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ASCE Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering

Kinematic Framework for Evaluating Seismic Earth Pressures on Retaining

Walls
Scott J. Brandenberg, George Mylonakis, and Jonathan P. Stewart

DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001312

Supplemental Data

Derivation of equation for vertical stiffness intensity kzi

This digital supplement presents the derivation for vertical stiffness intensity, kzi, for an elastic soil
mass moving vertically relative to a rigid wall. The formulation follows the approach presented by
Kloukinas et al. (2012) for solving kyi using a special integration technique inspired by the work of Vlasov
and Leontiev (1966). The solution procedure assumes that the free-field soil is vibrating according to a
vertical displacement field, and a vertical rigid wall alters the displacement field thereby mobilizing
shear tractions at the interface between the wall and the retained soil. The free-field vertical
displacement field is assumed to be known, and the horizontal variation in the vertical displacement
field caused by the presence of the rigid wall is subsequently solved to render vertical force equilibrium.

Stresses shown on the hatched region in Fig. S1 represent dynamic stress increments, and we
assume, following several related studies discussed in Kloukinas et al. (2012), that dynamic stresses in
the horizontal direction are zero (i.e., σy = 0) throughout the domain, plane-strain conditions apply, and
∂u y ∂u z
the displacement gradient is small compared to the complementary term .
∂z ∂y

Figure S1. Schematic of vertical wall and a soil element with vertical and shear stresses.

Equilibrium of vertical forces on the hatched region results in Eq. (S1).

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∂σ z ∂τ yz ∂ 2u
+ + ρ 2z = 0 (S1)
∂z ∂y ∂t

Stress-strain relations are provided in Eqs. (S2), in which G is shear modulus, and ν is Poisson ratio.

 ν  ∂u y  1 −ν  ∂u z
σ z = −2G   − 2G   (S2a)
 1 − 2ν  ∂y  1 − 2ν  ∂z
 1 −ν  ∂u y  ν  ∂u z
σ y = −2G   − 2G   (S2b)
 1 − 2ν  ∂y  1 − 2ν  ∂z
 ∂u ∂u 
τ yz = −G  y + z  (S2c)
 ∂z ∂y 

By setting σy = 0, the y-direction displacement gradient can be expressed in terms of the vertical
displacement gradient and ν, as shown in Eq. (S3).

∂u y ν ∂uz
=− (S3)
∂y 1 −ν ∂z

After substituting Eq. (S3) into Eq. (S2a) and taking the partial derivative with respect to z, taking the
∂u y
partial derivative of Eq. (S2c) with respect to y, and substituting into Eq. (S1) considering that =0,
∂z
one obtains the governing equation

∂ 2u z ∂ 2 u z 2 ∂ uz
2
ψ s2 + + k =0 (S4)
∂z 2 ∂y 2 ∂t 2

2 −ν
where ψ s = is a compressibility coefficient, and k = ω/Vs = wave number.
1 −ν

Following Kloukinas et al. (2012), we assume that the displacement field in the soil behind the
wall can be written in separable form

u z ( y , z ) = Y ( y )Φ ( z ) (S5)

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where Y is an unknown function of the horizontal variable y, and Φ(z) is a predetermined dimensionless
function of the vertical variable that satisfies the geometric boundary condition Φ(H)=0 and Φ(0)=1.

To eliminate the variable z, Eq. (S4) is multiplied by Φ(z) and integrated over layer thickness to give

H d 2Φ d 2Y H H
ψ s 2Y  Φ dz +  Φ 2 dz + k 2Y  Φ 2 dz = 0 (S6)
0 dz 2 dy 2 0 0

The first term on the left hand side of Eq. (S6) can be integrated by parts to obtain the weak form

H 2
H d 2Φ dΦ H  dΦ 
ψs Y
2
2
Φdz =ψ s 2Y Φ −ψ s 2Y    dz (S7)
0 dz dz 0 0
 dz 

dΦ
Assuming a traction-free boundary condition at the soil surface means that = 0 . Combined with
dz z =0

the condition that Φ(H)=0, the first term on the right-hand side of Eq. (S7) must also be zero. By making
appropriate substitutions and re-arranging terms, Eq. (S6) can be expressed as

 H  dΦ 
2

2 
d Y  2 
0

 dz 
 dz 
2
− ψs − k Y =0 (S8)
dy 2  H

0 Φ dz
2
 
 

The general form to the solution of Eq. (S8) is

y ac 2 − k 2 − y ac 2 − k 2
Y ( y ) = C1e + C2 e (S9)

2
H  dΦ 

0

 dz 
 dz
where ac2 = ψ s 2 H
.
 Φ 2
dz
0

Noting that Y(∞) is finite and Y(0) = uo, one obtains C1 = 0 and C2 = uo. Substitution into Eq. (S5) results in

− y ac 2 − k 2
u z ( y , z ) = uo e Φ( z) (S10)

Substituting Eq. (S10) into Eq. (S2c), the expression for shear stress is

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∂u z −y ac 2 − k 2
τ yz ( y, z ) = −G = Gac e uo Φ ( z ) (S11)
∂y

The vertical stiffness intensity can then be computed as

H H
 
− y ac 2 − k 2
τ yz ( y, z )dz uo G ac 2 − k 2 e Φ ( z ) dz k 
2

k i
z = 0
H
= H
0
= Gac 1 −   (S12)
 u z ( y, z ) uo e
− y ac 2 − k 2
 Φ ( z ) dz  ac 
0 0

 πz 
Selecting Φ ( z ) = cos   , the value of ac can be solved as:
 2H 
0.5
 H d2  πz  
 0 cos   dz 
 dz 2
 2H   2 −ν π
ac = ψ s = (S13)
 H  πz 
2
 1 −ν 2 H
 0 cos   dz 
  2H  

Substituting Eq. (S13) into Eq. (S12) results in the final expression for kzi shown in Eq. (S14) and (7b) from
the main text.

2
π 2 −ν G  2ω H 
k = i
1−   (S14)
1 −ν H  π Vs 
z
2

Material damping can be incorporated into the solution for kzi by using the complex shear modulus,
G(1+i2ξ), where ξ is the percent damping. For static loading conditions in which ω = 0, one obtains a
static stiffness shown in Eq. (S15). This equation may be appropriate when the loading frequency is
much lower than the natural frequency of the soil deposit.

π 2 −ν G
k zi = (S15)
2 1 −ν H

Furthermore, as frequency becomes very high, the stiffness is complex due to the negative sign of the
quantity inside the square root in Eq. (S14), and the imaginary portion dominates and becomes equal to
Eq. (S16) as ω → ∞.

G 2 −ν
k zi = iω (S16)
Vs 1 −ν

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This indicates that the wall stiffness can be represented by a dashpot czi, in accordance with elementary
wave propagation theory (Eq. S17).

2 −ν
czi = ρVs (S17)
1 −ν

This suggests the existence of an equivalent propagation velocity, influenced by soil compressibility, in
accordance with Eq. (S4).

References:

Kloukinas, P., Langoussis, M. and Mylonakis, G. (2012). “Simple wave solution for seismic earth
pressures on non-yielding walls,” J. Geotech. & Geoenv. Eng., ASCE, 138 (12), 1514–1519.

Vlasov, V.Z. and Leontiev, U.N. (1966). Beams, plates and shells on elastic foundation, Israel Program for
Scientific Translation, Jerusalem (translated from Russian).

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