Lateral Earth Pressure

SOIL MECHANICS II
CHAPTER FOUR
LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE
by Debiso B.(MSc)
Introduction
• A retaining wall is a structure that is used to support a vertical
or near vertical slopes of soil.
• The resulting horizontal stress from the soil on the wall is
called lateral earth pressure.
• Basic soil parameters that a geotechnical engineer must know
to determine the magnitude of the lateral earth pressure is
• Unit weight (γ ) of soil
• Angle of friction ( ∅)
• Cohesion (C)
Definitions of Key Terms
• At rest earth pressure coefficient (K0) is the ratio between the
lateral and vertical principal effective stresses when an earth
retaining structure is at rest (or is not allowed to move at
all).
• Active earth pressure coefficient (Ka) is the ratio between the
lateral and vertical principal effective stresses when an earth
retaining structure moves away from the retained soil.
• Passive earth pressure coefficient (Kp) is the ratio between
the lateral and vertical principal effective stresses when an earth
retaining structure is forced to move against a soil mass.
Lateral Earth Pressure at Rest
• Consider a vertical wall of height H, as shown in Fig below,
retaining a soil having a unit weight of (γ) at any depth z below
the ground surface the vertical effective stress is:
• If the wall is not allowed to move at all either away from the
soil mass or to the soil mass (or in other words if there is no
lateral expansion or compression in the backfill soil), the lateral
pressure is called at rest earth pressure. In this case, the lateral
earth pressure at a depth z is:
Where, K0 is coefficient of earth pressure at rest .

Note: Remember that K0 applies only to effective stresses not to
total stresses.
Cont.
At rest earth pressure.
• The magnitude of K0 depends on:

ØThe type of the soil,
ØIts degree of compaction,
ØPlasticity characteristics, and
ØDegree of disturbance (Bishop, 1958).
Cont.
• For truly normally consolidated soil that exhibits zero cohesion,

a value for K0 may be calculated from the following generally
accepted empirical equation (Jaky, 1948):
• For overconsolidated soils the value of K0 is higher than that

given by Eq. Alpan (1967) suggested the following
relationship:
• Where, K0,OCR and K0.NC are the coefficient of at rest earth

pressure for overconsolidated and normally consolidated soil,
respectively,
Cont.
• OCR is the overconsolidation ratio, and

• n is a number depending on the plasticity characteristics of the
soil. Based on statistical analysis of several laboratory test
results, Mayne & Kulhawy (1982) proposed that,
Active and Passive Lateral Earth Pressures
• Failure of the backfill soil occurs by two mechanisms
depending on the direction of wall displacement.
Active earth pressure
• If the displacement of the wall is away from the backfill
soil the resulting failure is called active
• In this case, the lateral pressure exerted on the wall by the
backfill
Passive earth pressure
• If the wall is displaced towards the backfill soil until the limiting
displacement is achieved.
• In this case, the wall exerts a pressure on the backfill soil, and
• The passive resistance provided by the backfill soil against the
wall displacement.
Cont.
• To determine active and passive earth pressure, consider two

theories proposed by:
1. Rankine theory (1857) and
2. Coulomb theory (1776).
1. Rankine Active and Passive Earth Pressures
• Rankine (1857) developed his theory of lateral earth pressure
when:
• The backfill consists of dry, Cohesionless soil, isotropic and
homogeneous
• The ground surface is a plane which may be horizontal or
inclined,
• The face of the wall in contact with the backfill is vertical and
smooth (frictionless).
• The theory was later extended by Resal (1910) and Ball (1915)
to be applicable to cohesive soils
Cont.
Cont.
Cont.
Element “A” will be reduced

Element “B” will be increased
• Now draw mohr’s circle for the stresses,
• Now draw mohr’s circle for the stresses,
Cont.
Cont.
• For the Rankine active state, the failure planes are oriented at to the
horizontal.
• For the Rankine passive state, the failure planes are oriented at to
the horizontal.
Thus,
Relation becomes;
Cont.
• For the active and passive state, the lateral effective stress s'a and
s‘p is:
'
 a'  ka z'  ka ' z   ' z tan 2 (450  )
2
'
 'p  k p z'  k p ' z   ' z tan 2 (450  )
2
Cont.
• The lateral earth force is the area of the lateral stress

distribution diagram.
Effect of Submergence/Groundwater
Cont.
Effect partial submergence
Cont.
Note: the effect of submergence on passive earth pressure

determined just like active earth pressure,
Effect of Surcharge
• A uniform surface stress, qs, will transmit a uniform active lateral
earth pressure of ka.qs and a uniform passive lateral earth pressure
of kp.qs.
• The active and passive lateral stresses due to the soil

Earth pressure of cohesive soil
• Soils do not have tensile strength, as a result tension cracks
will occur down to a depth z0, where the tensile stress becomes
zero.
At depth z0 (known as depth of tension crack), the stress is
zero, thus,
Active & Passive Earth Pressure for Inclined Granular
Backfill
• If the backfill of a frictionless retaining wall is a granular soil
(c= 0) and rises at an angle with respect to the
horizontal.
Cont.
 'p  k p ' z
2. Coulomb’s Earth Pressure Theory
Cont.
Cont.
• Based on Coulomb’s theory, a condition of limit equilibrium exists
through which a wedge of a soil mass behind a retaining wall will
slip along a plane inclined at an angle Θ to the horizontal.
• Based on the equilibrium of the forces acting on the wedge
(Fig), Coulomb proposed the following equation to determine the
active lateral force,
Cont.
Example 1
Introduction
Example 2
Introduction
Example 3
Introduction
Introduction
THANK YOU

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SOIL MECHANICS II

Where, K0 is coefficient of earth pressure at rest .

At rest earth pressure.

• The magnitude of K0 depends on:

• For truly normally consolidated soil that exhibits zero cohesion,

• For overconsolidated soils the value of K0 is higher than that

• Where, K0,OCR and K0.NC are the coefficient of at rest earth

• OCR is the overconsolidation ratio, and

• To determine active and passive earth pressure, consider two

Element “A” will be reduced

• The lateral earth force is the area of the lateral stress

Note: the effect of submergence on passive earth pressure

• The active and passive lateral stresses due to the soil

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