Foundation Engineering

Lateral Earth Pressure Theories and

Retaining Walls

3.7 Trial Wedge Method for Earth Pressure

Step 1 - a mass of soil behind the wail is considered as a free
body. The force P, which must exist between the free body and
the wall, is found by writing the equation of equilibrium for the
free body as a whole.
Step 2 a different free body is considered, having a different
boundary through the soil. Once again the required force
between the wall and the free body is found.
Step 3 the actual force against the Wall will be the largest value
of P found as the result of considering all possible free bodies.

Derivation of Equation by Trial Wedge Method

for Active Case

Figure below shows the application of the trial Wedge method to the
problem of simple retaining wall without wall friction. A planar failure
wedge IJM is considered. There are distributed normal stresses along IJ
and JM and distributed shear stress along JM. The resultants of these
stresses are carried out in the analysis. The forces acting at the free body
IJM are:

Weight of wedge = Area IJM

= IM IJ
= Hcot H
= H2cot
Pa = resultant of distributed stresses between soil and wall
N = resultant of normal stresses within soil along assumed plane wall
T = resultant of shear stresses within soil along assumes plane wall
= N tan
Considering the equilibrium of the wedge and referring the force polygon we have a sine rule,

or, Pa = W tan( )
or, Pa = 1/2 H2 cot tan ( ) -(1)

Now the problem is to find out the maximum value of P which would give the value of earth
pressure in active case. This is done by differentiating P with respect to and equating to zero.
Then:

Or, -sin2( ) = -sin2

Or, sin{180 2( )} = sin2
Or, {180 2( )} = 2
Or, {90 ( )} =
Or, 90 = 2
2 = 900
= [450 + (/2)]
Substituting the value of in Equation (1) we get,

This relation is same as that obtained from Rankines Theory.

Derivation of Equation by Trial Wedge Method

for Passive Case
The equation is derived as follows. A planar failure wedge IJM
is considered. There are distributed normal stresses along IJ
and JM and distributed along JM. The resultants of these
stresses are carried out in the analysis. In this case, the force F
acts above the normal and the angle between the force F and
weight W will be + .

The forces acting at the free body IJM are:

Weight of wedge = Area IJM
= IM IJ
= Hcot H
= H2cot
Pp = resultant of distributed stress between soil and wall
N = resultant of normal stresses within soil along assumed plane wall
T = resultant of shear stresses within soil along assumed plane wall
= N tan
Considering the equilibrium of the wedge and referring the force polygon we have,
- (1)

Now the problem is to find out the maximum value of P to fail the wedge in the active case. This
is done by differentiating Pp with respect to and equating to Zero. Then:

Or, -sin2( + ) = -sin2

Or, sin{180 2( + )} = sin2
Or, {180 2( + )} = 2
Or, {90 ( + )} =
Or, 90 = 2 +
2 + = 900
= [450 - (/2)]
Substituting the value of in Equation (1) we get,

This relation is same as that obtained from Rankines Theory.

Retaining Walls
Structures designed and constructed to sustain the earth
pressure.
structure used to retain soil, rock or other materials.
Retaining walls are usually built to hold back soil
mass. However, retaining walls can also be constructed for
aesthetic landscaping purposes.
GL2

BACK SOIL
GL1

 Most common materials used for retaining

walls are:
- Wood sheets;
- Steel and plastic interlocking sheets;
- Reinforced concrete sheets;
- Precast concrete elements (crib walls and block walls);
- Closely spaced in-situ soil-cement piles;
- Wire-mesh boxes (gabions);
- Anchors into the soil or rock mass (soil nailing).

Rigid Retaining Walls

Under this category, the wall may be subdivided to four
categories.
They are:
1. Gravity retaining walls
2. Semi-gravity retaining walls
3. Cantilever retaining walls
4. Counterfort retaining walls
5. Buttressed retaining walls
6. Building basement walls
7. Bridge abutments

Classification of Retaining Walls

They can be divided into two major categories:
(a) Conventional Retaining Walls
(i) Gravity Retaining Walls Masonry (brick or stone) or Plain
concrete
(ii) Semi-gravity Retaining Walls - Masonry or Plain concrete or RCC
(iii) Cantilever Retaining Walls - RCC (Inverted T and L)
(iv) Counterfort Retaining Walls - RCC
(v) Buttress Retaining Walls - RCC
(vi) Crib Walls, etc.
(b) Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) Walls

1. Gravity Walls
o Simplest of all.
o Retains the backfill due to its weight.
o Much thicker in section Resist movement because of their
heavy sections so stability depends on the self weight of the
wall.
o Built of mass concrete or stone or brick masonry.
o No reinforcement is required in these walls.
Depend on their own weight and any soil resting on the
concrete in resisting lateral earth forces.
Generally economical up to 3m (10 ft.) in height for cast
concrete structures.
Usually are sufficiently massive to be unreinforced.
Monolithic cast walls are generally formed on site.
Not economical for design and high walls.

 Gravity walls are the earliest known retaining structures.

They are built from solid concrete or rock rubble mortared
together.
The lateral forces from backfill is resisted by the weight of wall
itself, and due to their massive nature, they develop little or
no tension. Therefore, they are usually not reinforced with
steel.
Gravity walls are economical for heights up to 3 m (10 feet).

2. Semi-gravity Walls
o Not as heavy as gravity walls.
o A small amount of reinforcement is used for reducing the
mass of concrete.
o A specialized form of gravity walls is a semi-gravity retaining
wall.
o These have some tension reinforcing steel included so as to
minimize the thickness of the wall without requiring extensive
reinforcement.
o They are a blend of the gravity wall and the cantilever wall
designs.

3. Cantilever Retaining Walls

o
o
o
o
o
o
o

Consist of a relatively thin stem and a base slab.

Base slab is the cantilever portion.
Base is also divided into two parts, the heel and toe.
Heel is the part of the base under the backfill.
Toe is the other part of the base.
Resists pressure due to its bending action.
Usually made of reinforced cement concrete (RCC).
Use much less concrete than monolithic gravity walls, but require
more design and careful construction.
Generally economical up to about 8m (25 ft.) to 10m (32 ft.) in
height.
Can be precast in a factory or formed on site.
More convenient and relatively economical for design.
Rankines and Coulombs theories can be used to find active earth
pressure on the wall.

4. Counterfort Walls
o Similar to cantilever walls except that the stem of the walls
span horizontally between vertical brackets known as
counterforts.
o Similar to cantilever walls except they have thin vertical
concrete webs at regular intervals along the backside of the
wall. These webs are known as counterforts.
o Counterforts tie the slab and base together, and the purpose
of them is to reduce the shear forces and bending moments
imposed on the wall by the soil. A secondary effect is to
increase the weight of the wall from the added concrete.
o Can be precast or formed on site.
o More economical than cantilever walls for heights above 8 m
(25 ft).

 It is just like a cantilever wall but much longer as compared to

cantilever wall. If it is to be used for even longer distances
some supports are provided to it at required intervals.
Counterforts that tie the wall and the base slab together. The
purpose of the counterforts is to reduce the shear and the
bending moments.

5. Buttressed Walls
o Similar to counterfort walls except the brackets or buttress
walls are provided on the opposite side of the backfill.
Similar to Cantilever retaining walls, but thin slab stems may
be used at some interval to tie the base slab and stem in
order to reduce the shear force and bending moment for
more economical design

6. Crib Walls
Crib walls are made up of interlocking individual boxes made
from timber or pre-cast concrete.
The boxes are then filled with crushed stone or other coarse
granular materials to create a free draining structure.
There are two basic types of crib wall:
- Timber, and
- Reinforced pre-cast concrete.

7. Gabion walls
Gabions are multi-celled, welded wire or rectangular wire
mesh boxes, which are then rockfilled, and used for
construction of erosion control structures and to stabilize
steep slopes.
Their applications include,
- Retaining walls,
- Bridge abutments,
- Wing walls,
- Culvert headwalls,
- Outlet aprons,
- Shore and beach protection walls, and
- Temporary check dams.

Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) Walls

These walls are among the most economical, and most
commonly constructed.
Contrary to other types, the MSE walls are supported by the
soil, and not the other way around.
They are supported by selected fills (granular) and held
together by reinforcements, which can be either metallic
strips or plastic meshes.
The MSE Categories are
A) Panel Walls,
B) Concrete Block Walls, and
C) Temporary Earth Walls

 Nowadays. The main components of these types of walls

are
Backfillwhich is granular soil
Reinforcement in the backfill
A cover (or skin) on the front face
The reinforcement can be thin galvanized steel strips,
geogrid, or geotextile for descriptions of geogrid and
geotextile).
In most cases, precast concrete slabs are used as skin. The
slabs are grooved to fit into each other so that soil cannot
flow between the joints.
Thin galvanized steel also can be used as skin when the
reinforcements are metallic strips.
When metal skins are used, they are bolted together, and
reinforcing strips are placed between the skins.

3.8 Proportioning of Retaining Walls

When designing retaining walls, an engineer must assume
some of the dimensions, called proportioning, which allows
the engineer to check trial sections for stability.
If the stability checks yield undesirable results, the sections
can be changed and rechecked.

Fig. Proportioning of Retaining Walls

Source: R.K. Poudel Sir Book

Approximate dimensions for various components of

retaining wall for initial stability checks: (a) gravity wall;
(b) cantilever wall [note: minimum dimension of is 2 ft
(0.6 m)]
Source: BM. Das

 Note that the top of the stem of any retaining wall should not
be less than about 12 in.(0.3 m) for proper placement of
concrete.
The depth, D, to the bottom of the base slab should be a
minimum of 2 ft (0.6 m).
However, the bottom of the base slab should be positioned
below the seasonal frost line.

For counterfort retaining walls, the general proportion of the

stem and the base slab is the same as for cantilever walls.
However, the counterfort slabs may be about 12 in.(0.3 m)
thick and spaced at center-to-center distances of 0.3 to 0.7
.

3.9 Stability of Retaining Walls

Stability Analysis of RWs

The stability of a gravity wall is due to the self weight of the
wall and the passive resistance developed in front of the wall.

The gravity walls are designed using Coulombs theory.

Reinforced concrete walls (cantilever or counterfort types) are
more economical than the gravity walls because the backfill
itself provides most of the required dead load.
Rankines theory is used to investigate the stability of
reinforced concrete walls (cantilever or counterfort types) .

Types of Stability Analysis of RW

a) External Stability Analysis:

To check the safety

against Sliding, Overturning and Bearing Capacity failure.
Retaining walls must be designed to be stable with respect
to four potential external failure modes:
global stability,
base sliding,
overturning, and
bearing capacity.

 Base Sliding

refers to the outward movement of the

bottom of the retaining wall as a result of the lateral forces
generated by earth pressure and, if present, water
pressure. The force resisting base sliding is the friction
between the fill in the bottom of RW and the foundation
soil beneath the bottom layer.

 Overturning

refers to the tipping over of the retaining

wall as it rotates about the toe of the structure. The
overturning force is the sum of each destabilizing force times
its moment arm. The stabilizing force, or righting moment, is
the product of the weight of the retaining wall and its
moment arm, which is the horizontal distance from the toe to
the center of gravity of the wall. If calculations show that the
righting moment is less than required, one option is to
increase the front-to-back dimension of the wall, thereby
increasing its overall weight and the magnitude of its
moment arm.

 Bearing Capacity

refers to the ability of the foundation

soil to support the weight of the retaining wall placed upon it.
The analysis is the same as for shallow foundations. It is
necessary to increase the area of the base if calculations show
that the soil beneath the wall is too weak. This will decrease
the pressure (force per unit of area) on the foundation.
Another option is to increase the depth into the ground of the
retaining wall, thus increasing the ability of the foundation
soil to resist the imposed weight.

b) Internal Stability Analysis

To determine the required RW tensile strength, and the
minimum required length to ensure a rigid behavior in the
reinforced block.

Refers to the ability of the individual parts of the wall to act as

a single unit. The wall must be designed so that the individual
pieces of the wall do not pullout, separate, or slide apart. In a
modular block wall, the designer must be concerned with the
potential of the tieback failing under tension or pulling out
from the soil.

c) Local Stability Analysis

This analysis is carried out for Segmental Retaining Walls to
ensure that the column of concrete block units remains intact
without bulging; local stability analysis are: facing connection,
bulging and maximum unreinforced height.

d) Global Stability Analysis

Refers to the stability of the wall, the soil behind it, and the
soil below it. The design engineer must be certain that the
entire area including the wall does not collapse. A thorough
soil analysis must be performed to eliminate the possibility of
global failure.
This analysis is performed on the overall structure including
the retained backfill and the foundation soil. This analysis
should be performed according to the classical slope stability
procedures, such as Bishops modified method of slices.

Stability Requirements of Retaining Wall

The wall should be stable against:
1. Stem shear and bending due to lateral earth pressure on the
stem.
2. Base shear and bending moments caused by the wall loading
produced earth pressure on the wall footing.
3. Overall stability
Sliding along the base
Overturning about the toe
Rotational stability
4. Stability against bearing capacity failure
5. Stability against excessive base settlement resulting in a large
wall tilt.

 To design retaining walls properly, an engineer must know

the basic soil parameters-that is, the unit weight, angle of
friction, and cohesion-for the soil retained behind the wall
and the soil below the base slab.
Knowing the properties of the soil behind the wall enables the
engineer to determine the lateral pressure distribution that
has to be designed for.
There are two phases in the design of conventional retaining
walls.
First, with the lateral earth pressure known, the structure as a
whole is checked for stability.
That 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.

To Design a Retaining Wall We should Know the

Following
1. Function of Retaining Wall Different Types For Different
Purposes.
2. Soil Properties
Unit Weight
Angle of Friction
Cohesion, C
3. Determine the Stability of the R.W.
Sliding
Overturning
Bearing Capacity
Overall Stability
4. Design the Retaining Wall Sections
Check the Strength
Steel Reinforcement or Steel Cross section

Forces Acting on Retaining Wall

Wq

1. Weight of RW (W)
Weight of stem (W1)
Weight of footing or
base or base slab (W2)
2. Weight of soil above the base slab (Ws)
W1
Ws
3. Weight of surcharge (if any) (Wq)
Pp
W2
4. Active earth pressure force (Pa)
5. Passive earth pressure force (Pp)
R
(acting in front of wall is usually ignored because of the possibility
of disturbance, erosion, etc.)
6.Reaction offered by the soil under the base of the wall, R
(R = Resultant force acting on the base = Resultant of Pa and W)

Pa

Failure of Retaining Wall

A retaining wall may fail in any of the following ways:

It may overturn about its toe. (See Fig. a)
It may slide along its base. (See Fig. b)
It may fail due to the loss of bearing capacity of the soil
supporting the base. (See Fig. c)
It may undergo deep-seated shear failure. (See Fig. d.)
It may go through excessive settlement.

(a) by overturning
(b) by sliding
(c) by bearing capacity
failure
(d) by deep-seated shear
failure

Failure of Retaining Wall

Factor of Safety (FOS)

For stability, a retaining wall should satisfy the following
conditions:
The wall should be stable against sliding. The FOS against sliding
shall be a minimum of 1.5.
The wall should be stable against overturning.
For granular backfill, the FOS against overturning shall be a
minimum of 1.5.
For cohesive backfill, the FOS against overturning shall be a
minimum of 2.
The base of the wall should be stable against bearing capacity
failure.
For granular backfill, the FOS against bearing capacity failure shall
be a minimum of 2.
For cohesive backfill, the factor of safety against bearing capacity
failure shall be a minimum of 3.
The resultant of all the forces should fall within the middle third of
the base.

 For each of these considerations, the resisting or stabilizing or

actuating forces must exceed the forces that would cause failure by
a predetermined FOS for each of these considerations.
The selected FOS should reflect the consequences of failure and the
designers confidence in the accuracy of the input parameters.
The following FOS
retaining walls:
Global Stability,
Base Sliding,
Overturning,
Bearing Capacity,

are normally used in the design of gravity

FOS = 1.3
FOS = 1.5
FOS = 2.0
FOS = 2.0

Stability Analysis of Gravity RW

In Gravity RWs, the use of the Rankines earth pressure theory for
stability checks involves drawing a vertical line AB through point A,
located at the edge of the heel of the base slab.
The Rankines active condition is assumed to exist along the vertical
plane AB.
Rankines active earth pressure equations may then be used to
calculate the lateral pressure on the face AB of the wall.
In the analysis of the walls stability, the force, Pa (Rankine) , the weight of
soil above the heel, and the weight (Wc) of the concrete all should be
taken into consideration.
The assumption for the development of Rankines active pressure
along the soil face AB is theoretically correct if the shear zone
bounded by the line AC is not obstructed by the stem of the wall.
The angle , that the line AC makes with the vertical is

Determination of LEP on Gravity RW

A) Using Rankines Theory
C

Determination of LEP on Gravity RW

B) Using Coulombs Theory
Coulombs active earth pressure theory also may be used.
If it is used, the only forces to be considered are Pa(Coulomb) and
the weight of the wall, Wc but not Ws.

Determination of LEP on Cantilever RW

Using Rankines Theory
In the case of cantilever retaining walls, the use of the Rankines
earth pressure theory for stability checks involves drawing a vertical
line AB through point A, located at the edge of the heel of the base
slab.
The Rankines active condition is assumed to exist along the vertical
plane AB.
Rankines active earth pressure equations may then be used to
calculate the lateral pressure on the face AB of the wall.
In the analysis of the walls stability, the force, Pa(Rankine) , the
weight of soil above the heel (Ws), and the weight (Wc) of the
concrete all should be taken into consideration.
The assumption for the development of Rankines active pressure
along the soil face AB is theoretically correct if the shear zone
bounded by the line AC is not obstructed by the stem of the wall.
The angle , that the line AC makes with the vertical is

Check for Overturning

Forces acting on a Gravity and a Cantilever RW, based on the
assumption that the Rankine Active Pressure is acting along a
vertical plane AB drawn through the heel of the structure.

 FOS against overturning about the toe (about point C)

Overturning Moment,

To calculate the resisting moment, (neglecting ), Pp

The weight of the soil above the heel and the weight of
the concrete (or masonry) are both forces that contribute
to the resisting moment.
Force, Pv also contributes to the resisting moment. Pv= PaCos
The moment of the force, Pv about C is
Where, B = width of RW

Gravity RW

Cantilever RW

The usual minimum desirable value of the factor of safety with

respect to overturning is 1.5 to 2.

Check for Sliding along the Base

Shear strength of the soil immediately below the base slab may be
represented as

Passive force, Pp is also a horizontal resisting force. Hence

The only horizontal force that will tend to cause the wall to slide
(a driving force) is the horizontal component of the active force, Pa so

Therefore,
i.e.

Minimum factor of safety of 1.5 against sliding is generally required.

Check for Bearing Capacity Failure

The vertical pressure transmitted to the soil by the base slab
of the retaining wall should be checked against the ultimate
bearing capacity of the soil.
The nature of variation of the vertical pressure transmitted by
the base slab into the soil is shown in Figure .
qtoe and qheel are the maximum and the minimum pressures
occurring at the ends of the toe and heel sections,
respectively.

 The magnitudes of qtoe and qheel can be determined in the

following manner:

For maximum and minimum pressures, the value of y = B/2.

 When the value of the eccentricity e > B/6, qmin becomes

negative.
Thus, there will be some tensile stress at the end of the heel
section.
This stress is not desirable, because the tensile strength of soil
is very small.
If the analysis of a design shows e > B/6 that the design
should be reproportioned and calculations redone.
Once the ultimate bearing capacity, of the soil has been
calculated by using the FOS against bearing capacity failure
can be determined:

Generally, a FOS of 2 to 3 is required.

Numerical: 01
Take qu = 567.41 KN/m2

Numerical: 02