1. Lateral earth pressures must be estimated to design structures that prevent lateral soil movement, such as retaining walls, sheet pile walls, and braced excavations.
2. The ratio of horizontal to vertical stress in a soil deposit is called the coefficient of earth pressure at rest (K0). For normally consolidated soils, K0 can be estimated based on the soil's friction angle.
3. When a retaining wall moves away from the soil, the soil is in an active state with lower horizontal stresses. When the wall moves towards the soil, the soil is in a passive state with higher horizontal stresses. Retaining walls must be designed to resist active and passive pressures calculated using Rankine's earth pressure theory
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Lateral Support
In geotechnical engineering, it is often necessary to
prevent lateral soil movements.
Tie rod
Anchor
Sheet pile
Cantilever
Braced excavation Anchored sheet pile
2 retaining wall
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Lateral Support
We have to estimate the lateral soil pressures acting on
these structures, to be able to design them.
S il Soil ili
nailing
Gravity Retaining
Reinforced earth wall
3 wall
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Lateral Support
Reinforced earth walls are increasingly becoming popular.
geosynthetics
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Lateral Support
filled with
Crib walls have been used in Queensland. soil
Good drainage & allow plant growth.
Interlocking
stretchers
and Looks good.
headers
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Earth Pressure at Rest
GL
In a homogeneous natural soil deposit,
v
h X
the ratio h/v is a constant known as coefficient
of earth pressure at rest (K0).
Importantly, at K0 state, there are no lateral strains.
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Estimating K0
For normally consolidated clays and granular soils,
K0 = 1 sin
For overconsolidated clays,
K0,overconsolidated = K0,normally consolidated OCR0.5
From elastic analysis,
K Poissons
Poisson s
0 1
ratio
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Active/Passive Earth Pressures
- in granular soils
Wall moves
away from soil
Wall moves A
towards soil
wall
B
smooth Lets look at the soil elements A and B during the
wall movement. 12
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Active Earth Pressure
- in granular soils
v= z
Initially there is no lateral movement
v
A
h
z
Initially, movement.
h = K0 v = K0 z
As the wall moves away from the soil,
v remains the same; and
h decreases till failure occurs.
Active state
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Active Earth Pressure
- in granular soils
As the wall moves away from the soil,
Initially (K0 state)
Failure (Active state)
v
decreasing h
active earth
pressure
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p
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Active Earth Pressure
- in granular soils
WJM Rankine
(1820-1872)
[h]active v
[ ' ] K
' h active A v 1 sin
2
Rankines coefficient of
pressure
A K active earth 15 tan (45 / 2)
1 sin
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Active Earth Pressure
- in granular soils
v
Failure plane is at
45 + /2 to horizontal
h A 45 + /2
90+
[h]active v
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Active Earth Pressure
- in granular soils
As the wall moves away from the soil,
h decreases till failure occurs.
h K state
v
A
h
z
h
Active
state
K0 h wall movement
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Active Earth Pressure
- in cohesive soils
Follow the same steps as
for granular soils. Only
difference is that c 0.
[ ' ] K ' 2 K
h active A v A 2c Everything else the same
for soils
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as granular soils.
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Passive Earth Pressure
- in granular soils
Initially, soil is in K0 state.
As the wall moves towards the soil,
remains the same and
v
B
h
v same, h increases till failure occurs.
h Passive state
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Passive Earth Pressure
- in granular soils
As the wall moves towards the soil,
Initially (K0 state)
Failure (Active state)
passive earth
pressure
v
increasing
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h
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Passive Earth Pressure
- in granular soils
v [h]passive
[ ' ] K
' h passive P v 1
sin
2
Rankines coefficient of
passive P K earth pressure
33 tan (45 / 2)
1 sin
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Passive Earth Pressure
- in granular soils
v
Failure plane is at
45 - /2 to horizontal
45 - /2 h A
90+
v [h]passive
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Passive Earth Pressure
- in granular soils
As the wall moves towards the soil,
h increases till failure occurs.
h v
B
h
h Passive state
h K0 state
wall movement
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Passive Earth Pressure
- in cohesive soils
Follow the same steps as
for granular soils. Only
difference is that c 0.
[ ' ] K '2 K
h passive P v P 2c Everything else the same
for soils
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as granular soils.
37. SIVA Copyright息2001 Earth Pressure Distribution
- in granular soils
[h]active
PA and PP are the
resultant active and
passive thrusts on
the wall
[h]passive H
P 0 5 K H2
h
PA=0.5 KAPP=0.5 KPh2
K 37 KPh AH
38. h
Passive state
Active state
K0 state
Wall movement
(not to scale)
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Rankines Earth Pressure Theory
h active A v A [ ' ] K '2c K
h passive P v P [ ' ] K '2c K
Assumes smooth wall
Applicable only on vertical walls
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Gravity Retaining Walls
cement mortar
l i t
cobbles
plain concrete or
stone masonry
They rely on their self weight to
support the backfill
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Cantilever Retaining Walls
Reinforced;
smaller section
than gravity
walls
They act like vertical cantilever,
fixed to the ground 44
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Design of Retaining Wall
- in granular soils
2 2
1
3 3
Block no.
1
toe
toe
Wi = weight of block i Analyse the stability of this rigid body with
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y y g y
xi = horizontal distance of centroid of block i from toe
vertical walls (Rankine theory valid)
46. Safety against sliding along the base
P
{W
W}. tan soil-concrete friction
P i
sliding P
A
F
soil angle 0.5 0.7
to be greater
2 2
g
than 1.5
1
PA
3 3
PA
H
PP 1
PP
S
toe S
R
h
toe
y R
y
PP= 0.5 KPh2 PA= 0.5 KAH2
47. Safety against overturning about toe
P P h / 3
{ W i i
}
overturning P
H/3
A
x
F
to be greater
2 2
g
than 2.0
1
PA
3 3
PA
H
PP 1
PP
S
toe S
R
h
toe
y R
y
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Points to Think About
How does the key help in improving the stability
against sliding?
Shouldnt we design retaining walls to resist at-rest
(than active) earth pressures since the thrust on the
wall is greater in K0 state (K0 > KA)?
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