”Geotechnics”

Course Notes
e: Civil Engineering
Bachelor Study Programme: g
y: 201
Year of Study: 01
19-20
020

Lecture 11
SOIL STRENGTH APPLICATIONS
Lateral Earth Pressure
(Retaining walls) Mircea ANICULĂESI
Email:l: aniculaesi.mircea@gmail.com

Shear stress Applications

pp
1) Slope Stability

2) Retaining Walls

(bp0.blogger.com
m)

3) Bearing
g Capacity

Others…
• Tunnel Linings
• Roadway Base
(USC)
• Excavations
 Slopes and Retaining Structures
Optionss for grade changes….
Retaining walls are structural
members used to support
vertical or nearly vertical soil
backfills. This is usually
needed when there is a change
of grade.
Earth
Pressure
Failure
surface

Slopes Retaining
g Structures
• Is there enoughgh room (right
g off way)?
y • What is lateral p
pressuree distribution?
• How steep p can we make the slope? • How much will the wall move?
• Effects of…
f • How do I design the wall structure?
• water, vegetation, surface loads.

Lateral Earth Pressure

• Lateral earth pressure
represents pressures that
are “to the side”
(horizontal) rather than ??
vertical.
• Caused by soil self weight
and or external load (R.P. Weber)

• There are three possible

types of lateral earth
pressure that can be
exerted on a retaining wall:
at-rest pressure, active
pressure, and passive ??
pressure.

(R.P. Weber)
 Consider “at
at-rest”
- (geostatic) condition
Earth pressure at rest
Consider an element of soil at some depth, z below
ground surface. We know that the vertical total stress, ߪଵ
acting at that point is caused by the total weight acting
above. In the case of a homogenous soil with no surface
Vz
surcharge, ߪଵ is due to the weight of the material above
(ߪ௭ ൌ ߛ ȉ ‫)ݖ‬. A lateral stress, ߪ௫ acts at the point and is
equal to the vertical stress multiplied by the coefficient of Vx
earth pressure,  . In this case the coefficient is the
coefficient of earth pressure at rest, denoted by ‫ܭ‬଴ . Anisotropic
It has been shown experimentally that, for granular soils and normally consolidated clays:
‫ܭ‬଴ ൌ ͳ െ ‫׎݊݅ݏ‬Ԣ
Eurocode 7 actually relates ‫ܭ‬଴ to the overconsolidation ratio and states that

‫ܭ‬଴ ൌ ሺͳ െ ‫׎݊݅ݏ‬ᇱ ሻ ȉ ܱ‫ܴܥ‬

for soils with not very high values of overconsolidation ratio and a horizontal ground surface.

Earth Pressure Coefficient “At Rest”

K0 = Coefficient
nt of Lateral Earth Pressure at Rest

Vz
For normally
ly consolidated soill (Jaky
kyy, 1944):

Vx

For
or overconsolidated
d soill (Meyerhoff
off
ffff, 1976):

In general:
 Let’s consider the retaining wall supporting a dry fill of a height H as shown in Figure 7.5a.

FIGURE 7.4 At-rest lateral earth pressure.

The wall is restricted from any lateral motion: it is not allowed to move away or toward the backfill. Therefore, the
lateral earth pressure exerted by the backfill against the retaining wall can be regarded as at-rest lateral earth
pressure.

From the equation for the at rest coefficient we can write ߪԢ௛ ൌ ‫ܭ‬଴ ȉ ߪԢ௩ . But ߪԢ௩ ൌ ߛ ȉ ‫ݖ‬, where ߛ is the unit
weight of the backfill soil and z is the depth measured from the top surface of the backfill.
Combining the two equations, we get:

ߪԢ௛ ൌ ‫ܭ‬଴ ȉ ߪ ᇱ ௩ ൌ ‫ܭ‬଴ ȉ ߛ ȉ ‫ݖ‬

This equation indicates that the effective lateral earth pressure

increases linearly with depth as shown in Figure 7.5b. At the
top surface, ߪԢ௛ ൌ ‫ܭ‬଴ ȉ Ͳ ൌ Ͳ because z = 0. At the bottom of
the retaining wall, ߪԢ௛ ൌ ‫ܭ‬଴ ȉ ߛ ȉ ‫ܪ‬, because ‫ ݖ‬ൌ ‫ܪ‬.
The at-rest lateral earth pressure distribution is therefore triangular.
The at-rest lateral force (ܲ଴ ) exerted on the wall is the area of the
lateral earth pressure triangle:
૚
ࡼ૙ ൌ ȉ ࡷ૙ ȉ ࢽ ȉ ࡴ૛
૛

The point of application of ܲ଴ is located at a distance of H/3 from FIGURE 7.5 At-rest lateral earth pressure for a
the bottom of the retaining wall because of the triangular pressure backfill without surcharge: (a, b) low water table;
distribution.
A uniform pressure (surcharge) is sometimes applied at the top
surface of the backfill. For example, it is customary to apply a
uniform pressure of 15 to 20 kPa to simulate the effect of traffic
loads on a retaining wall. A uniform pressure applied at the top
surface causes an increase in the at-rest lateral earth pressure
equal to ‫ܭ‬଴ ȉ ‫ݍ‬

Figure 7.6 shows how to account for the surcharge effects for a
retaining wall with a dry backfill, a submerged backfill, and a
partially submerged backfill.

FIGURE 7.6 At-rest lateral earth pressure for a

backfill with surcharge: (a, b)low water table;

The active earth pressure is a destabilizing pressure that occurs when the retaining wall is allowed to move
away from the retained soil. The active earth pressure condition will develop only if the wall moves a sufficient
distance away from the backfill. The lateral outward movement required to mobilize the full active pressure
condition is approximately 0.001H for loose sand and 0.04H for soft clay, where H is the height of the wall. The
active earth pressure distribution can be calculated using Rankine theory or Coulomb theory.



The Rankine active earth pressure theory (Rankine, 1857) assumes that the soil behind a retaining wall is in a
condition of incipient failure. Every element within the sliding wedge, shown in Figure 7.8a, is on the verge of
failure as depicted by the Mohr’s circle, which is tangent to the Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion as shown in
Figure 7.8b. This Mohr’s circle represents the stress conditions in a soil element located at a depth z below the top
surface of the backfill. For reference, Mohr’s circle for the at-rest condition is also shown in the figure. The at-rest
stress condition occurs when the wall is stationary. When the wall starts moving away from the backfill, the lateral
stress, ߪԢ௛ , decreases while the vertical stress, ߪԢ௩ , remains essentially constant. The limiting condition occurs
when the Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion becomes tangent to Mohr’s circle, at which condition the lateral stress
reaches its minimum possible value, termed the active lateral stress ߪԢ௔ Ǥ
 FIGURE 7.8. Rankine active lateral earth pressure.

The Mohr’s circle shown in Figure 7.8b predicts two sets of failure planes with ߠ ൌ േሺͶͷι ൅ ‫׎‬ԢȀʹሻ. These two families
of failure planes are also shown in Figure 7.8a and c. To simplify the analysis, Rankine theory assumes that there is no
adhesion or friction between the wall and the backfill soil, the retaining wall is vertical, and the backfill soil has a
horizontal surface.

From the limiting failure condition represented by

Mohr’s circle shown in Figure 7.9, we can write

After some manipulation of the above equation, we

can show that:

or:

‫׎‬Ԣ
where ‫ܭ‬௔ is the active earth pressure coefficient, given by ࡷࢇ ൌ ࢚ࢇ࢔૛ ૝૞ι െ
૛
Figure 7.10b shows the active earth
pressure distribution exerted on the
retaining wall. The pressure is divided into
two parts: a positive part, ‫ܭ‬௔ ȉ ߪ ᇱ ௩ ൌ ‫ܭ‬௔ ȉ
ߛ ȉ ‫ݖ‬, and a negative part, െʹ ȉ ܿ ȉ ‫ܭ‬௔ .
The total earth pressure is the sum of the
two. Note that there is a tension zone in
the backfill soil near the top of the
retaining wall, as indicated by the active
earth pressure distribution shown in Figure
7.10b.
This causes a tension crack that is usually
observed at the top of a cohesive backfill
immediately behind the retaining wall. The
depth of the tension crack, ܼ௖ , can be
calculated by setting ߪ ᇱ ௔ equal to zero:

ʹ ȉ ܿԢ
ܼ௖ ൌ FIGURE 7.10 Rankine active lateral earth pressure for a cohesive
ߛ ȉ ‫ܭ‬௔ backfill without surcharge.
Coulomb’s Theory of Earth Pressure

• Assumptions;
• The backfill is a dry, cohesionless, homogeneous, isotropic soil.
• The backfill surface is planar and can be inclined.
• The back of the wall can be inclined to the vertical.
• The failure surface is a plane surface which passes through the heel of the wall.
• The position and the line of action of the earth pressure are known.
• The sliding wedge is considered to be a rigid body and the earth pressure is obtained by considering
the limiting equilibrium of the sliding wedge as a whole.

2. Coulomb
b theory

The Coulomb active earth pressure coefficient for

the general case is a more complicated
expression that depends on the angle of the back
face of the wall, the soil–wall friction, and the
angle of backfill slope:

2
ª º
« »
1 « sin(T  I ) »
Ka ˜
sin 2 T ˜ sin(T  G ) « sin(I  G ) ˜ sin(I  E ) »
«1  »
¬« sin(T  G ) ˜ sin(T  E ) ¼»
 Earth pressure coefficient for different values of ‫׎‬ǡ ߠǡ ߜ

I 15o 20o 25o 30o 35o 40o I 15o 20o 25o 30o 35o 40o
Go T = 85o, β = 0o Go T = 90o, β = 0o
0 0,618 0,522 0,440 0,368 0,305 0,250 0 0,588 0,490 0,405 0,333 0,270 0,217
5 0,586 0,498 0,421 0,354 0,294 0,243 5 0,555 0,464 0,386 0,318 0,260 0,209
10 0,565 0,481 0,408 0,344 0,287 0,237 10 0,532 0,446 0,372 0,308 0,252 0,204
15 0,552 0,470 0,399 0,337 0,283 0,234 15 - 0,434 0,363 0,301 0,247 0,201
20 - 0,465 0,395 0,334 0,281 0,234 20 - 0,426 0,357 0,297 0,245 0,199
25 - - 0,395 0,335 0,282 0,235 25 - - 0,355 0,295 0,244 0,194
30 - - - 0,338 0,285 0,238 30 - - - 0,297 0,245 0,201
Go T = 85o, β = 10o Go T = 90o, β = 10o
0 0,740 0,609 0,503 0,414 0,339 0,275 0 0,703 0,569 0,462 0,373 0,299 0,237
5 0,719 0,588 0,486 0,401 0,329 0,268 5 0,679 0,546 0,443 0,359 0,289 0,230
10 0,707 0,575 0,474 0,392 0,322 0,263 10 0,663 0,531 0,430 0,349 0,281 0,224
15 0,703 0,568 0,468 0,387 0,318 0,260 15 0,655 0,521 0,422 0,343 0,277 0,221
20 - 0,567 0,466 0,385 0,318 0,260 20 - 0,517 0,418 0,340 0,274 0,220
25 - - 0,499 0,387 0,320 0,262 25 - - 0,418 0,339 0,275 0,220
30 - - +- 0,393 0,324 0,266 30 - - - 0,342 0,277 0,223
Go T = 85o, β = 20o Go T = 90o, β = 20o
0 - 0,943 0,624 0,491 0,391 0,310 0 - 0,883 0,572 0,441 0,343 0,266
5 - 0,954 0,613 0,479 0,381 0,303 5 - 0,886 0,557 0,428 0,333 0,258
10 - 0,973 0,607 0,473 0,375 0,299 10 - 0,896 0,549 0,419 0,326 0,253
15 - 1,000 0,607 0,470 0,373 0,297 15 - 0,914 0,545 0,415 0,322 0,251
20 - - 0,613 0,472 0,374 0,298 20 - 0,939 0,546 0,414 0,321 0,250
25 - - 0,624 0,479 0,378 0,301 25 - - 0,553 0,417 0,323 0,251
30 - - - 0,490 0,386 0,307 30 - - - 0,423 0,328 0,255

• The distribution of active pressure

1 1
Pa ˜ paJ ˜ h ˜ 1 ˜J ˜ H 2 ˜ K aŸ sin T
2 2 paJ J ˜ H ˜ Ka ˜
cosG
- For the case with uniform surcharge q:

q sinT ˜ cos E 1 § 2 ˜ He ·
He ˜ Ÿ Pa ˜ J ˜ H 2 ˜ ¨1  ¸ ˜ Ka
J sin( T  E ) 2 © H ¹
• The active pressure distribution for layered soils or retaining structure with inclined facing

• For the layer 1 in both cases:

1
Pa1 J ˜ h12 ˜ K a1
2

• For the layer 2, the layer 1 will be assimilated with a surcharge uniformly distributed on a equivalent height ‫ܪ‬௘ଶ
and the active pressure can be calculated using the relation:

J 1 ˜ h1 sin T 2 ˜ cos E 1 § 2 ˜ He ·
H e2 ˜ Ÿ Pa 2 ˜ J 2 ˜ h22 ˜ ¨ 1  ¸ ˜ Ka2
J2 sin( T 2  E ) 2 © h2 ¹

Passive earth pressure occurs when a retaining wall is forced to move toward the retained soil. Passive earth
pressure condition will develop if the wall moves a sufficient distance toward the backfill. The lateral inward
movement required to mobilize the full passive pressure condition is approximately 0.01H for loose sand and 0.05H
for soft clay, where H is the height of the wall. The passive earth pressure distribution can be calculated using
Rankine theory or Coulomb theory.



Rankine theory assumes that there is no adhesion or friction between the wall and the backfill soil, the retaining wall
is vertical, and the backfill soil has a horizontal surface. The Rankine passive earth pressure theory assumes that every
soil element within the sliding wedge (Figure 7.14a) is on the verge of failure, as depicted by Mohr’s circle shown in
Figure 7.14b.

When the wall starts moving toward the backfill, the lateral stress, ߪ ᇱ ௛ , increases while the vertical stress, ߪ ᇱ ௩ ,
remains essentially constant. The limiting condition occurs when the Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion becomes
tangent to Mohr’s circle; at this condition the lateral stress reaches its maximum possible value, termed the passive
lateral stress ߪ ᇱ ௣ .
 Mohr’s circle predicts two sets of failure planes with ߠ ൌ േሺͶͷι െ ‫׎‬ԢȀʹሻ, as indicated in Figure 7.14a and b.

FIGURE 7.14 Rankine passive lateral earth pressure.

From the limiting failure condition represented by the Mohr’s circle shown in Figure 7.14b, we can show that

‫׎‬ᇱ ‫׎‬ᇱ
ߪԢ௣ ൌ ‫݌‬௣ ൌ ߪԢ௩ ȉ ‫݊ܽݐ‬ଶ Ͷͷι ൅ ൅ ʹܿԢ ȉ ‫ ݊ܽݐ‬Ͷͷι ൅
ʹ ʹ

or ߪԢ௣ ൌ ‫݌‬௣ ൌ ߪԢ௩ ȉ ‫ܭ‬௣ ൅ ʹܿԢ ȉ ‫ܭ‬௣

‫׎‬Ԣ
where ‫ܭ‬௣ is the passive earth pressure coefficient, given by ࡷ࢖ ൌ ࢚ࢇ࢔૛ ૝૞ι ൅
૛
 Figure 7.15b shows the passive earth pressure distribution exerted on the retaining wall.

FIGURE 7.15 Rankine passive lateral earth pressure for a cohesive backfill without surcharge.

Figure 7.16a shows a retaining wall supporting a fill with a water table located a distance H below the top surface
of the fill. A uniform pressure q is applied at the top surface of the backfill.

FIGURE 7.16 Rankine passive lateral earth pressure for a cohesive backfill with surcharge.
 2. Coulomb
b theory

It is to be noted that Coulomb theory accounts

for three factors that were not accounted for in
th
he origi
the rigiinal
original all RRaanki
nkiine theory
Rankine ory:
theory:
• thee w wall
wa aall–
llll–soil
soiill in
so interface
nterffacee ffriction
fr onn ssignified
igni
g fi d by
thee fr
friction
riction n an
angle
ngle ߜ iinn Fi
n Figure
F gure
uree 7.1
.17;
.17
• thee slsloping
lopin
pin ngg backfil
backfill
b kfilllll so
soil
oiiill with
withh ann an
angle
ngglee (ߚ
(ߚ
ߚ));
• and d th
the
hee bat
h battered
b tter
teredd bac
bbackck fa
ck fface
a e off thee retaining
wallll with h ann anglee (ߠ ).

2
ª º FIGURE 7.17 Coulomb passive lateral earth pressure.
« »
1 « sin(T  I ) »
Kp ˜
sin 2 T ˜ sin(T  G ) « sin(I  G ) ˜ sin(I  E ) »
«1  »
¬« sin(T  G ) ˜ sin(T  E ) ¼»

passive earth pressure coefficient for different values of ‫׎‬ǡ ߠǡ ߜ

I 15o 20o 25o 30o 35o 40o I 15o 20o 25o 30o 35o 40o
Go T = 85o, β = 0o Go T = 90o, β = 0o
0 1,630 1,926 2,288 2,735 3,298 4,018 0 1,698 2,039 2,463 2,999 3,690 4,598
5 1,806 2,159 2,597 3,147 3,855 4,783 5 1,900 2,312 2,833 3,505 4,391 5,592
10 2,001 2,428 2,965 3,655 4,561 5,787 10 2,131 2,635 3,285 4,143 5,308 6,945
15 2,227 2,749 3,418 4,297 5,487 7,154 15 2,403 3,029 3,854 4,976 6,554 8,871
20 - 3,144 3,991 5,138 6,746 9,100 20 - 3,524 4,596 6,105 8,323 11,771
25 - - 4,739 6,277 8,532 12,027 25 - - 5,598 7,703 10,979 16,471
30 - - - 7,891 11,213 16,769 30 - - - 10,094 15,271 24,931
Go T = 85o, β = 10o Go T = 90o, β = 10o
0 2,001 2,428 2,965 3,655 4,561 5,878 0 2,098 2,595 3,235 4,080 5,228 6,840
5 2,321 2,844 3,518 4,408 5,614 7,305 5 2,466 3,086 3,907 5,037 6,604 8,922
10 2,694 3,348 4,512 5,392 7,048 9,475 10 2,907 3,699 4,783 6,313 8,568 12,075
15 3,146 3,983 5,124 6,732 9,094 12,759 15 2,455 4,495 5,969 8,144 11,535 17,224
20 - 4,809 6,358 8,638 12,184 18,116 20 - 5,571 7,651 10,903 16,369 26,567
25 - - 8,110 11,510 17,212 27,825 25 - - 10,180 15,383 25,115 46,470
30 - - - 16,171 26,300 48,474 30 - - - 23,466 43,693 102,531
Go T = 85o, β = 20o Go T = 90o, β = 20o
0 - 3,048 3,870 4,982 6,541 8,824 0 - 3,312 4,319 5,737 7,821 11,061
5 - 3,751 4,843 6,379 8,635 12,132 5 - 4,165 5,549 7,592 10,775 16,113
10 - 4,633 6,165 8,376 11,814 17,566 10 - 5,316 7,301 10,403 15,619 25,350
15 - 5,899 8,049 11,401 17,023 27,486 15 - 6,950 9,948 15,003 24,455 45,193
20 - 7,656 10,897 16,346 26,511 48,759 20 - 9,412 14,267 23,371 43,392 101,599
25 - - 15,539 25,331 46,810 109,108 25 - - 22,103 41,256 97,081 404,624
30 - - - 44,501 104,252 432,631 30 - - - 91,819 384,719 -
 ACTIVE PRESSURE BY CULMANN'S METHOD FOR COHESIONLESS SOILS
Culmann's (1875) method is the same as the trial wedge method. In Culmann's method, the force polygons
are constructed directly on the ‫ ׎‬-line AE taking AE as the load line.
The procedure is as follows:
In Fig. 11.19(a) AB is the retaining wall drawn to a suitable scale. The various steps in the construction of the
pressure locus are:
1. Draw w ‫ ׎‬-lin ne AE at an anglee ‫ ׎‬tto the horizontal.
line
2.. Layy offf on
on AE
AE distances,
disttances, AV, A1, A2, A3, etc. to a suitable scale to represent the weightss of wedgess ABV,
AB1
B1,
B11, AB2B2,
B2
2, AB3
B3, etc. respectively.
B3
3.. Draw
3 D aw w lilines
ines
in ess p parallel
araalleeell ttoo AD D ffrom
rommp pointss V, 1, 2, 3 to
po o intersectt assumed d rupturee liness AV,V, A
A1,
1, A2,
A2, A3 at
points
poi in
ntss V
V’,’, 1’’,, 2’’,, 3’’,, eetc
ttc.
tc
c. re
rrespectively
esp
es pect
ectivveely
ly.
ly
y.
4. JJo
4. Join
oin
n poin
points
p ntss V V’,’, 1’’,, 2’’,, 3’’,, eetc
tc.
ttc
c. by
by a smsmooth
mooth
m othh ccurve
urvee whi
which
w ich
h iss the
hee pre
pressure
p ssu
uree lo
locus
o us
ocuus.
s.
5. Se
SSelect
elec
ectt popoint
p o tC C‘‘ on n thee pressuree locuss such h thatt thee tangentt to o thee curvee att thiss pointt iss parallel
el to
o the
‫ ׎‬-liline
ine
nee A
AEE.
6. Draw
6. D wC C'CCp parallell to o thee pressuree linee AD AD.. Thee magnitudee off C'C C in
n itss naturall unitss givess thee active
pressure
pre uree ܲ௔ .
esssure
7. Join n AC’C ’ and d producee to o meet et thee surfacee of
o thee backfillll att C. ACC iss thee rupturee line
ne.

For the plane backfill surface, the point of application off ܲ௔ is at a height of H/3 from the base of the wall.

ACTIVE PRESSURE BY CULMANN'S METHOD FOR COHESIONLESS SOILS

 PASSIVE PRESSURE BY CULMANN'S METHOD FOR COHESIONLESS SOILS

• Pentru calculul împingerii /

rezistenţei pasive a pământurilor,
prin metoda Culmann, se parcurg
aceleaşi etape, cu deosebire că în
construcţia grafică pentru trasarea
L.T.N. şi respectiv a D.O se utilizează
parametriii ‫ ׎‬ൌ െ‫ ׎‬şi ߜ ൌ െߜ

• Valoarea împingerii pasive, măsurată

la scara forţelor este Pp TT.'

• Construcţia parabolei Culmann,

pentru rezistenţa pasivă este
prezentată în figura alăturată.

ACTIVE PRESSURE BY
Y PONCELET METHOD FOR COHESIONLESS SOILS
i. Let AB represent the back face of the wall and BN the backfill
surface
ii. Draw AN inclined at ‫ ׎‬with the horizontal from the heel A of
the wall to meet the backfill surface in N.
iii. Through B, draw BK inclined at an angle ‫ ׎‬൅ ߜ to meet AN
in K.
v. Describe a semi-circle on AN as diameter.
vi. Erect a perpendicular to AN at K to meet the semi-circle in
D’.
vii. With A as centre and AD’ as radius draw an arc to meet AN
in D
viii. Through D, draw a parallel to the ‫ܭܤ‬-line to meet BN in C.
ix. With D as centre and DC as radius draw an arc to cut AN in
E; join CE and also draw a perpendicular CF from C on to ED.
x. AC is the required rupture surface.

• se calculează la scara desenului aria triunghiului CDE, care va da măsura valorii împingerii active a pământului, iar AC
este planul de cedare;
1
Pa S'CDE ˜ DE ˜ CF ˜ 1 ˜ J
2
PASSIVE PRESSURE BY
Y PONCELET METHOD FOR COHESIONLESS SOILS

ƒ Etape

• În mod similar, se construieşte şi epura pentru

împingerea / rezistenţa pasivă a pământurilor, urmând
aceleaşi etape ca la împingerea activă introducând însă
în construcţia grafică I : I şi G : G

• Se obţine astfel, la scara desenului, valoarea

împingerii / rezistenţei pasive, egală numeric cu
suprafaţa triunghiului CDE:

1
Pp ˜ DE ˜ CF ˜1 ˜ J
2
  
Main types off retaining
t i i structures
t t
Various types of retaining structures are used in civil engineering, the main ones being:
● mass construction gravity walls;
● reinforced concrete walls;
● crib walls;
● gabion walls;
● sheet pile walls;
● diaphragm walls;
● reinforced soil walls;
● soil nail walls.
The last two structures are different from the rest in that the soil itself forms part of these structures.
Because of this fundamental difference, reinforced soil and soil nail walls are discussed separately at the end of
this chapter.
Retaining structures are commonly used to support soils and structures to maintain a difference in elevation of
the ground surface and are normally grouped into gravity walls or embedded walls.

mass construction gravity walls reinforced concrete walls

 crib walls gabion walls

sheet pile walls diaphragm walls

 reinforced soil walls
soil nail walls

Role of the geotechnical engineer…

• What is the earth ppressure distribution?
• What are resultant forces
f on wall?
• Static equilibrium
q (overturning analysis, sliding analysis)
• Bearingg capacity
p y analysis
“active” earth
• Settlement analysis
y
pressure
• Special loading (e.g., earthquakes)

“passive”
p earth
pressure

friction

Bearing pressure
The retaining wall designer needs to identify ahead of time the
fundamental properties of the backfill soil and the soil under the
base of the retaining wall (foundation soil). These soil
properties include the unit weight and the shear strength
parameters c and ‫ ׎‬. Usually, the height H of the retaining wall
is specified and the designer can proportion the wall (assume
approximate dimensions) based on H.
Figure 7.18 shows the approximate dimensions for a cantilever
wall.

FIGURE 7.18 Proportioning a cantilever retaining wall based on

its height H.

Types of rigid retaining walls (Budhu 2010)

 Failure modes of retaining structures
The retaining wall needs to satisfy three external stability criteria: sliding and bearing capacity/excessive
settlement. If any of these is not satisfied with a safety margin, the retaining wall needs to be reproportioned. This is
an iterative procedure that requires some practice. In addition to the external stability, the internal stability has to be
satisfied as well.
In the case of a reinforced concrete cantilever retaining wall, for example, the dimensions of the wall and the
amount of steel reinforcement should be adequate to resist structural failure of the base and the stem of the retaining
wall.

FIGURE 7.19 External stability of retaining walls:

For cantilever retaining walls, usually Rankine theory is used to calculate the active earth pressure.

As mentioned earlier, the Rankine theory

assumes that the backfill soil has a horizontal
surface, and can be used to calculate the
active earth pressure coefficient for that
condition. But for a granular backfill with an
inclined surface, the following equation can
be used instead:

Where: α is the inclination angle of the

backfill and φ’ is the friction angle of the
backfill soil.
For gravity retaining walls, either Rankine or Coulomb active earth pressure theory can be used.
• If Rankine theory is used, the Rankine active force is applied to the retained soil at a vertical plane passing through
the heel of the retaining wall.
• If Coulomb active force is used instead of Rankine’s active force, the Coulomb force is applied directly to the back
face of the gravity retaining wall. The line of action of the active force makes an angle δ with the normal to the
back face of the retaining wall.


The design of a retaining wall is an iterative procedure. An initial wall geometry is assigned to the wall
(proportioning the wall) and the resulting forces, such as the weight of the wall and the active and passive forces,
are calculated. These forces are then checked using appropriate factors of safety and the geometry of the wall is
then revised until satisfactory factors of safety are obtained.

A retaining wall has a tendency to move (slide) away from the backfill soil because of the active earth pressure
exerted by the soil, as shown in Figure 7.21. This active force is called a driving force. The retaining wall resists
sliding by the friction and adhesion mobilized between the base of the wall and the foundation soil. These forces
are called resisting forces. Note that the frictional force is proportional to the total vertical force, which includes
the weight of the retaining wall (Wc) and the weight of the soil (Ws) that is wedged between the wall and a
vertical plane passing through the heel.
The passive earth pressure in the fill in front of the wall is a resisting horizontal force acting opposite to the
driving force.
In general, a safety factor is defined as the ratio of the sum of available resisting (stabilizing) forces to the sum of
driving (destabilizing) forces. With respect to sliding, for which a factor of safety of 1.5 or better is required, the
factor of safety is given by:
 
A retaining wall tends to rotate about the toe, due to the active earth pressure exerted by the backfill soil. The
moment resulting from the active force is opposed by the moments resulting from the vertical forces produced by
the wall, the soil, and the vertical component of the active force .

the factor of safety is defined as the sum of resisting moments divided by the overturning moment caused by the
horizontal component of the active force as given by:

The bearing capacity of the foundation soil must be adequate to
support the base of the retaining wall. Because of the lateral earth
pressure exerted on the stem of a retaining wall, the resulting load
on the base of the wall (foundation) is both eccentric and inclined.
The ultimate bearing capacity of the foundation soil, q can be
calculated using Meyerhof’s equation because it accounts for
eccentric and inclined loads:
No matter what material is used as a backfill,
its drainage is of great importance. A retaining
wall is designed generally to withstand only
lateral pressures exerted by the soil that it is
supporting. In any design the possibility of a
groundwater level occurring in the material
behind a retaining wall must be examined and
an appropriate drainage system decided
upon.
For a granular backfill the only drainage often
necessary is the provision of weep holes that
go through the wall and are spaced at some 3
m centres, both horizontally and vertically.
The holes can vary in diameter from 75 to
about 150 mm and are protected against
clogging by the provision of gravel pockets
placed in the backfill immediately behind
each weep hole.

Fig. 7.26 Common drainage systems for retaining walls.

Active earth pressure occurs when the wall tilts away from the soil
(a typical free standing retaining wall)
 Massive Gravity
tyy Wall Mechanicallyy Stabilized Earth (MSE) Wall

Geosynthetic
reinforcement

Cantilevered Gravity
tyy Wall
Sheet Pile Walls

Soldier Pilee Wall Timber lagging Driven soldier piles

Soil Nailil – Shotcretee Wall