GEOTECHNICAL ENGG.

2
MODULE 1
SYLLABUS
 EARTH PRESSURE
● Retaining walls are structures for maintaining the ground
surfaces at different elevations on either side of it.
● Provide lateral support to soil mass.
● In its absence, soil at higher side may slide or be
unstable.
● The lateral earth pressure is classified according to
movement of retaining wall with respect to the
soil retained/backfill.
○ Earth pressure at rest
○ Active earth pressure
○ Passive earth pressure
1. Earth pressure at rest
● Soil mass not subjected to any lateral yielding or movement(at rest).
● When retaining wall is fixed at the top and not allowed to move laterally
or rotate.
● Eg : bridges, abutment walls restrained at top by bridge slab
● Also called elastic equilibrium.
2. Active earth pressure
● When soil mass stretch horizontally.
● The retaining wall moves away from backfill,
causing stretch and expansion of soil.
● It decreases the earth pressure, which if
continues until a certain amount of
displacement, failure will occur in backfill.
● Plastic equilibrium.
3. Passive Earth Pressure
● Soil compress horizontally, wall is pushed towards the backfill.
● Earth pressure gradually increases and if it continues till a maximum value,
failure of backfill occurs.
● Limiting equilibrium condition.
● Eg : pressure acting on anchor blocks.
Variation of
Earth Pressure
EARTH PRESSURE AT REST
Vertical effective stress at A at a depth Z is,

We have, coefficient of earth pressure at rest,

Or, lateral pressure at rest,

Total lateral pressure = intergranular pressure + pore water pressure

Hence, total lateral pressure at depth Z is,