Lateral stress caused by horizontal and vertical surcharge strip loads on a cross-anisotropic backfill

Abstract

This study derives analytical solutions for estimating the lateral stress caused by horizontal and vertical surcharge strip loads resting on a cross-anisotropic backfill. The following loading types are employed in this work: point load, line load, uniform strip load, upward linear-varying strip load, upward nonlinear-varying strip load, downward linear-varying strip load and downward nonlinear-varying strip load. The cross-anisotropic planes are assumed to be parallel to the horizontal surface of the backfill. The solutions proposed herein have never been mentioned in previous literature, but can be derived by integrating the point load solution in a Cartesian co-ordinate system for a cross-anisotropic medium. The calculations by the presented solutions are quick and accurate since they are concise and systematized. Additionally, the proposed calculations demonstrate that the type and degree of material anisotropy and the horizontal/vertical loading types decisively influence the lateral stress. This investigation presents examples of the proposed horizontal and vertical strip loads acting on the surface of the isotropic and cross-anisotropic backfills to elucidate their effects on the stress. The analytical results reveal that the stress distributions accounting for soil anisotropy and loading types are quite different from those computed from the available isotropic solutions. Restated, the derived solutions, as well as realistically simulating the actual surcharge loading circumstances, provide a good reference for the design of retaining structures for the backfill materials are cross-anisotropic. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.