Limit Analyses of the Active Earth Pressure on Rigid Retaining Walls under Strip Loading on Backfills

Abstract

Recent studies of retaining walls include experimental studies, numerical analysis and analytical models. Although active earth pressure against retaining structures has received much attention, the evaluation of active earth pressure of backfill when loaded by a strip foundation, has been slightly studied. This paper studies the effect of a strip load on the active pressure force and the distribution of the horizontal stresses on a rigid wall, using a finite element limit analysis. The strip loading is located at different distances from the vertical face of the wall. The OptumG2 code is used to analyze the effect of width of strip surcharge (soil-wall), interface friction angle and soil internal friction angle. New interesting results are demonstrated and presented here: the dependency of the active earth pressure coefficient on both position and width of the strip load, in one hand, and the effect of the internal friction angle of the soil, the soil-wall interface, and the position of the strip loading on the failure mechanism, in the other hand.