LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE (1)

Introduction
• Many structures are subjected to lateral (sideways)
earth (or similar) pressures – examples include
• Soil pressure on retaining walls, eg

Mass concrete gravity wall Cantilever wall

• Soil pressure on buried pipes
or tunnels
P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 1
 LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE (2)
• Soil pressure on vertical bore casing (eg, in water
wells) - (as in previous diagram, but a plan view)
• Grain pressure on silo walls and bins, or water
pressure in tanks

grain
water

• In this topic we will focus on lateral pressures due

to soil loading, with a particular emphasis on
retaining walls
P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 2
 LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE (3)
At-rest stresses
• For an element of soil at some depth beneath a horiz.
ground surface, the relationship between horizontal &
vertical effective (principal*) stresses is
Ko = sh’ / sv’, where
Ko is the coefficient of lateral earth stress at rest
[*NB: there is no shear stress on vertical or horizontal planes if ground is flat]

• Ko can be estimated from a range of expressions, but

for normally consol.clays & granular soils, may be
taken as 1 - sin f’ (f’ is the angle of internal friction
(or shearing resistance) based on effective stresses)
See S, pge 183, or other texts: note that general (ie, s, c and f) rather than effective
(ie, s’, c’ and f’) symbols are often used in text coverage of this topic; however,
effective values should be used when necessary / appropriate
P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 3
 LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE (4)
• Ko is typically around 0.5 - 0.7 for NC (normally
consolidated) soils, but can have values much greater
than 1 in heavily OC (overconsolidated) soils
• The latter can occur because Ko typically remains
constant during deposition, but in the subsequent
erosion phase sv’ decreases significantly while sh’
remains almost constant, leading to an increase in Ko
[NB: horizontal effective stress sh’ = sh - u]
Stresses under lateral deformation conditions
• Let us now assume the element is in a mass of soil
behind a retaining wall & the wall is allowed to move
away from the soil slightly - in this situation, the
lateral (horizontal) stresses in the soil will be reduced

P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 4

 LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE (5)
• If the wall moves far enough, sh’ will reduce to a
minimum value called the active lateral earth
stress, and we can then say Ka = shmin’ / sv’, where
Ka is the coefficient of active lateral earth stress
• Similarly, if the wall is pushed into the soil mass far
enough, sh’ will increase to a max. value called the
passive lateral earth stress, and we can then say
Kp = shmax’ / sv’, where Kp is the coefficient of
passive lateral earth stress
d d
q q
soil soil soil soil
lateral s h’
translation rotation
active s v’ passive
P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 5
 LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE (6)
• For a wall height H, the typ. amount of translation
movement req’d to develop the active stress state is
Eg, for H=4m,
– 0.001H - 0.004H for sandy soils, dense to loose 0.004-0.016m
– 0.01H - 0.05H for undrained clayey soils, firm to soft
• Passive stresses require much more movement for
their full development than do active stresses, eg, up
Eg, for H=4m,
to 0.02H for sandy soils up to 0.08m
• Minimum and maximum lateral stresses can be
shown on a Mohr circle diagram (see next slide)
• Note that for the active case, the vertical stress sv’ is
the major principal stress s1’, and the minimum
lateral stress shmin’ is the minor principal stress s3’
P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 6
 LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE (7)

sa’ = shmin’ = Kasv’

t
s = s’ tan f’ f’ s p ’= s hmax ’ = K p s v
’

so’ = sh’ (horiz’l

at rest)
s a’ sp’ s ’ = vert effective
v
s o’ s v’ stress
s’
Sample Mohr Circle plots for a cohesionless soil (c’ = 0)
Eg, if K0 = 0.5, Ka might be  0.33, and Kp might be  3; see slide 11

• For the passive case, the vertical stress sv’ is the

minor principal stress s3’, and the maximum lateral
stress shmax’ is the major principal stress s1’
See S, pges 183-4

P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 7

 LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE (8)
• Values of Ka & Kp also depend on whether there is
relative (vertical) movement b/n soil and the wall -
similarly, an inclined soil surface behind wall will
affect these values
• If an active wedge of retained soil slips down
behind wall and a passive wedge at the toe is pushed
up, frictional &/or cohesive shear stresses develop
along the wall surfaces
• These lead to inclined resultant forces on rear and
front faces of the wall - these forces act at angle d to
a normal to the wall surface - d is called the angle
of wall friction
P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 8
 LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE (9)
d = angle of
wall friction
arrows show Ra
Twa
movement of
Pp d
wall wall & soil Pa
Twp
wedges Rp
Broken lines show initial positions Active, passive & friction
of wall and wedges forces acting on wall
• Calculated forces will also be affected by water
presence, loading surcharges, & use of appropriate
soil parameters
• Two methods are commonly used to estimate active
and passive earth pressures, ie, Rankine’s method
and Coulomb’s method
P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 9
 LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE (10)
Rankine’s method
• Is based on the following (simplifying) assumptions
– a horizontal ground surface behind the wall
– a vertical-backed wall & no movement b/n wall & soil
(ie, no friction or cohesion along back of the wall)
– homogeneous, isotropic soil
– adequate movement for active /passive pressures to be
fully developed
– the wall section is unit length of an infinitely long wall
• Consideration of the positions of s1 & s3 and Mohr
Circle geometry for both the active & passive cases
for a cohesionless soil (see next slide & text) gives
the soil failure surface angles & values for Ka and Kp
P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 10
 LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE (11)
major prin. stress direction (45 - f / 2) major prin. stress direction
failure planes
s3 = sv f
f
s1 =
Kpsv

s3 = active passive
Kas v See S, pges 92-96, 185-91
s1 = sv
• Plane failure surfaces occur at angles of 45 - f / 2
(active) and 45 + f / 2 (passive) to the vertical
• Ka = (1 - sin f) / (1 + sin f) = tan2(45 - f /2)
and
Kp = (1 + sin f) / (1 - sin f) = tan2(45 + f /2)
P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 11
 LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE (12)
• For c-f soils the situation is more complicated, as
the tangents to circles no longer pass through the
origin, and the above geometry no longer holds
• For these cases, the previous formulae for Ka & Kp
remain the same, but the simple expressions
sa’ (= pa’) = Kasv’ and sp’ (= pp’) = Kpsv’ must be
modified to account for the effects of cohesion
• [Note wrt the above that lateral stresses are often
referred to as lateral pressures & given the symbol p]
• The geometry of the Mohr circles with cohesion
included can be used to determine these modified
expressions eg, see S pge 191-195 for active &
passive cases with cohesion
P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 12
 LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE (13)
• Thus if pa and pp are active and passive earth
pressures, the modified (general) expressions are
pa = Kasv - 2c Ka 0.5 ………………………(1) or
pa = tan2(45 - f /2) sv - 2c tan (45 - f /2) …(1a)
and
pp = Kpsv + 2c Kp 0.5 ………………………(2) or
pp = tan2(45 + f /2) sv + 2c tan (45 + f /2) …(2a)
• Note that p, sv, c & f here are generalized values -
effective values, undrained values etc should be
used where appropriate
• Note that for a point at depth h in a soil of unit
weight g, sv is simply equal to gh
P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 13
 LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE (14)
• If the soil is dry (unit wt gd) & cohesionless, &
there is no surcharge loading, the c terms disappear
& pressures at depth h below the ground surface are
pa = Kasv or tan2(45 - f /2) gdh and
pp = Kpsv or tan2(45 + f /2) gdh
• NB: If the soil is saturated to a depth hw above the
base of the wall, an effective vertical stress sv’ is
calculated using bulk specific weight g above the w/t
and buoyant specific weight below - f’ is used in the
equations - total pressure distribution on the wall is
then taken as pa’ + hydrostatic pressure below the
w/t (see following pressure diagrams)
nb: if soil above w/t is completely dry, then g = gd; below the w/t, gbuoyant = gsat - gw
P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 14
 LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE (15)
• Pressure diagrams Active case
cohesionless, cohesionless,
h dry w/t above base,
hw +
dry above w/t

pa = pa’ = Kagdh pa’ = Ka [gd(h - hw) + + gwhw

(gsat - gw)hw)]
• Passive case pressure diagrams are similar in
shape to those above, but Ka is replaced by Kp in the
expressions - since Kp > Ka, the pressures at any
depth are significantly greater See S, pge 191

• [Except for wharf walls, etc, a water table should be

prevented from building up behind a retaining wall
by providing an adequate drainage system]
P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 15
 LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE (16)
• If the soil behind the wall slopes upwards at an angle
b to the horizontal, active pressure (and the
resultant active force Pa / unit length) are
assumed to act parallel to ground surface, with
Ka = cos b [cos b -  (cos2b - cos2f)] = cos b x Z
[cos b +  (cos2b - cos2f)]
See S, pge 185-8

b For the passive case,

Kp = cos b / Z
h/3
h Pa = Kag h2/2 Note that when b is
b small (say < 10o),
cos b  1 and
p = K gh Kp  1 / Ka
a a
P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 16
 LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE (17)
• For fine-grained soils with cohesion, active
pressure distribution diagrams based on equ’n
1or 1a have a negative component at the top - in
reality this indicates a zone of tension cracking in
the soil behind the wall 0 = K gh - 2c K a c a
0.5

• Tension crack depth (found by putting pa = 0 in

equ’n 1) is hc = 2c / gKa 0.5 - tension cracks can only
occur in clays, and are only important in
undrained conditions - hence the c value used here
should be the undrained cohesion cu
• For saturated clays, fu = 0 (hence Ka = Kp =1),
and the expression above simplifies to hc = 2cu / g
Since Ka = (1 - sin 0) / (1 + sin 0) = 1, and Kp = (1 + sin 0) / (1 - sin 0) = 1
P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 17
 LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE (18)
• Negative pressures in the tension crack zone are
ignored, & the pressure there is taken as zero
• However if water can enter / fill tension cracks, a
hydrostatic pressure distribution should be used
over the depth hc
• The pressure distribution diagrams for these cases
for a soil with undrained cohesion cu are as follows
- 2cu Ka0.5 u = gwhc
tension crack tension crack full of
dry water - hydrostatic
h pressure distribution
hc

pa = Kagh - 2cuKa0.5
P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 18
 LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE (19)
• For the passive situation with cohesive soils, the
pressure distribution diagram based on equ’n 2 or
2a indicates that there will be a positive pressure of
2cuKp 0.5 at the ground surface, ie, when sv = 0
• Each of these pressure
2cuKp0.5
distributions can be
used to find resultant
lateral forces acting on h
the wall
• Points of application are
found in the same way as pp = Kpgh + 2cuKp0.5
in Fluid Mechanics
P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 19
 LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE (20)
Coulomb’s method
• Is based on the following assumptions:
– the soil is homogeneous, isotropic, & has both internal
friction and cohesion
– both the failure surface & the backfill surface are
planar
– friction stresses are distributed uniformly along the
failure surface, & the coefficient of friction = tan f
– a wedge of soil slips behind the wall, & behaves as a
rigid body
– wall friction / adhesion is developed by relative
movement between soil and wall
– failure occurs under plane strain conditions
P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 20
 LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE (21)
• In this method, the total active force Pa acting on
the wall is found by considering the equilibrium of a
slipping wedge of soil as shown below See S, pge 195+
• Pa can be found for several trial wedges (as defined
by angle a) until the largest value is obtained
• With d > 0, the actual failure surface is slightly
curved ( small error), but this is usually ignored
wedge
Pa
W W
S fd W
R
N ==>
d
Rf
P T
Pa equilibrium of
a a
forces
See also Culmann graphical method, S pge 197-202
P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 21
 LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE (22)
• For this case, the total active force Pa = 0.5Ka gH2,
where H is the wall height and Ka is now given by
2
cosec y sin (y - f)
 sin (y + d) +  (sin (f + d) sin (f - b) / sin (y - b))
where y = angle of back of wall to the horizontal, d = angle
of wall friction, & b = angle of inclination of the surface of
the retained soil to the horizontal See S, pges 195-6

backfill
b
surface
d Pa wall pressure
H Note value of Ka
distribution
for y = 90o,
H/3 y b = d = 0 becomes
d
(1-sinf) / (1+sin f) Ka gH
P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 22
 LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE (23)
• The above solution applies only to cohesionless
soils, ie, where only frictional force acts on the
failure plane
• Note that if y = 90o (ie, vertical-backed wall) and
d = b, the formula for Ka reduces to the Rankine
value for a sloping backfill (see LEP slide 16), & if
b = 0, to the Rankine value ((1 - sin f) / (1 + sin f))
• For passive pressures & assumed
failure
cohesionless soils, there is
surface
substantial curvature of the active
failure surface if d > f / 3, actual
& the above type of theory failure
passive
cannot be used surface
P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 23
 LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE (24)
• In this case more complex calculation methods are
used and Kp values are obtained from tables in texts
etc eg, see S, pge 203

• If d < f / 3, Coulomb’s theory can be used with Kp =

2
cosec y sin (y + f)
 sin (y - d) -  (sin (f + d) sin (f + b) / sin (y - b))
where the symbols have the same meaning as previously
• It can again be shown that when y = 90o, & d = b = 0,
the above expression for Kp reduces to the Rankine
value of (1 + sin f) / (1 - sin f)

P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 24

 LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE (25)
• For cohesive soils, analytical sol’ns for Coulomb’s
method are only available for simple cases, ie,
vertical-backed wall & horizontal soil surface
• The horizontal component of active stress (pah )
acting on a wall retaining a clay soil is given by
pah = Kah sv - c Kac where
Kah = Ka cos d, and Kac = 2(Ka)0.5(1 + cw / c)0.5, &
cw is the adhesion b/n backfill & wall See S, pge 201-2

• For short term undrained conditions, c is taken as cu,

and cw is often taken as the same value (up to a
maximum of 50 kPa); Ka is obtained from the
Coulomb equ’n (see slide 22); for saturated clay,
fu = 0, in which case d = 0 and Ka =1
P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 25
 LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE (26)
• The horizontal component of passive stress (pph )
acting on a wall retaining a clay soil is given by
pph = Kphsv + c Kpc where
Kph = Kp cos d, and Kpc = 2(Kp)0.5(1 + cw / c)0.5, &
cw is the adhesion b/n backfill & wall
• For short term undrained conditions, c is taken as cu,
and cw is often taken as 0.5cu (with a maximum of
25 kPa); Kp is obtained from the Coulomb equ’n
(see slide 24); for saturated clay, fu = 0, in which
case d = 0 and Kp =1
• Values of Kph & Kpc as above can also be obtained
directly from tables eg, see S pges 204-5

P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 26

 LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE (27)
Surcharge loadings
• A uniform surcharge load of ws / m2 on the soil
behind a wall can be considered as equivalent to an
extra height (he) of soil behind the wall, where
he = (ws / g) (sin y / sin (y + b))
& g = soil unit weight, b = soil slope as before, & y =
angle of back of wall to the horizontal See S, pge 206-7

• For a vertical-back wall & y=90o, ws

he
b=0o
horizontal soil surface, this
reduces to he = ws / g Soil,
• Pressure due to surcharge can h un. wt lat. press.
g distrib’n
simply be added to the pressure
distribution diagrams to allow
calculation of resultant forces Kag h
wall Kag he
P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 27
 LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE (28)
• Point or line surcharge loadings (ie, on the soil
behind the wall) can be handled by approximation
(eg, see below) or by the Culmann method See S, pge 209
• Earlier S edn gives the approximate method shown
here, which is taken from one WL kN/m
of the earlier British Codes of
Civil Engineering Practice
40o
• Barnes (see refs) gives a more
detailed method (suggested by
KaWL kN/m
Terzaghi) from the US
NAVFAC Design Manual
Line Load

P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 28

 LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE (29)
Effect of stratified soil profiles
• If there are 2 or more layers of different soils behind
a wall, effective lateral stresses should be estimated
at the top and base of each layer (using total
vertical stresses, porewater pressure (if present), &
lateral earth pressure coefficients)
• If a stronger soil underlies a sa’ (or pa’)
weaker one (eg, dense sand
under loose sand), there will loose sand
(say f = 29o)
usually be a decrease in
active stress at top of the lower
layer (due to reduced Ka value dense sand
associated with typ. f values) (say f = 39o)
Remember Ka = (1 - sin f) / (1 + sin f) depth
P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 29
 LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE (30)
• In the case above, if the layers were reversed, there
would be an increase in stress at the top of the lower
layer Again check using K = (1 - sin f) / (1 + sin f))
a

• A similar sharp drop in lateral stress typically occurs

when a clay underlies sand - in sa’ (or pa’)
this case the negative stress at
the top of the clay layer is sand
+
ignored Remember p = K s - 2c K , slide 13 a - a v a
0.5

• Resultant forces on the wall can clay

-ve if 2c K 0.5
be calculated from these pressure >K s a v
a

distributions by considering them +

in sections & using superposition depth

P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 30

 LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE (31)
Limits on passive stress in design
• Because the large movement req’d to develop full
passive stresses would be unacceptable with most
walls (especially with loose sands & soft clays),
only part of the passive lateral stress may be
considered (eg, about 60% in loose sands)
• Eg, the full resisting
passive pressure on
surface AB cannot be
mobilised without A See slide 6:
eg, movement
excessive movement B up to 0.02H
required for
of the wall to the left sandy soils

P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 31

 LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE (32)
Active stresses on cantilever retaining walls
• The choice b/n using Rankine or Coulomb methods
to estimate overall stability depends on the the wall’s
heel width - two cases are possible as follows
• Shorter heel (the Coulomb case): no movement
– a complete sliding wedge
A
can’t develop on the left
side of AB - hence this soil movement
block acts with the wall tw
itself
– the soil to the right of AB
tends to slip down, & “wall B
friction” develops on AB

P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 32

 LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE (33)
• Longer heel (the Rankine case):
– in this case the double
wedge of soil ACBDA can C A D
slip downwards as the movement
wall moves forward and
there will be only horiz’l
stresses on the plane AB,
which is effectively the
back of the wall B
• It is usual to use the Rankine method for estimating
active lateral forces on the stems of walls up to
about 6 - 7m (eg, for reinforced concrete design)
• Above this height, it is more economical to use the
Coulomb equation See also S, pge 210, for general comments on choice
of method – eg, Rankine easier, conservative, approx.
P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 33
 EARTH RETAINING STRUCTURES (1)
General purpose
• To prevent soil falling or sliding into a trench,
cutting, or downslope, or to raise an embankment
with vertical sides (eg, bridge abutments)
• Are typ. used where there is not enough space to cut
slopes back to an angle where they will remain stable
Broad classification of retaining structures S, ch.8

• Externally stabilized systems, ie, using some form

of external structural wall - main types are
– gravity walls,eg, masonry, mass or reinforced concrete,
cantilever, buttress, counterfort, gabion, or crib walls
– in-situ walls, eg, sheet pile, diaphragm / slurry walls,
soldier piles with infill (slabs / gunite) between them
P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 34
 EARTH RETAINING STRUCTURES (2)
• Internally stabilized systems, ie, using
reinforcement in & extending beyond the soil mass
likely to fail
• Hybrid systems combining elements of both of
these, eg (externally) braced or (internally)
anchored walls
• Externally stabilized walls can also be classified as
– flexible, ie, with low stiffness normal to direction of
soil stress, eg, timber planks, thin concrete slabs, steel
interlocking sections (with low “zig-zag” in plan) -
must be propped or tied back if higher than 2-3 m
– rigid, ie, with thicker cross-section which does not
bend in response to soil stress - usually built of plain
or reinforced concrete
P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 35
 EARTH RETAINING STRUCTURES (3)
Rigid walls
• Mass gravity walls: rely on self-weight for stability,
have trapezoidal x-section, base width 0.3-0.5 x
height (h), min top width 0.3 m, economic height 4-
5m
• Cantilever walls: consist of reinforced base slab &
cantilevered vertical stem, with soil weight on rear
part of the base providing stability - base width (B)
typ. 0.4-0.7 x h, & thickness about 0.1h, heights
typically to about 7 m
[see LEP slide 1 or texts for diagrams of these types]
eg, S pge 222+, and charts 17a & c

P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 36

 EARTH RETAINING STRUCTURES (4)
• Counterfort wall: similar to above, ie, reinforced
concrete, but with triangular elements (ribs) linking
stem to (rear) of base at spacing about 0.67 x h -
economic height typically greater than 6-8 m
• Buttressed wall: similar to counterfort, but linking
elements (ribs) are on front face of wall, & in
compression rather than tension - often not practical
for space reasons
Note
section section position
through through of triang.
counterfort buttressed linking
wall wall elements
P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 37
 EARTH RETAINING STRUCTURES (5)
Other types of gravity walls
• Crib walls: comprise interlocking concrete or timber
elements placed in criss-cross fashion to form
“frames” backfilled with (mainly)granular soil - face
usually tilted at about 1H:6V, widths 0.5-1.0 x h,
height to about 6 m See S, pge 223

• Gabion walls: built from “blocks” of stone encased

by wire or steel mesh - can be up to 2 m long and
1m2 in x-section - blocks are stacked with stepped
face, with base width about 0.5 x h - height to (say)
5-6 m, composed of several layers - often used for
riverbank stabilization
P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 38
 EARTH RETAINING STRUCTURES (6)
In-situ walls
• Sheet pile walls: usually formed by series of
interlocking steel piles driven into soil - may
operate as cantilever, with balanced soil forces on
either side, or as front-braced or rear-tied wall -
heights depend on method, but typically to 6m
See chart 17b

• Diaphragm walls: reinforced concrete wall acting

in same way as cantilevered sheet piling - built by
excavating trench sections, keeping open with
bentonite slurry, placing reo. & then concrete (by
tremie) which displaces the slurry See S, pge 224

P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 39

 EARTH RETAINING STRUCTURES (7)
Internally stabilised systems
• Reinforced earth: formed by burying strips / grids
in free draining granular soil built up behind a thin
facing wall - strips/grids are typ. metal (galvanised
or stainless steel, copper, etc) or polymers (no
corrosion) - facing wall is typically precast concrete
• Anchored earth: formed by placing steel rods (say
16-20mm f) with end Z / triangular anchors at say
0.6-1.0m spacings in fill, and screwed to facing
units - otherwise may be placed in-situ in angled
drillholes (or fired into the soil by comp. air)
See S, pges 250-2

P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 40

 EARTH RETAINING STRUCTURES (8)
Factors affecting choice of retaining structure
• Loads on structure (from retained soil, external
loading)
• Type of retained soil (c, f, hydraulic conductivity, etc)
• Foundation conditions / groundwater regime
• Wall height
• Presence of adjacent structures (external loading), and
allowable soil movement
• Space available for construction, and for wall function
(eg, u/g car park basement, wall along lot bldg line)
• Possible construction techniques and equipment
• Codes of practice, local experience and practice
• Cost
P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 41
 DESIGN OF RIGID GRAVITY WALLS (1)
Typical types / causes of failure in rigid gravity
walls, & basic design checks to guard against these
See S, pge 225+ for Eurocode req’ts, & additional diagrams on pge 265, S 8 th edn

• (Deep) slip failure through surrounding soil -

carry out conventional slip circle stability analyses
(nb: not a failure of the wall
itself) wall tilts
back
soil bulges here
base
soil
soft soil layer, with shallow
low shear strength segment slips
failure in
deep slip failure base soil
P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 42
 DESIGN OF RIGID GRAVITY WALLS (2)
• Bearing failure of soil (usually) under toe – find
max & min bearing stresses beneath wall and apply
standard FOS (eg, 3) to qu (ie, UBC)  qa
• Then max pressure on base (at toe) pmax must be < qa
• pbase = Rv/A  My/I, where M
A= Bx1, I = B3/12 & y = B/2 Rv
B
• Section modulus of foundation
2
e
strip = I/y = B /6, & M = Rv.e Rv
 pmax/min = Rv/B[1  6e/B] x
pmin
• If Rv lies outside middle third, p Rv/B
max
pmax = 2Rv / 3x, & pmin = 0 2 6Rve/B
See S, pge 227+, but note Eurocode limit state methods pressure distribution
P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 43
 DESIGN OF RIGID GRAVITY WALLS (3)
• Overturning about the toe - check moments on
wall – should be OK if resultant of Pa and W passes
through the middle third of the base
• FOS against overturning about toe =
sum of resisting moments
sum of overturning moments
= (W.a + Pv.x) / Ph.y or x
= W.a / Pa.m
Pa
Pv
• Commonly accepted values W Ph
for FOS are: y
cohesionless soils – 1.5 m
cohesive soils – 2 a

P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 44

 DESIGN OF RIGID GRAVITY WALLS (4)
• Forward sliding - check horizontal force balance
• Usually only shear stresses on the base of the wall are
considered (with passive resistance at the toe being
ignored) – however passive resistance due to an
optional key (usually at the heel) may be considered
• Resisting force Pr = Pv.tan d + cw.B where
Pv = wall wt + soil wt on heel + any surcharge load,
d & cw = base friction angle & adhesion respectively
• Design values of f’ & cu are
often taken as 0.67 x test values soil
– use cu, fu or c’, f’ as appropriate wt
Ph
• Then tan d = 0.75 x design tan f’ Pv
& cw = 0.75 x design cu key
cw
• FOS = Pr / Ph & should be  1.5
B
P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 45
 DESIGN OF RIGID GRAVITY WALLS (5)
• Structural failure due to inadequate design &/or
construction, or gradual deterioration of materials
• Excessive deformation of the wall or supported
ground  major adverse effects on adjacent ground
&/or structures – check structural integrity of wall,
resistance to deformation & settlement
For cantilever walls, use forces on stem and base
slab to determine shear forces and bending moments
& thus dimensions, reo req’ts and positioning
• No / inadequate drainage system  excess pore
pressures & forces on back of wall – pay careful
attention to backfill material & drainage system –
aim is to reduce water pressures in the soil
P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 46
 DESIGN OF RIGID GRAVITY WALLS (6)
Key features of retaining wall drainage systems
• An “impervious” layer (say clay, asphalt, or concrete,
& graded to a removal drain) if possible to minimise
infiltration of water into the backfill behind the wall
• Free-draining backfill, or drainage channels within the
backfill, &/or against the back of the wall (eg,a
geofabric wick drain can be used in the latter case)
• Weepholes, typ. 75-100mm f & at 1.5-4.5m centres,
through the wall face (with granular backfill), or
• A longitudinal drain in the backfill at the wall base,
supplied by a wick drain or vertical drainage blanket
behind the wall, & weepholes  atmos. press. in soil
behind the wall (for moderately pervious backfill), or
P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 47
 DESIGN OF RIGID GRAVITY WALLS (7)
• For low permeability backfill, preferably an inclined
layer draining to a longitudinal base drain (this will
encourage vertically downward seepage), or
• For a swelling clay backfill, drainage layers at top &
bottom to try to keep moisture content constant &
control high lateral stresses due to swelling
(see texts & examples below) eg, see S pges 211-213

drain drainage
filters impervious layer
drainage
granular blanket or swelling
backfill wick drain clay
weepholes long.
drain drain
P. Lechte / D. Jordan (2003) Lateral Earth Pressures 48