3.

0 LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE

Outline
 Introduction

 Earth pressure at rest

 Rankine earth pressures

 Coulomb earth pressures

 Effects of a surcharge load upon active thrust

 Design considerations for retaining walls

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 3-1 Introduction
 Lateral earth pressure means sideways
pressure
 Analysis & determination of lateral earth
pressure are necessary to design retaining
walls & other earth retaining structures
 There are 3 categories of earth pressure
 Earth pressure at rest, o

 Active earth pressure, a

 Passive earth pressure, p

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 12-1 Introduction
 o refers to lateral pressure caused by earth
that is prevented from lateral movement by an
unyielding wall
 a occurs when:
 A wall moves far enough away from soil,
shear failure of the soil will occur
 A sliding soil wedge will tend to move
forward & downward
 This is illustrated in Fig 3.1

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 12-1 Introduction

Active Passive

Fig 3.1 Fig. 3.2

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 12-1 Introduction
 p occurs when:
 A wall moves far enough toward the soil,
shear failure of the soil will occur
 A sliding soil wedge will tend to move
backward & upward
 This is illustrated in Fig 3.2

 Fig 3.3 illustrates the relationship between

wall movement & variation in lateral earth
pressure

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 3-1 Introduction
 Fig 3.3
h

a p

0

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 3-2 Earth pressure at rest
 To analyze earth pressure at rest, consider
the stress conditions on an element of soil at
depth z (see Fig 3.4)
 Fig 3.4
v

h h

v
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 3-2 Earth pressure at rest
 The element can deform vertically when
loaded, it cannot deform laterally because the
element is confined by the same soil under
identical loading conditions
 This is equivalent to soil resting against
smooth, immovable wall as shown below
 Fig 3.5

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 3-2 Earth pressure at rest
 The soil is in a state of elastic equilibrium
 Pressure at the base of the wall & the
resultant force per unit length of the wall can
be determined using:
 o  K oH eqn 3.1
1
Po  K oH 2 eqn 3.2
2
o  lateralsoil pressure at base of wall

Po  resultant force per unit length of wall for pressure at rest

K o  coefficient of earth pressure at rest

  unit weight of soil

H  height of wall
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 12-2 Earth pressure at rest

 For zero lateral strain condition:

ph 
 eqn 3.3
pv 1  
ph
Ko  eqn 3.4
pv
p h , p v  lateral& verticalstress respectively

  Poisson' s ratio

 Ko has been observed in experiments to

depend on :
, PI & stress history
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 3-2 Earth pressure at rest
 For granular soils, Ko ranges from 0.4 for
dense sand to 0.5 for loose sand
 Ko can also be determined from the following
empirical relationship:
Ko  1  sin  eqn 3.5
 For NC clays, the following empirical
relationship can be used:

Ko  0.19  0.233 log( PI ) eqn 3.6

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 3-2 Earth pressure at rest
 If groundwater is present, hydrostatic pressure acting
against the submerged section of the wall must be
added to the effective lateral soil pressure
 From Fig 3.7:

 1  K oz1 eqn 3.7

 2  K oz1  K o sub z 2   w z2 eqn 3.8
 1  lateralearth pressure at rest at the GWT
 2  lateralearth pressure at rest at base of the wall
 ,  sub  unit weight of soil, submergedunit weight

 w  unit weight of water

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 3-2 Earth pressure at rest
 Resultant force per unit length of wall, Po:
p1 z1 p1  p2
Po   ( z2 ) eqn 3.9
2 2
 Fig 2.7

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 Example 3.1

 A smooth unyielding wall retains a dense

cohesionless soil with no lateral movement of
soil as shown in Fig 3.8.

 Determine:
 The diagram of lateral earth pressure
against the wall
 The total lateral force acting on the wall

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 Example 3.1
 Fig 3.8

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 Example 3.1
Solution

K o  1  sin   1  sin 37 o  0.398

1) Pressure at 1 m depth (at GWT)
 1  K oz1  (0.398)(18.39)(1.00)  7.32 kN/m 2
Pressure at 2.5 m depth (at wall base)
 2  K oz1  K o sub z2   w z2
 (0.398)(18.39)(1.00)  (0.398)(18.39  9.81)(1.5)  (9.81)(1.5)
 27.16 kN/m 2
The required diagram is as shown in Fig 12.9

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 Example 3.1
Solution (cont’d)

 Fig 3.9

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 Example 3.1
Solution (cont’d)

p1 z1 p1  p2
Po   ( z2 )
2 2
(7.32)(1.00) 7.32  27.16
Po   (1.5)
2 2
 29.52 kN/m of wall

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 Example 3.2 Problem (K0 condition)

A retaining structure is supporting a 6 m high excavation as

shown in Figure P3.2. The wall is very rigid so that the soil
behind the wall is in “at rest” condition. The properties of the
soil are shown in the figure.

(a) Sketch lateral pressure diagram on the Figure and

(b) determine the total lateral earth pressure “at rest” Po and
(c) determine the hydrostatic force Pw.

Ground water table is at 3.5 m below ground surface.

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 Example 3.2 Problem (cont’d)

Fill sand,
3.5 m
 = 25o

c=0

b = 18 kN/m3
Silt,

2.5 m  = 25o

c=0

sat = 20 kN/m3

Figure P3.2
Solution 3.1
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 3-3 Rankine earth pressures
 The Rankine theory for determining lateral
earth pressures is based in several
assumptions:
 There is no adhesion or friction between
wall & soil
 Lateral pressures computed from Rankine
theory are limited to vertical walls
 Failure is assumed to occur in the form of a
sliding wedge along an assumed failure
plane defined as a function of  as shown
in Fig 3.10

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 3-3 Rankine earth pressures
 Fig 3.10

 Lateral earth pressure varies linearly with

depth (Fig 3.11)
 Resultant pressures are assumed to act at a
distance up from the wall base equal to ⅓ the
vertical distance from the heel to the surface
of backfill
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 3-3 Rankine earth pressures
 The direction of resultants is parallel to the
backfill surface
 Fig 3.11

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 3-3 Rankine earth pressures
 The eqns for computing lateral earth pressure
based on Rankine theory are as follows:

1 2
Pa  H K a eqn 3.10
2
2 2
cos   cos   cos 
K a  cos  eqn 3.11
2 2
cos   cos   cos 

1
Pp  H 2 K p eqn 3.12
2
2 2
cos   cos   cos 
K p  cos  eqn 3.13
2 2
cos   cos   cos 

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 3-3 Rankine earth pressures
Pa  total active earth pressure (thrust)
  unit weigh t of backfill soil
H  height of wall
K a  coefficien t of active earth pressure
  angle between backfill surface line & a horizontal line
  angle of internal friction of backfill soil
Pp  total passive earth pressure (thrust)
K b  coefficien t of passive earth pressure

 If the backfill surface is level,  = 0, eqn 3.11 & 3.13

revert to:
1  sin 
Ka  eqn 3.14
1  sin 
1  sin 
Kp  eqn 3.15
1  sin 

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 3-3 Rankine earth pressures
 By trigonometric identities, Ka and Kp can also
be expressed as:

1  sin  
Ka   tan 2 (45o  ) eqn 3.16
1  sin  2
1  sin  
Kp   tan (45  )
2 o
eqn 3.17
1  sin  2

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 Example 3.3
 The retaining wall is as shown in Fig 3.13
 Determine the total active earth pressure
(thrust) per m of wall & its point of application
using Rankine Theory
 Fig 3.13

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 Example 3.3
Solution
1
Pa  H 2 K a
2
cos   cos 2   cos 2 
K  cos 
a
cos   cos 2   cos 2 
cos 15o  cos 2 15o  cos 2 30 o
K a  (cos 15o )
cos 15o  cos 2 15o  cos 2 30 o
K a  0.373
Pa  (1 / 2)(17.3)(9.1)(0.373)  267 kN/m
  H / 3  9.1 / 3  3.03 m from base of wall
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 Example 3.4
 Given the retaining wall as shown in Fig 3.14
 Determine the total active earth pressure per
m of wall by Rankine Theory
 Fig 3.14

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 Example 3.4
Solution

AB
From Fig 3.14, tan 5o 
6. 1
AB  (6.1)(tan 5o )  0.534 m
BC h
Also, tan 10 
o

AB 0.534
h  (0.534)(tan10 o )  0.094 m
1 2
Pa  H K a eqn 3.10
2
2 2
cos   cos   cos 
K a  cos  eqn 3.11
2 2
cos   cos   cos 

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 Example 3.4
Solution (cont’d)
cos 10 o
 cos 2
10 o
 cos2
35 o

K a  (cos10o )  0.282
cos10  cos 10  cos 35
o 2 o 2 o

Pa '  (1 / 2)(18.84)(6.194) 2 (0.282)  101.9 kN/m

W  (1 / 2)( )( AB)(H )
 (1 / 2)(18.84)(0.53)(6.194)  30.92 kN/m
Ph  Pa ' cos   (101.9) cos10o  100.35 kN/m
Pv  Pa ' sin   (101.9) sin 10o  17.69 kN/m
 V  W  Pv  30.92  17.69  48.6 kN/m
 H  Ph  100.35 kN/m

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 Example 3.4
Solution (cont’d)

Total active earth pressure(Pa )  2

(V )  ( H )
2

 (48.6) 2  (100.35) 2  111.5 kN/m

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 3-3 Rankine earth pressures
 Eqn 3.10 to 3.17 are applicable for
cohesionless soils
 The generalized lateral earth pressure
distribution for soils with cohesion & friction,
based on Rankine theory, is as shown in
Fig 3.15
 Fig 3.15a gives the pressure distribution for
active pressure & Fig 3.15b is for passive
pressure

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 3-3 Rankine earth pressures

For active condition, the presence of cohesion

reduces the active earth pressure and it is
negative for the upper part of the wall, the
depth at which the active earth pressure
becomes zero is:

2c
 zo  (3.11a)
γ Ka

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 12-3 Rankine earth pressures
 Fig 12.15

Active Passive
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 Example 3.5
 Given the retaining wall as shown in Fig 3.16
 Determine the active earth pressure diagram
by Rankine theory

Fig 3.16

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 Example 3.5
Solution
From Fig 12.15a,
   
2c tan  45o    (2)(10) tan  45o    16.78 kN/m 2
 2  2
2   o 
H tan  45    2c tan  45  
o

 2  2
2   o 
 (18.84)(10) tan  45    (2)(10) tan  45  
o

 2  2
 115.87 kN/m 2
2c (2)(10)
  1.26 m
 
 tan  45o   (18.84) tan  45o  
 2  2
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 Example 3.5
Solution (cont’d)
Resultant  (1 / 2)(105.3)(10  1.26)  460 kN/m
  x / 3  (10  1.26) / 3  2.91 m
The active earth pressure diagram, based on the preceding
computed values is shown in Fig 12.17.
 Fig 3.17

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 3-4 Coulomb earth pressures
 Coulomb theory assumes that failure occurs
in the form of a wedge & that friction occurs
between wall & soil
 The sides of the wedge are the earth side of
the retaining wall & a failure plane that passes
through the heel of the wall, Fig 3.18
 Resultant active earth pressure acts on the
wall at a point where a line through the
wedge’s c.g. & parallel to the failure plane
intersects the wall, Fig 3.19

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 12-4 Coulomb earth pressures
 Fig 3.18  Fig 3.19

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 3-4 Coulomb earth pressures
 The resultant’s direction at the wall is along a
line that makes an angle  with a line normal
to the back side of the wall, Fig 3.20
 Eqns for computing lateral earth pressure
based on Coulomb theory are:

1 2
Pa  H K a eqn 3.10
2
2
sin (   )
Ka  2
eqn 3.18
2  sin(    ) sin(    )
sin  sin(   ) 1  
 sin(   ) sin(    ) 

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 3-4 Coulomb earth pressures
1
Pp  H 2 K p eqn 3.12
2
2
sin (   )
Kp  2
eqn 3.19
2  sin(    ) sin(   )
sin  sin(    ) 1  
 sin(   ) sin(   ) 

K a  active earth pressure

  angle of internal friction

  unit weight of backfill soil   angle of wall friction

H  height of the wall (Fig 12.18)   angle between backfill surfacelines & horizontal line

K p  coefficient of active earth pressure Pp  passive earth pressure

  angle between back side of wall & a horizontal line K p  coefficient of passive earth pressure

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 3-4 Coulomb earth pressures

Fig 3.20 Coulomb Rankine

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 3-4 Coulomb earth pressures
 A smooth vertical wall with level backfill,  = 0
&=0
 Substituting these values will revert to eqn
3.14 & 3.15
 Table 3.1 gives some typical values of ,  & 
of common types of backfill soil

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 3-4 Coulomb earth pressures
 Table 3.1

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 Example 3.7
 Same conditions as example 3.4, except that
 = 20o
 Determine the total active earth pressure per
m of wall by coulomb theory

Fig 3.23
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 Example 3.7
Solution
1 2
Pa  H K a eqn 3.10
2

2
sin (   )
Ka  2 eqn 3.18
2  sin(    ) sin(    ) 
sin  sin(   ) 1  
 sin(    ) sin(    ) 

  18.84kN / m 2 , H  6m,   180o  95o  85o

  35o ,   20o ,   10o
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 Example 3.7
Solution (cont’d)

2
sin ( 85  35
o o
)
Ka  2
2 o  o o sin( 35  20 ) sin( 35  10 ) 
o o o o


sin 85 sin( 85  20 ) 1 
o o o o 
 sin( 85  20 ) sin( 85  10 ) 

K a  0.318
Pa  (1 2)(18.84)(6) 2 (0.318)  107.8 kN/m

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 3-5 Effects of a surcharge load
upon active thrust

 A surcharge is a uniform load and/or

concentrated imposed on the soil
 It adds to the lateral earth pressure exerted
against the retaining wall
 This added pressure must be considered
during design

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 3-5 Effects of a surcharge load
upon active thrust
 This additional pressure can be computed
using: P'  qHK a eqn 3.20
P '  additional active earth pressure due to uniform surcharge

q  uniform load on backfill

H  height of wall

K a  coefficient of active earth pressure

Fig 3.24

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 Type of Applied Loading)

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 Uniform Surcharge Load

 Additional pressure exerted against a

retaining wall due to uniform surcharge load
qo applied on the soil surface (Figure 3.10a)
can be computed as

Px = qo H Ka (3.28)

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 Strip load parallel to wall

 Lateral stress due to strip load parallel to the wall

(Figure 3.10b) can be calculated using Scott’s
formula:
σ x  α  sin α cosα  2β 
q (3.29a)
π
with a and b as given in the figure.

 Equation 3.29a can be used if the wall is flexible. If

the wall is rigid, then
(3.29b)
2q
σx  α  sin α cosα  2β 
π

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 Line load Parallel to Wall
 Pressure distribution behind retaining wall due to a
line load Q (kN/m) at a distance x = mH from the wall
is shown in Figure 3.10c. The lateral earth pressure
can be calculated as:
2Q  m 2 n 2 
for flexible wall σx   2  (3.30a)
πH 2 2

 m  n  

for rigid wall 4Q  m2n 2  (3.30b)

σx  2 
πH 
 m  n
2
 2


where y = nH is the distance of the point from the soil

surface. The total force on the structure is given by:
1 2Q  1  (3.31)
P   σ h dn 
x x  m 2  1 
0 π  
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 Point Load

 Lateral stress acting on wall due to point load Q on

the soil surface as shown in Figure 3.10c. In this
case, soil is assumed as elastic material with
Poisson’s ratio n = 0.5.
Q  3x 2 z 
σ x   2 2 5/2 
2x  ( x  z )  (3.32)

 By substituting x = mH, dan z = nH in equation 3.30,

then
Q  m2n 

σx 

2xH 2  m 2  n 2 
5/2 
 (3.33)

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 Example 3.8
 A smooth vertical wall is 6 m high and retains
a cohesionless soil with  = 18.84 kN/m2 and
 = 28o
 The top of the soil is horizontal & level with
the top of the wall
 The soil surface carries a uniformly
distributed load of 50 kN/m2 , see Fig 3.25
 Determine the total active earth pressure on
the wall per linear m of wall
 Point of action of the total active earth
pressure, by Rankine Theory
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 Example 3.8
 Fig 3.25

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 Example 3.8
Solution
From eqn 12.10 & 12.14,
1 2 1  sin 
P a  H K a , K a 
2 1  sin 
1  sin 28o
Ka   0.361
1  sin 28 o

1
P a  (18.84)(6) 2 (0.361)  122.4 kN/m
2
Point of action for Pa  H/ 3  6 / 3  2 m from base of wall
P'  qHK a
P'  (50)(6)(0.361)  108.3 kN/m
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 Example 3.8
Solution (cont’d)

Point of action for P'

 H/ 2  6 / 2  3 m from base of wall
Total active earth pressure
 Pa  P'
 122.4  108.3  230.7 kN/m
(230.7)h  (122.4)(2)  (108.3)(3)
h  2.47 m

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 13-1 Introduction (GRAVITY WALL)
 Retaining structures are built for retaining or
holding back soil mass (or other material)
 Majority of retaining walls are concrete walls
 Reinforced Earth, slurry trench walls,
anchored bulkheads are other types of
retaining structures

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 13-2 Retaining walls
 A gravity wall is illustrated in Fig 13.1
 It depends on its weight to achieve stability
 In cases of taller walls, lateral pressure may
overturn the wall
 For economic reasons, cantilever wall may be
more desirable
 Fig 13.2 shows a cantilever wall which has
part of its base extending underneath the
backfill
 The weight of soil above helps prevent
overturning
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 13-2 Retaining walls
 Fig 13.1

Fig 13.2
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 13-2 Retaining walls
 Although retaining wall may seems
unyielding, some wall movement is to be
expected
 In order that the walls may move without
tipping over, they are often built with an
inward slope on the outer face of the wall
 This inward slope is called batter
 Material placed behind a retaining wall is
referred to as backfill
 Backfill material should be free-draining and
granular
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 13-2 Retaining walls
 Clayey soils makes extremely objectionable
backfill material because of the excessive
lateral pressure exerted
 Designer should specify the specifications for
backfill & base the design of the wall on these
specifications
 For economic reasons, retaining walls are
commonly designed for active earth pressures

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 13-3 Earth pressure computation
 Analytic determinations of earth pressures
were covered in Chapter 12
 In practice, earth pressures for walls < 6 m
height are often obtained from graphs or
tables
 Almost all such graphs & tables are
developed from Rankine theory
 One graphic relationship is given in Fig 13.3

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 13-4 Stability Analysis
 Common procedure in retaining wall design is
to assume a trial wall shape and size
 This trial wall is then check for stability
 If check does not pass, the size and/or shape
is revised
 The new trial wall is checked for stability
 This procedure is repeated until a satisfactory
wall is found

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 13-4 Stability Analysis
 Checks were done to ensure that an
adequate FOS is present for sliding,
overturning, excessive settlement &/or
bearing pressure
 If FOS against sliding is not adequate, some
additional sliding resistance may be achieved
by constructing a “key” into the wall base, as
shown in Fig 13.4
 Keys are most effective in hard soil or rock

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 13-4 Stability Analysis
 Fig 13.4

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 13-4 Stability Analysis
sliding resistance force
FOSsliding  eqn 13.1
sliding force
total righting moment about toe
FOSoverturning  eqn 13.2
total overturning moment about toe
soil' s ultimate bearing capacity
FOSbearing capacity failure  eqn 13.2
actutal max contact (base) pressure

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 13-4 Stability Analysis

FOS sliding  1.5 (if the passive earth pressure at the toe is neglected)

FOS sliding  2.0 (if the passive earth pressure at the toe is included)

FOS overturning  1.5 (granularbackfill soil)

FOS overturning  2.0 (cohesive backfill soil)

FOS  3.0
bearing capacityfailure

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 Example 13.1
 The retaining wall shown in Fig 13.5 is to be
constructed of concrete having a unit weight
of 23.50 kN/m3
 The retaining wall is to support a deposit of
granular soil that has the following properties
  = 18 kN/m3

  = 30o

 c = 0

 The coefficient of base friction = 0.55

 The foundation soil’s ultimate bearing
capacity = 620 kN/m2
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 Example 13.1
 Determine the stability of the proposed
retaining wall against:
 Sliding

 Overturning

 Bearing capacity failure

 Fig 13.5

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 Example 13.1
Solution
From eqn 12.10 & 12.11,
2 2
1 2 cos   cos   cos 
Pa  H cos  2 2
2 cos   cos   cos 

From Fig 13.6,

o
H  6  (0.6)(tan1 5 )  6.15 m

o 2 o 2 o
1 o cos 15  cos 15  cos 30
Pa  (18)(6.15) cos 15
2

2 o
cos 15 
2 o 2 o
cos 15  cos 30

Pa  127 kN/m
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 Example 13.1
Solution (cont’d)
Pa acts parallel to the surface of the backfill, therefore,
Horizonont al component, Ph  Pa cos15o  123 kN/m
Vertical component, Pv  Pa sin 15o  32 kN/m
Computing righting moment,

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 Example 13.1
Solution (cont’d)
Comp Weight of Moment arm from A Righting
onent component (m) moment
(kN/m) about A
(kNm/m)
1 (23.5)(1/2)(1.2)(6)= 84.6 (2/3)(1.2)=0.8 67.68

2 (23.5)(1.2)(6)= 169.2 (1.2)+(0.6)=1.8 304.56

3 (23.5)(1/2)(0.6)(6)= 42.3 (1.2)+(1.2)+(1/3)(0.6)=2.6 109.96

4 (18)(1/2)(6.15)(0.6)= 33.2 (1.2)+(1.2)+(2/3)(0.6)=2.8 92.96

Pv 32 (1.2)+(1.2)+(0.6)=3.0 96.00

Total= 361.3 671.16

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 Example 13.1
Solution (cont’d)
sliding resistance force
FOSsliding 
sliding force
(u )( v ) 0.55(361.3)
FOSsliding    1.62  1.5, ok
Ph 123
overturning moment, M o  123(2.05)  252 kNm/m
total righting moment abt toe
FOSoverturning 
total overturning moment abt toe
M
671.16
FOSoverturning  r   2.66  1.5, OK
M 252
o
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 Example 13.1
Solution (cont’d)

Location of resultant R (  V ) if R acts at x from the toe (A)

MA  M r  M o 671.16  252
x    1.16 m
V V 361.3
1.2  1.2  0.6 L
e  1.16  0.34 m  , OK
2 6
R acts within the middle third of the base.
Q Mx y M yx
q  
A Ix Iy

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 Example 13.1
 Solution (cont’d)

Q  Resultant ( R)   V  361.3 kN
A  (1)(3)  3 m 2
M x  0 (one way bending)
M y  Q  e  (361.3)(0.34)  122.8 kNm
3
x   1.5 m
2
bh 3 (1)(3) 3
Iy    2.25 m 4
12 12
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 Example 13.1
Solution (cont’d)
361.3 (122.8)(1.5)
q 
3 (2.25)
qL  202.3 kN/m 2
qR  38.53 kN/m 2
The pressure distributi on is shown.

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 Example 13.1
Solution (cont’d)
soil' s ultimate bearing capacity
FOSbearing capacity failure 
actutal max contact (base) pressure
622
FOSbearing capacity failure   3.005  3, OK
207

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 Tutorial
 Tutorial lateral earth pressure.doc

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 CANTILEVER SHEET-PILE WALL
Cantilever sheet pile wall is recommended for
walls of moderate height of up to 5 m for flexible
steel sheet piles, or 12 m for stiffer reinforced
concrete sections.
However, deflections should always be checked
especially at the head of the wall. The wall acts
as a wide cantilever beam above the dredge
line. The aim of the stability analysis of
cantilever sheet pile wall is to find the depth of
embedment of the sheet pile.

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 CANTILEVER SHEET-PILE WALL
The basic principles for estimating net lateral
earth pressure distribution on a cantilever
sheet pile wall are explained in Figure 3.13.

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 3.13 Cantilever sheet pile wall
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 CANTILEVER SHEET-PILE WALL
 The mode of failure by the rotation is assumed
as rotation about a point O near the lower end
of the wall as shown in Figure 3.13. Active
earth pressure acts behind the wall and
consequently passive resistance acts in front of
the wall above point O and behind the wall
below point O.
 The idealized pressure distribution is shown in
Figure 3.13b. Factor of safety is applied to the
consideration of passive pressure of the wall
and to the depth of embedment.
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 CANTILEVER SHEET-PILE WALL
 In the design of sheet-pile, it is common
practice to assume that water exists at the
same level in front and behind the wall, thus
hydrostatic pressures at any depth from both
sides of the wall cancels each other. In this
case, we consider only the lateral soil
pressure.

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 Example Problem 3.11
The sides of an excavation 3.00 m in sand are
to be supported by a cantilever sheet pile wall.
The water table is 1.5 m below the bottom of
the excavation. The sand has a bulk unit
weight of 17 kN/m3, and saturated unit weight
of 20 kN/m3. The effective friction angle of the
sand is 36o.
Determine the depth of penetration of the piling
below excavation to give a factor of safety of
2.0 with respect to passive resistance.

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 Example Problem 3.11
 Solution:
For ’= 36o
Ka = tan2(45-’/2) = 0.26,
and Kp = 1/Ka = 3.85; with FS = 2, Kp = 1.925
’ = 20 -9.8 = 10.2 kN/m3

 The pressure distribution is shown in Figure P3.11.

Hydrostatic pressure on the two sides of wall
balances.
 Consider moments about X (per m), assuming d> 0.

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 Figure P3.11
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 Example Problem 3.11
 To simplify, develop a table for calculation of
depth of embedment based on the free-body
of the pressure diagram shown in Figure 3.11:
No Forces Arms (m) Moment at X (kN m)

1. ½ x 0.26 x 17 x 4.52 = 44.8 1.5+d 67.2 + 44.8d

2 0.26 x 17 x 4.5 x d = 19.9 d d/2 9.95 d2

3 ½ x 0.26 x 10.2 x d2 = 1.33 d2 d/3 0.44 d3

4 - ½ x ½ x 3.85 x 17 x 1.52 = -36.8 d+0.5 -36.8 d – 18.4

5 - ½ x 3.85x 17 x d = -49.1 d d/2 -24.55 d3

6 -½ x ½ x 3.85 x 10.2 x d x d = -9.82 d2 d/3 -3.27 d3

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 Example Problem 3.11
 Taking moment at X equal to 0, we get the equation

-2.83 d3 - 14.6 d2 + 8 d + 48.8 = 0

By trial and error, we get d = 1.79 m

and applying FS = 1.2,
depth of penetration = 1.2 x (1.79+1.50) = 3.95m

Substituting d = 1.79 m to the horizontal force equilibrium

44.8 + 19.9d + 1.33 d2 – 36.8 – 49.1 d – 9.82 d2 = R
Get force resultant R = 71.5 kN
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 Example Problem 3.11

Over additional depth of 20% (d = 1.2 x 1.79 = 2.12 m)

Pp – Pa = (Kp  4.5) + (Ka  1.5) + (Kp-Ka)’(2.12)

= (3.85 x 17 x 4.5) + (0.26 x 17 x 1.5) +
(3.85 - 0.26) 10.2 x 2.12
= 365.5 kN (>R)

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