overconsolidated soils:
K0= (1- sin ϕ) OCRsin ϕ
where, OCR is the over consolidation ratio = ratio of maximum
effective vertical stress that has ever been imposed on the soil to its
current vertical effective stress level

 From elastic theory, K0= where ν is the Poisson's ratio.

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Rankine’s Earth Pressure Theory

ASSUMPTIONS

 The soil mass is semi infinite, homogeneous & isotropic

 The earth retaining wall is vertical
 Frictionless interface between the wall and soil
 The ground and failure surfaces are straight planes
 The resultant (earth) force acts parallel to the backfill slope

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Rankine’s “Active” soil state

“Pole” method
allows the
Wall is allowed to yield horizontally – orientation of the
move outwards – until the force on the wall failure planes to
drops to a minimum = Fa be determined
As wall moves, σ′h reduces until Mohr Circle graphically from
touches the failure surface the Mohr Circle
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Rankine’s “Active” soil state

From the geometry of the Mohr Circle at failure:


 =  σ = σ = Kaσ

Ka = = tan2 (45-ϕ/2)

K γH
F =
2

Since the stress distribution is triangular, Fa = the “area” of the

triangle, and the resultant Fa acts at a height H/3 from the base.

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Rankine’s “Passive” soil state

Wall is forced into the soil, until force =
Fp. As wall moves, σ′h increases until
Mohr Circle touches the failure surface.

C
t

f′ Pole
A Ds′h (+) 45-f′/2 s′
s′v s′h
s′v
A s′h
C′ 9

Rankine’s “Passive” soil state

The relationship between σ′h and σ′v has been established
from the geometry of the Mohr Circle at failure to be:

 =  σ = σ = Kpσ

Kp = = 1/Ka = tan2 (45+ϕ/2)

K γH
F =
2

Since the stress distribution is triangular, Fp = the “area” of the

triangle, and the resultant Fp acts at a height H/3 from the base.
10

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Saturated Sand: “At rest”, “Active”, “Passive”

The “soil” component The “water” component is

changes depending on the same for all cases,
whether we have “at irrespective of wall
rest”, “active” or movement (note: assumed
“passive” conditions that there is no water flow) 11

Water table at intermediate height

Example of an Active Case (same principles apply to the other cases)

Total force Ftotal = F1 + F2 + F3 + Fw

To find height at which Ftotal acts, take moments:
Moment of Ftotal about the base =  moments of the other forces about the base
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Presence of Uniform Surcharge Load

Fa

• Total active pressure at depth H, s h  qK A    H1   b H 2  K A   w H 2

1 1
•
2
2

2

Total active force = Fa  qHK A   H1 K A   H1 H 2 K A  H 2  b K A   w
2

Find the height at which Fa acts by taking moment equilibrium
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Rankine’s Earth Pressure Theory – General Case

cos − cos − cos

= cos
q0 cos + cos − cos

ba

/3 cos + cos − cos

= cos
cos − cos − cos

14

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Rankine’s theory for c-ϕ soil

σ = σ Ka − 2c Ka = γ zKa − 2c Ka
for active case

σ = σ Kp + 2c Kp = γ zKp + 2c Kp
for passive case

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Distribution of σ for active state in the

presence of apparent cohesion
intercept
σ = σ Ka − 2c Ka = γ zKa − 2c Ka

zc σ = −2c Ka at z = 0
z

σ = 0 at z = zc
 σ Ka − 2c Ka = 0
(γ zc) Ka=2c Ka
zc =2c/ Ka
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Coulomb’s Earth Pressure Theory

 Based on Limit Equilibrium Method (LEM)
 Essential steps in LEM are:
 Selection of a plausible failure mechanism
 Determination of the forces acting on the failure surface
 Use of equilibrium equations to determine the maximum thrust
H cot q
Retaining
wall Failed soil wedge
H
T
W
Slip plane Fa
N

Fa + T cos q - N sin q = 0
q q W – T sin q - N cos q = 0
W = 0.5  H2 cot q
To find the maximum thrust, Fa/ q = 0 T = N tan f
Fa = 0.5  H2 tan2(45 - f/2) = 0.5 Ka H2 Fa = 0.5  H2 cot q tan(q - f) 17

Coulomb’s Wedge Analysis

 The wedge passes through the heel
 Rigid body movement of the wedge
 Fa and Fp acts at H/3 from the base of the wall
 Soil-wall interface friction (friction angle: δ)
 Sloping retained soil mass (slope angle: β)
 Inclined wall (wall inclination: βw)
β

f, 
c=0 Wall friction angle:
H Semi-infinite, f<δ< f
homogeneous and
δ isotropic soil mass
Fa Slip plane
βw q
18

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Coulomb’s Earth Pressure Theory: “Active” case

Fa(max)

Active
force

C2 C3 β
C1
Fa
βw -δ

q1-f
W R
H

δ T
fN
Fa R
βw q1

sin β + ϕ
K =
sin ϕ + δ sin ϕ − β
sin β sin β − δ 1+
sin β − δ sin β + β 19

Coulomb’s Earth Pressure Theory: “Passive” case

Passive
force
Fp(min)

C2 C3 β
C1

Fp

βw+δ
T
Fp W R W
H
R q1+f
δ f
N

βw q1

sin β − ϕ
K =
sin ϕ + δ sin ϕ + β
sin β sin β + δ 1 +
sin β + δ sin β + β 20

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Caquot & Kerisel Curves (Ka & Kp)

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