Lateral Earth Pressure Lesson

T A N J U N G P U R A U N IV E R S IT Y
Civil Department Engineering Faculty
Lesson3: Lateral Earth Pressure
Dr.Ing. Eka Priadi
Jalan Ahmad Yani Pontianak - 78124 01

3.1 Introduction
A retaining wall is a wall that provides lateral support for a vertical or near-
vertical slope of soil. The most common types of retaining wall may be
classified as follows:
1. Gravity retaining walls

2. Semigravity retaining walls
3. Cantilever retaining walls
4. Counterfort retaining walls

Figure 1 Types of retaining wall

Gravity retaining walls (Figure 1a) are constructed with plain concrete or
stone masonry. These walls depend on their own weight and any soil resting
on the masonry for their stability. This type of construction is not very
economical for high walls.
In many cases, a small amount of steel may be used for the construction of
gravity walls, thereby minimizing the size of the wall sections. Such walls
are generally referred to as Semigravity walls (Figure 1b).
Cantilever retaining walls (Figure 1c) are made of reinforced concrete that
consists of a thin stem and a base slab. This type of wall is economical up
to a height of about 8 m.

Counterfort retaining walls (Figure 1d) are similar to cantilever walls

except for the fact that, at regular intervals, they have thin vertical concrete
slabs known as counterforts that tie the wall and the base slab together. The
purpose of the counterforts is to reduce the shear and the bending
moments.
There are two phases in the design of a retaining wall. First, with the lateral
earth pressure known, the structure as a whole is checked for stability. This
includes checking for possible overturning, sliding, and bearing capacity
failures. Second, each component of the structure is checked for adequate
strength, and the steel reinforcement of each component is determined.

3.2 Lateral Earth Pressure At Rest
Consider a vertical wall of height H, as shown in Figure 2, retaining a soil

having a unit weight of g. A uniformly distributed load, q/unit area, is also
applied at the ground surface. The shear strength, s, of the soil may be
given by the equation
s = c + s tan f
where c = cohesion
f = angle of friction
s = effective normal stress

Figure 2 At-rest earth pressure

At any depth z below the ground surface, the vertical stress below the
ground surface can be given as
sv = q + gz (1)
If the wall is not allowed to move at all either way from the soil mass or into
the soil mass (for example, zero horizontal strain), the lateral pressure at a
depth z can be given as
sh = K0 sv + u (2)
where u = pore water pressure

K0 = coefficient of at-rest earth pressure

For normally consolidated granular soil, the relation for K0 is
K0 1 sin f (3)
Note that the preceding equation is an empirical approximation.
For normally consolidated clays, the coefficient of earth pressure at rest can
be approximated as follows (Brooker and Ireland, 1965):
K0 0.95 sin f (4)
where f = drained friction angle

Based on the experimental results of Brooker and Ireland (1965), the value
of K0 for normally consolidated clays can be approximately correlated with
plasticity index (PI) as
K0 = 0.4 + 0.007(PI) (for PI between 0 and 40) (5)
K0 = 0.64 + 0.001(PI) (for PI between 40 and 80) (6)
For overconsolidated clays
K0(overconsolidated) K0(normally consolidated)OCR (7)
where OCR = overconsolidation ratio

With a properly selected value of the at-rest earth pressure coefficient, Eq.
(5.2) can be used to determine the variation of lateral earth pressure with
depth, z. Figure 2(b) shows the variation of sh with depth for the wall shown
in Figure 2(a).
P0 = P1 + P2 = qK0 H + gH2 K0 (8)
where P1 = area of rectangle 1

P2 = area of triangle 2
The location of the line of action of the resultant force, P0, can be obtained
by taking the moment about the bottom of the wall. Thus

H H
P1 P2
z 3
2
P0 (9)
If the water table is located at a certain depth, z H, the at-rest pressure

diagram shown in Figure 2(b) will have to be somewhat modified. This is
shown in Figure 3. Let the effective unit weight of soil below the water be
equal to g (that is, gsat gw). For this condition
At z = 0, sh = K0 sv = K0 q
At z = H1, sh = K0 sv = K0(q + gH1)
At z = H2, sh = K0 sv = K0(q + gH1 + gH2)

Figure 3

Note that in the preceding equations, sv and sh are effective vertical and
horizontal pressures.
The hydrostatic pressure, u, is
At z = 0, u=0
At z = H1, u=0
At z = H2, u = H2 gw
The variation of sh and u with depth is shown in Figure 3(b). Hence the total
force per unit length of the wall can be determined from the area of the
pressure diagram. Thus

P0 = A1 + A2 + A3 + A4 + A5
where A = area of the pressure diagram
So
P0 = K0 qH1 + K0 gH21 + K0 (q + gH1)H2

+ K0 gH22 + gwH22 (10)
Sherif, Fang, and Sherif (1984) have shown by several laboratory model
tests that Eq. (3) gives good results for estimating the lateral earth pressure
at rest for loose sands. However, for compacted dense sand, it grossly
underestimates the value of K0. For that reason, they proposed the following
modified relationship for K0 :

gd
K 0 1 sin f
1 5.5 (11)
g d(min)
where gd = in situ unit weight of sand

gd(min) = minimum possible dry unit weight of sand

Example 1
A retaining wall is 10 ft high. The backfill is dense sand. Given: f = 40, gd =

108 lb/ft3, and gd(min) = 97 lb/ft3. Determine the lateral earth force at rest per
unit length of the wall. [Use Eq. (11).]
Figure 4

Solution
Refer to Figure 4. From Eq. (11)
gd
K 0 1 sin f
1 5.5
g d(min)
108
1 sin 40 1 5.5
97
0.357 0.634 0.991

At z = 0, sv = 0, sh = 0
At z = 10 ft, sv = (10)(108) = 1080 lb/ft2

sh = K0 sv = (0.991)(1080) = 1070.3 lb/ft2
The at-rest force per unit length of the wall is the area of the triangle shown
in Figure 4(b). So
P0 = (1070.3)(10) = 5351.5 lb/ft.

Example 2
For the retaining wall shown in Figure 5(a), determine the lateral earth force
at rest per unit length of the wall. Also determine the location of the resultant
earth pressure.
Figure 5

Solution
K0 = 1 sin f = 1 sin 30 = 0.5
At z = 0, sv = 0 ; sh = 0
At z = 2.5 m, sv = (16.5)(2.5) = 41.25 kN/m2 ;

sh = K0 sv = (0.5)(41.25) = 20.63 kN/m2
At z = 5 m, sv = (16.5)(2.5) + (19.3 9.81) 2.5

= 64.98 kN/m2,
sh = K0 sv = (0.5)(64.98) = 32.49 kN/m2

The hydrostatic pressure distribution is as follows:
From z = 0 to z = 2.5 m, u=0
At z = 5 m, u = gw (2.5) = (9.81)(2.5)
= 24.53 kN/m2
The pressure distribution for the wall is shown in Figure 5(b).
The total force per unit length of the wall can be determined from the area of
the pressure diagram, or
P0 = Area 1 + Area 2 + Area 3 + Area 4

= (2.5)(20.63) + (2.5)(20.63) + (2.5)(32.49 20.63)
+ (2.5)(24.53) = 122.85 kN/m

The location of the center of pressure measured from the bottom of the wall
(ponit O) =
Area 1 2.5 2.5 Area 2 2.5 Area 3 Area 4 2.5

z 3 2 3
P0

25.788 3.33 51.575 1.25 14.825 30.663 0.833
122 .85
85.87 64.47 37.89

1.53 m
122 .85

3.3 Rankine Active Earth Pressure
The lateral earth pressure condition described in Section 3.2 involves walls
that do not yield at all. However, if a wall tends to move away from the soil a
distance Dx, as shown in Figure 6(a), the soil pressure on the wall at any
given depth will decrease.
For a wall that is frictionless, the horizontal stress, sh, at a depth z will be
equal to K0 sv (= K0 gz) when Dx is equal to zero. However, with Dx 0, sh
will be less than K0 sv.

Eq. (16)
Figure 6 Rankine active pressure

The Mohrs circle corresponding to wall displacements of Dx = 0 and Dx 0

are shown as circles a and b, respectively, in Figure 6(b). If the
displacement of the wall, Dx, continues to increase, there will be a time
when the corresponding Mohrs circle will just touch the Mohr-Coulomb
failure envelope defined by the equation
s = c + s tan f
The circle is marked c in Figure 6(b). It represents the failure condition in

the soil mass ; the horizontal stress at this time is equal to sa. This
horizontal stress, sa, is referred to as the Rankine active pressure. The slip
lines (failure planes) in the soil mass at this time will make angles of (45 +
f/2) with the horizontal. This is shown in Figure 6(a).

The equation relating the principal stresses for a Mohrs circle that touches
the Mohr-Coulomb failure envelope can be given by
s1 = s3 tan2 (45 + f/2) + 2c tan (45 + f/2)
For the Mohrs circle c in Figure 6(b),
Major principal stress, s1 = sv
and
Minor principal stress, s3 = sa

Thus
sv = sa tan2 (45 + f/2) + 2c tan (45 + f/2)
sv c
sa
f f
tan2 45 tan 45
2 2

or
sa = sv tan2 (45 f/2) 2c tan (45 f/2)
s v Ka 2c Ka (12)
where Ka = tan2 (45 f/2) = Rankine active pressure coefficient (Table 1)

Table 1 Variation of Rankine Ka

The variation of the active pressure with depth for the wall shown in Figure
6(a) is given in Figure 6(c).
Note that sv = 0 at z = 0,
sv = gH at z = H
The pressure distribution shows that at z = 0, the active pressure is equal to

2cKa, indicating tensile stress.
This tensile stress decrease with depth and becomes zero at a depth z = zc,
or
g zc Ka 2c Ka 0
2c
zc (13)
g Ka

The depth zc is usually referred to as the depth of tensile crack, because the
tensile stress in the soil will eventually cause a crack along the soil-wall
interface.
Thus the total Rankine active force per unit length of the wall before the
tensile crack occurs is equal to
H H H
Pa s a dz g z Ka dz 2c Ka dz
0 0 0
1 2 g H 2 K a 2cH K a (14)

After the occurrence of the tensile crack, the force on the wall will be caused
only by the pressure distribution between depths z = zc to z = H, as shown
by the hatched area in Figure 6(c), it can be expressed as
Pa
1
2

H zc g HKa 2c Ka (15)
1 2c
Pa H
2

g HK a 2c K a
g K a
(16)

For calculation purposes in some retaining wall design problems, a

cohesive soil backfill is replaced by an assumed granular soil with a
triangular Rankine active pressure diagram with
sa = 0 at z = 0
sa = svKa 2cKa at z = H (see Figure 7)
In such a case, the assumed active force per unit length of the wall is
Pa 1 2 H g HK a 2c K a 1 2 g H 2K a cH K a (17)

Figure 7 Assumed active pressure diagram for clay backfill behind a retaining wall
However, the active earth pressure condition will be reached only if the wall
is allowed to yield sufficiently. The amount of outward displacement of the
wall necessary is about 0.001H to 0.004H for granular soil backfills and
about 0.01H to 0.04H for cohesive soil backfills.

Example 3
A 6-m retaining wall is to support a soil with unit weight g = 17.4 kN/m3, soil
friction angle f = 26, and cohesion c = 14.36 kN/m2. Determine the
Rankine active force per unit length of the wall both before and after the
tensile crack occurs, and determine the line of action of the resultant in both
cases.

Solution
Given: f = 26. So
Ka = tan2 (45 f/2) = tan2 (45 13) = 0.39
Ka = 0.625
sa = g HKa 2cKa
Referring to Figure 6(c),

At z = 0, sa = 2cKa = 2(14.36)(0.625) = 17.95 kN/m2
At z = 6 m, sa = (17.4)(6)(0.39) 2(14.36)(0.625) = 22.77 kN/m2
Active force before the occurrence of tensile crack: Eq. (14)
Pa = g H2Ka 2cHKa
= (6)(40.72) (6)(17.95) = 122.16 107.7 = 14.46 kN/m

The line of action of the resultant can be determined by taking the moment
of the area of the pressure diagrams about the bottom of the wall, or
6 6
Pa z 122 .16 107 .7
3 2
244 .32 323 .1

z 5.448 m
14.46
Active force after the occurrence of tensile crack: Eq. (13)
2c 214.36
zc 2.64 m
g Ka 17.40.625

Using Eq. (15)
Pa 1 H zc g HK a 2c Ka 1 6 2.64 22.77 38.25 kN/m

2 2
The line of action of the resultant will be located at a height of
z H zc 3 6 2.64 3 1.12 m

Example 4
Refer to Figure 8(a). Assume that the wall can yield sufficiently and
determine the Rankine active force per unit length of the wall. Also
determine the location of the resultant line of action.
Figure 8

Solution
If the cohesion, c, is equal to zero
sa = svKa
For the top soil layer, f1 = 30,so
Ka(1) = tan2 (45 f1/2) = tan2 (45 15) = 1/3
Similarly, for the bottom soil layer, f2 = 36, and
Ka(2) = tan2 (45 36/2) = 0.26

Because of the presence of the water table, the effective lateral pressure
and the hydrostatic pressure have to be calculated separately.
At z = 0, sv = 0, sa = 0
At z =3 m, sv = gz = (16)(3) = 48 kN/m2
At this depth, for the top soil layer
sa = Ka(1)sv = (1/3)(48) = 16 kN/m2
Similarly, for the bottom soil layer
sa = Ka(2)sv = (0.26)(48) = 12.48 kN/m2

At z = 6 m, sv = (g)(3) + (gsat gw)(3) = (16)(3) + (19 9.81)(3)

= 48 + 27.57 = 75.57 kN/m2
sa = Ka(2)sv = (0.26)(75.57) = 19.65 kN/m2
The hydrostatic pressure, u, is zero from z = 0 to z = 3 m. At z = 6 m, u =

3gw = 3(9.81) = 29.43 kN/m2.
The pressure distribution diagram is plotted in Figure 8(b). The force per
unit length
Pa = Area 1 + Area 2 + Area 3 + Area 4

= (3)(16) + (3)(12.48) + (3)(19.65 12.48) +
(3)(29.43)
= 24 + 37.44 + 10.76 + 44.15 = 116.35 kN/m

The distance of the line of action of the resultant from the bottom of the wall
( z ) can be determined by taking the moments about the bottom of the wall
(point O in Figure 8(a)), or
24 3 3 37.44 3 10.76 3 44.15 3

z 3 2 3 3
116 .35
96 56.15 10.76 44.15

1.779 m
116 .35

Example 5
Refer to Example 4. Other quantities remaining the same, assume that, in

the top layer, c1 = 24 kN/m2 (not zero as in Example 4). Determine Pa after
the occurrence of the tensile crack.
Solution
2c1 224
zc 5 .2 m
g K a1 16 1 3
Pa = Area 2 + Area 3 + Area 4

= 37.44 + 10.76 + 44.15 = 92.35 kN/m

3.4 Coulombs Active Earth Pressure
The Rankine active earth pressure calculations discussed in the preceding

section were based on the assumption that the wall is frictionless. In 1776,
Coulomb proposed a theory to calculate the lateral earth pressure on a
retaining wall with granular soil backfill. This theory takes wall friction into
consideration.
To apply Coulombs active earth pressure theory, let us consider a retaining

wall with its back face inclined at an angle b with the horizontal as shown in
Figure 9(a). The backfill is a granular soil that slopes at an angle a with the
horizontal. Also, let d be the angle of friction between the soil and the wall
(that is, angle of wall friction).

Figure 9 Coulombs active pressure

In an active pressure condition, the wall will move away from the soil mass
(that is, to the left in Figure 9(a)). Coulomb assumed that, in such a case,
the failure surface in the soil mass would be a plane (such as BC1, BC2,
.). So, to find the active force in our example, consider a possible soil
failure wedge ABC1. The forces acting on this wedge, ABC1 (per unit length
at right angles to the cross section shown), are as follows:
1. Weight of the wedge, W.
2. The resultant, R, of the normal and resisting shear forces along the
surface, BC1. The force R will be inclined at an angle f to the normal
drawn to the surface BC1.
3. The active force per unit length of the wall, Pa. The force Pa will be
inclined at an angle d to the normal drown to the back face of the
wall.

For equilibrium purposes, a force triangle can be drawn. This is shown in

Figure 9(b). Note that q1 is the angle that BC1 makes with the horizontal.
Because the magnitude of W as well as the directions of all three forces are
known, the value of Pa can now be determined. In a similar manner, one can
determine the active forces of other trial wedges, such as ABC2, ABC3,
The maximum value of Pa thus determined is Coulombs active force (see

top part of Figure 9(a). This can be expressed as
Pa 1 2 Ka g H 2 (18)

Ka = Coulombs active earth pressure coefficient
sin2 f
(19)
sin f d . sin f a
2

sin2 b . sin b d 1
sin b d . sin a b
H = height of the wall
The value of the active earth pressure coefficient, Ka, for a vertical retaining
wall (b = 90) with horizontal backfill (a = 0) are given in Table 2. Note that
the line of action of the resultant (Pa) will act at a distance of H/3 above the
base of the wall and will be inclined at an angle d to the normal drawn to the
back of the wall.

Table 2 Values of Ka [Eq. (19)] for b = 90, a = 0

In the actual design of retaining walls, the value of the wall friction angle, d,
is assumed to be between f/2 and 2/3f. The active earth pressure
coefficients for various values of f, a, and b with d = 2/3f are given in Table
3. This is a very useful table for design considerations.
If a uniform surcharge of intensity q is located above the backfill as shown in

Figure 10, the active force, Pa, can be calculated as
Pa 1 2 Ka g eq H 2 (20)

Eq. (19)
sin b 2q
g eq g H
(21)
sin b a

Table 3 Values of Ka [Eq. (19)] (note: d = 2/3f in all cases)

Figure 10 Coulombs active pressure with a surcharge on the backfill

Example 6
Consider the retaining wall shown in Figure 9(a). Given: H = 4.6 m ; unit
weight of soil = 16.5 kN/m3 ; angle of friction of soil = 30 ; wall friction
angle, d = 2/3f ; soil cohesion, c = 0 ; a = 0, and b = 90. Calculate the
Coulombs active force per unit length of the wall.
Solution
Pa = g H2Ka
From Table 2, for a = 0, b = 90, f = 30, and d = 2/3f = 20, Ka = 0.297.

Hence,
Pa = (16.5)(4.6)2(0.297) = 51.85 kN/m

Lateral Earth Pressure Lesson

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Lateral Earth Pressure Lesson

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

T A N J U N G P U R A U N IV E R S IT Y

Civil Department Engineering Faculty

Lesson3: Lateral Earth Pressure

Dr.Ing. Eka Priadi

Jalan Ahmad Yani Pontianak - 78124 01

1. Gravity retaining walls

Jalan Ahmad Yani Pontianak - 78124 02

Figure 1 Types of retaining wall

Jalan Ahmad Yani Pontianak - 78124 03

Jalan Ahmad Yani Pontianak - 78124 04

Counterfort retaining walls (Figure 1d) are similar to cantilever walls

Jalan Ahmad Yani Pontianak - 78124 05

3.2 Lateral Earth Pressure At Rest

Consider a vertical wall of height H, as shown in Figure 2, retaining a soil

Jalan Ahmad Yani Pontianak - 78124 06

Figure 2 At-rest earth pressure

Jalan Ahmad Yani Pontianak - 78124 07

where u = pore water pressure

Jalan Ahmad Yani Pontianak - 78124 08

For normally consolidated granular soil, the relation for K0 is

Note that the preceding equation is an empirical approximation.

K0 0.95 sin f (4)

where f = drained friction angle

Jalan Ahmad Yani Pontianak - 78124 09

K0 = 0.4 + 0.007(PI) (for PI between 0 and 40) (5)

K0 = 0.64 + 0.001(PI) (for PI between 40 and 80) (6)

For overconsolidated clays

K0(overconsolidated) K0(normally consolidated)OCR (7)

where OCR = overconsolidation ratio

Jalan Ahmad Yani Pontianak - 78124 10

P0 = P1 + P2 = qK0 H + gH2 K0 (8)

where P1 = area of rectangle 1

Jalan Ahmad Yani Pontianak - 78124 11

If the water table is located at a certain depth, z H, the at-rest pressure

At z = H1, sh = K0 sv = K0(q + gH1)

At z = H2, sh = K0 sv = K0(q + gH1 + gH2)

Jalan Ahmad Yani Pontianak - 78124 12

Jalan Ahmad Yani Pontianak - 78124 13

The hydrostatic pressure, u, is

Jalan Ahmad Yani Pontianak - 78124 14

where A = area of the pressure diagram

P0 = K0 qH1 + K0 gH21 + K0 (q + gH1)H2

Jalan Ahmad Yani Pontianak - 78124 15

where gd = in situ unit weight of sand

Jalan Ahmad Yani Pontianak - 78124 16

A retaining wall is 10 ft high. The backfill is dense sand. Given: f = 40, gd =

Jalan Ahmad Yani Pontianak - 78124 17

Refer to Figure 4. From Eq. (11)

0.357 0.634 0.991

Jalan Ahmad Yani Pontianak - 78124 18

At z = 10 ft, sv = (10)(108) = 1080 lb/ft2

P0 = (1070.3)(10) = 5351.5 lb/ft.

Jalan Ahmad Yani Pontianak - 78124 19

Jalan Ahmad Yani Pontianak - 78124 20

K0 = 1 sin f = 1 sin 30 = 0.5

At z = 2.5 m, sv = (16.5)(2.5) = 41.25 kN/m2 ;

At z = 5 m, sv = (16.5)(2.5) + (19.3 9.81) 2.5

Jalan Ahmad Yani Pontianak - 78124 21

The hydrostatic pressure distribution is as follows:

From z = 0 to z = 2.5 m, u=0

The pressure distribution for the wall is shown in Figure 5(b).

P0 = Area 1 + Area 2 + Area 3 + Area 4

Jalan Ahmad Yani Pontianak - 78124 22