Active and passive earth pressure coefficients by a kinematical approach

A simple method is proposed for calculating the active and passive earth pressure coefficients in the general case of an inclined wall and a sloping backfill. The approach used is based on rotational log-spiral failure mechanisms in the framework of the upper-bound theorem of limit analysis. It is s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Geotechnical engineering 2002-04, Vol.155 (2), p.119-131
Main Authors: SOUBRA, A.-H, MACUH, B
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Buildings. Public works
Computation methods. Tables. Charts
Exact sciences and technology
Geotechnics
Structural analysis. Stresses
Structure-soil interaction
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Summary:A simple method is proposed for calculating the active and passive earth pressure coefficients in the general case of an inclined wall and a sloping backfill. The approach used is based on rotational log-spiral failure mechanisms in the framework of the upper-bound theorem of limit analysis. It is shown that the energy balance equation of a rotational log-spiral mechanism is equivalent to the moment equilibrium equation about the centre of the log-spiral. Numerical optimisation of the active and passive earth pressure coefficients is performed automatically by a spreadsheet optimisation tool. The implementation of the proposed method is illustrated using an example. The predictions by the present method are compared with those given by other authors.
ISSN:1353-2618
1751-8563
DOI:10.1680/geng.155.2.119.38657