1

Lateral Earth Pressure

We can calculate
v

Now, calculate
h
which is the horizontal stress

h
/
v
= K
Therefore,
h
= K
v
(
V
is what?)

h

H
2
Lateral Earth Pressure
There are 3 states of lateral earth pressure
K
o
= At Rest
K
a
= Active Earth Pressure (wall moves away from soil)
K
p
= Passive Earth Pressure (wall moves into soil)
Passive is more like a resistance

h
z

H
3
At Rest Earth Pressure
At rest earth pressure occur when there is no wall rotation such as
in a braced wall (basement wall for example)

K
o
can be calculated as follows:
K
o
= 1 sin for coarse grained soils
K
o
= .44 + .42 [PI / 100] for NC soils
K
o

(oc)
= K
o

(NC)
(OCR)
1/2
for OC soils

h
z

H
4
Active Earth Pressure
Active earth pressure occurs when the wall tilts away from the soil
(a typical free standing retaining wall)
5
Active Earth Pressure
Active earth pressure occurs when the wall tilts away from the soil
(a typical free standing retaining wall)
6
Active Earth Pressure
Active earth pressure occurs when the wall tilts away from the soil
(a typical free standing retaining wall)
7
Active Earth Pressure
Active earth pressure occurs when the wall tilts away from the soil
(a typical free standing retaining wall)
K
a
can be calculated as follows:
K
a
= tan
2
(45 /2)
thus:
a
= K
a

v
2 c (K
a
)
1/2

45 + /2

Failure wedge

H
Soil sliding down
pushing the wall

8
Passive Earth Pressure
Passive earth pressure occurs when the wall is pushed into the soil
(typically a seismic load pushing the wall into the soil or a foundation
pushing into the soil)
K
p
can be calculated as follows:
K
p
= tan
2
(45 + /2)
thus:
p
= K
p

v
+ 2 c (K
p
)
1/2

45 - /2

Failure wedge

H
Soil being pushed
up the slope

9
Active Stress Distribution (c = 0)

c = 0

dry soil

H

a
= K
a

v
2 c (K
a
)
1/2

a
= K
a

v

0

a
is the stress distribution
P
a
is the force on the wall (per foot of wall)
How is P
a
found?
P
a
= ?
? - What is this value

10
Passive Stress Distribution (c = 0)

c = 0

dry soil

H
0

p
is the stress distribution
P
p
is the force on the wall (per foot of wall)
How is P
p
found?
P
p
= ?
? - What is this value

p
= K
p

v
2 c (K
p
)
1/2

p
= K
p

v

11
Stress Distribution - Water Table (c = 0)
H
1
K
a
H
1
or
P
a
= areas = K
a
H
1
2
+ Ka H
1
H
2
+ K
a
H
2
2
+ 1/2
w
H
2
2
H
2
K
a
H
1
K
a
H
2
K
a
( H
1
+ H
2
)
Effective Stress

Pore Water Pressure

P
a

w
H
2
12
Stress Distribution With Water Table
H
1
K
a
H
1
or
H
2
0
K
a
H
1
K
a
H
2
K
a
( H
1
+ H
2
)
Effective Stress

Pore Water Pressure

P
a

w
H
2
Why is the water pressure considered separately? (K)
13
Active Stress Distribution (c 0)
-

c 0

dry soil

H
K
a
H
z
o

2 c (K
a
)
1/2
K
a
H 2 c (K
a
)
1/2

=
Find z
o
:
K
a
z
o
2 c (K
a
)
1/2
= 0
Zo = 2c / (K
a
)
1/2
Pa = ?
_
14
Passive Stress Distribution (c 0)
-

c 0

dry soil

H
K
p
H
2 c (K
p
)
1/2
K
p
H + 2 c (K
p
)
1/2

=
Pp = ?
+
15
Practice Problems
Chapter 12 Problems:
13
15 (part c is using equation 12.47 and part
d uses equation 12.49)
25

13 and 25 are the same problem just one is
active calcs and the other is passive calcs