Pseudo-dynamic active earth pressure behind retaining wall for cohesive soil backfill

Abstract

A formula was derived for the computation of seismic active earth pressure behind retaining wall using pseudo-dynamic method. This formula considered the actual dynamic effect with variation of time and propagation of shear and primary wave velocities through the soil backfills. The influence of tension crack in the top portion of the backfill under seismic loading was investigated. The effects of wall friction angle, soil friction angle, horizontal and vertical seismic coefficients on the seismic active force were also explored. The parametric study shows that the total seismic active force increases as horizontal seismic coefficient increases, while it decreases with the increase in vertical seismic coefficient, internal friction angle and unit cohesion. The seismic active force calculated by the proposed method is larger than that calculated by previous theory.