CE 115 Intro to Civil Eng: Geotechnical Engineering

Soil Pressure Acting on Wall

Wall
Ground Surface

20 ft

Soil Pressure

σ h = kaγz (Eq. 1)
Where:
σh = soil pressure acting on wall
⎛ φ⎞
ka = tan 2 ⎜ 45 − ⎟ , active earth pressure coefficient
⎝ 2⎠
γ = unit weight of soil (approximately 100 lb/ft3)
z = depth below ground surface

CE 115 Intro to Civil Eng: Geotechnical Engineering Lecture Notes 1

Given: φ = 30 degrees

Find: Soil pressure acting on wall at depths of 10 feet and 20 feet below the
ground surface.

Given

Soil friction angle φ := 30deg

lbf
Soil unit weight γ := 100
3
ft

Find: Soil pressure at depths of 10 and 20 feet below the ground surface

2
φ
Active earth pressure coefficient Ka := ⎜⎛ tan ⎛⎜ 45deg − ⎞⎞
⎟⎟ Ka = 0.333
⎝ ⎝ 2 ⎠⎠

lbf
Soil pressure at 10 ft σh_10 := Ka⋅ γ ⋅ 10ft σh_10 = 333
2
ft

Soil pressure at 20 ft σh_20 := Ka⋅ γ ⋅ 20ft σh_20 = 667psf

Alternatively

z := ⎜
⎛ 10 ⎞ ft
Depth where soil pressure is calculated ⎟
⎝ 20 ⎠
⎛ 333 ⎞ psf
Soil pressure σh := Ka⋅ γ ⋅ z σh = ⎜ ⎟
⎝ 667 ⎠

CE 115 Intro to Civil Eng: Geotechnical Engineering Lecture Notes 2

 Surcharge Pressure Acting on Wall
A retaining wall with vehicles located behind the top of the wall is shown below. The
vehicle weight imposes additional pressure on wall. The vehicle weight is called a
surcharge load.

Wall

20 ft

A simplification of the surcharge load used to determine the induced pressures on the
wall is shown below.

Surcharge Load, q (psf)

Wall

20 ft

Surcharge Pressure on Wall

Δσ h = k a q (Eq. 2)
Where:
Δσh = surcharge pressure on wall
ka = active earth pressure coefficient
q = surcharge load in pounds per square foot

CE 115 Intro to Civil Eng: Geotechnical Engineering Lecture Notes 3

Given: surcharge load, q = 100 lb/ft2
φ = 30 degrees

Find: The surcharge pressure acting on the wall at depths of 10 feet and 20
feet.

Given

Surcharge load q := 100psf

Find: Surcharge pressure at depths of 10 and 20 feet below the ground surface

Surcharge pressure, Δσ h := Ka ⋅ q Δσ h = 33.333psf

Same at all depths

Total Pressure Acting on Wall

Wall

20 ft
Soil and Surcharge Pressure
σ h + Δσ h

CE 115 Intro to Civil Eng: Geotechnical Engineering Lecture Notes 4

 Calculate Pullout Force on Reinforcement
Wall
2 ft

Layer 1

4 ft

Layer 2
z
4 ft
Lf Le
20 ft Layer 3

4 ft Failure Plane
Layer 4

4 ft Reinforcement
Layer 5

F pi = (σ h + Δσ h )At (Eq. 3)
Where:
Fpi = pullout force for reinforcement layer i
(σ h + Δσ h ) = horizontal pressure at depth of reinforcement layer i
At = tributary area for reinforcement layer

At = Sv S h (Eq. 4)
Where
Sv = vertical spacing between reinforcement layers
Sh = horizontal distance between reinforcement strips

Given: Pressure distribution calculated for the retaining wall above, and a horizontal reinforcement
spacing, Sh, of 3 ft,

Find: The pullout force for layer 3 (Fp3)

Given:

Horizontal spacing of reinforcement Sh := 3ft

Vertical spacing of reinforcement Sv := 4ft

Find: The pullout force applied to the reinforcement

⎛ 367 ⎞ psf
σhT = ⎜
Total soil pressure at depths of σhT := Δσ h + σh ⎟
10 and 20 feet below the ground surface ⎝ 700 ⎠

⎛ 4400 ⎞ lbf
Pulllout force at depths of ( )
Fp := Δσ h + σh ⋅ Sv ⋅ Sh Fp = ⎜ ⎟
10 and 20 feet below the ground surface ⎝ 8400 ⎠

CE 115 Intro to Civil Eng: Geotechnical Engineering Lecture Notes 5

 Determine Reinforcement Length to Resist Pullout
Reinforcement resists pullout through the development of friction forces between the
reinforcement and soil behind the failure plane.

Wall
2 ft

Layer 1

4 ft

Layer 2
z
4 ft
Lf Le
20 ft Layer 3

4 ft Failure Plane
h Layer 4

4 ft Reinforcement
Layer 5

Lf = distance from wall to failure plane

Le = distace from failure plane to end of reinforcement

Lf = h tan α (Eq. 5)

Where:
h = distance from base of wall to reinforcement layer i
α = angle between wall and failure plane

(F )FS
Le =
pi
(Eq. 6)
⎛2 ⎞
2bγz tan ⎜ φ ⎟
⎝3 ⎠

Where:
Fpi = pullout force for layer i
FS = factor of safety
b = width of reinforcement
γ = soil unit weight
z = depth below ground surface
φ = soil friction angle

Then the total reinforcement length, L, is Lf + Le.

CE 115 Intro to Civil Eng: Geotechnical Engineering Lecture Notes 6

Given: The retaining wall shown above, data from previous calculations (i.e. pullout
force), reinforcement width of 0.5 ft, and a factor of safety of 1.5

Find: The reinforcement length for layer 3

Given

Horizontal spacing of reinforcement Sh := 3ft

Vertical spacing of reinforcement Sv := 4ft

Reinforcement width b := 0.5ft

Factor of safety FS := 1.5

Find: Reinforcement length of Layer 3

Distance from bottom of wall to layer 3 h 10 := 10ft

φ
Angle between wall and failure plane α := 90deg − ⎛⎜ 45deg + ⎞
⎟
⎝ 2⎠

α = 30deg

Distance from wall to failure plane Lf_10 := h 10⋅ tan ( α ) Lf_10 = 5.8ft

4400lbf ⋅ FS
Effective length of reinforcement Le_10 :=
2⋅ b ⋅ γ ⋅ 10ft ⋅ tan ⎛⎜ ⋅ φ ⎞⎟
at depths of 10 and 20 feet 2
below the ground surface ⎝3 ⎠

Le_10 = 18.1ft

Total reinforcement lenght

Lt_10 := Lf_10 + Le_10 Lt_10 = 23.9ft

CE 115 Intro to Civil Eng: Geotechnical Engineering Lecture Notes 7

 CE 115 Intro to Civil Eng: Geotechnical Engineering Lab
Location: BEL 123

Objective: Design and build the most economical mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) wall.

Tasks:
1. In your assigned group, create a Mathcad worksheet to determine the required
reinforcement length for the MSE wall. This must be completed before the lab class
begins. Email yourself a copy of the Mathcad worksheet prior to class.
2. Determine the soil friction angle by building a wall without reinforcement and measuring the
angle of the failure plane behind the wall. Bring a protractor to measure the angle of the
failure plane.
Failure Plane Angle, θ = ______________

Soil Friction Angle, φ = _____________

3. Use your Mathcad worksheet from Task 1 and the friction angle from Task 2 to determine
how much reinforcement you will need to build your wall. Submit a request for the number
of 0.25 in by 11 in strips of paper you need.
Distance from Top of Wall Reinforcement Length, L
Layer No.
(inches) (inches)
1
2
3
4
5
6

4. Construct the MSE wall.

MSE Wall Design Data

Wall Height: 11 inches
Soil Unit Weight, γ: 100 lb/ft3
Surcharge Load, q: 5 lb/ft2
Factor of Safety: You choose
Reinforcement
Width, b: 0.25 inches
Horizontal Spacing, Sh: You choose. The box is 4 inches wide. Previously, only one
strip was placed at each depth. As a result, Sb was 4
inches.
Vertical Spacing, Sv: You choose
Soil Friction Angle, φ: Obtained from Task 2 (While creating the Mathcad worksheet, assume φ
= 36 degrees)

Wall Failure
Wall failure for this project is defined as 0.25 inches of outward movement/rotation of the wall
face.