CE 115 Intro to Civil Eng: Geotechnical Engineering
Soil Pressure Acting on Wall
Wall
Ground Surface
20 ft
Soil Pressure
σ h = kaγz (Eq. 1)
Where:
σh = soil pressure acting on wall
⎛ φ⎞
ka = tan 2 ⎜ 45 − ⎟ , active earth pressure coefficient
⎝ 2⎠
γ = unit weight of soil (approximately 100 lb/ft3)
z = depth below ground surface
CE 115 Intro to Civil Eng: Geotechnical Engineering Lecture Notes 1
Given: φ = 30 degrees
Find: Soil pressure acting on wall at depths of 10 feet and 20 feet below the
ground surface.
Given
Soil friction angle φ := 30deg
lbf
Soil unit weight γ := 100
3
ft
Find: Soil pressure at depths of 10 and 20 feet below the ground surface
2
φ
Active earth pressure coefficient Ka := ⎜⎛ tan ⎛⎜ 45deg − ⎞⎞
⎟⎟ Ka = 0.333
⎝ ⎝ 2 ⎠⎠
lbf
Soil pressure at 10 ft σh_10 := Ka⋅ γ ⋅ 10ft σh_10 = 333
2
ft
Soil pressure at 20 ft σh_20 := Ka⋅ γ ⋅ 20ft σh_20 = 667psf
Alternatively
z := ⎜
⎛ 10 ⎞ ft
Depth where soil pressure is calculated ⎟
⎝ 20 ⎠
⎛ 333 ⎞ psf
Soil pressure σh := Ka⋅ γ ⋅ z σh = ⎜ ⎟
⎝ 667 ⎠
CE 115 Intro to Civil Eng: Geotechnical Engineering Lecture Notes 2
Surcharge Pressure Acting on Wall
A retaining wall with vehicles located behind the top of the wall is shown below. The
vehicle weight imposes additional pressure on wall. The vehicle weight is called a
surcharge load.
Wall
20 ft
A simplification of the surcharge load used to determine the induced pressures on the
wall is shown below.
Surcharge Load, q (psf)
Wall
20 ft
Surcharge Pressure on Wall
Δσ h = k a q (Eq. 2)
Where:
Δσh = surcharge pressure on wall
ka = active earth pressure coefficient
q = surcharge load in pounds per square foot
CE 115 Intro to Civil Eng: Geotechnical Engineering Lecture Notes 3
Given: surcharge load, q = 100 lb/ft2
φ = 30 degrees
Find: The surcharge pressure acting on the wall at depths of 10 feet and 20
feet.
Given
Surcharge load q := 100psf
Find: Surcharge pressure at depths of 10 and 20 feet below the ground surface
Surcharge pressure, Δσ h := Ka ⋅ q Δσ h = 33.333psf
Same at all depths
Total Pressure Acting on Wall
Wall
20 ft
Soil and Surcharge Pressure
σ h + Δσ h
CE 115 Intro to Civil Eng: Geotechnical Engineering Lecture Notes 4
Calculate Pullout Force on Reinforcement
Wall
2 ft
Layer 1
4 ft
Layer 2
z
4 ft
Lf Le
20 ft Layer 3
4 ft Failure Plane
Layer 4
4 ft Reinforcement
Layer 5
F pi = (σ h + Δσ h )At (Eq. 3)
Where:
Fpi = pullout force for reinforcement layer i
(σ h + Δσ h ) = horizontal pressure at depth of reinforcement layer i
At = tributary area for reinforcement layer
At = Sv S h (Eq. 4)
Where
Sv = vertical spacing between reinforcement layers
Sh = horizontal distance between reinforcement strips
Given: Pressure distribution calculated for the retaining wall above, and a horizontal reinforcement
spacing, Sh, of 3 ft,
Find: The pullout force for layer 3 (Fp3)
Given:
Horizontal spacing of reinforcement Sh := 3ft
Vertical spacing of reinforcement Sv := 4ft
Find: The pullout force applied to the reinforcement
⎛ 367 ⎞ psf
σhT = ⎜
Total soil pressure at depths of σhT := Δσ h + σh ⎟
10 and 20 feet below the ground surface ⎝ 700 ⎠
⎛ 4400 ⎞ lbf
Pulllout force at depths of ( )
Fp := Δσ h + σh ⋅ Sv ⋅ Sh Fp = ⎜ ⎟
10 and 20 feet below the ground surface ⎝ 8400 ⎠
CE 115 Intro to Civil Eng: Geotechnical Engineering Lecture Notes 5
Determine Reinforcement Length to Resist Pullout
Reinforcement resists pullout through the development of friction forces between the
reinforcement and soil behind the failure plane.
Wall
2 ft
Layer 1
4 ft
Layer 2
z
4 ft
Lf Le
20 ft Layer 3
4 ft Failure Plane
h Layer 4
4 ft Reinforcement
Layer 5
Lf = distance from wall to failure plane
Le = distace from failure plane to end of reinforcement
Lf = h tan α (Eq. 5)
Where:
h = distance from base of wall to reinforcement layer i
α = angle between wall and failure plane
(F )FS
Le =
pi
(Eq. 6)
⎛2 ⎞
2bγz tan ⎜ φ ⎟
⎝3 ⎠
Where:
Fpi = pullout force for layer i
FS = factor of safety
b = width of reinforcement
γ = soil unit weight
z = depth below ground surface
φ = soil friction angle
Then the total reinforcement length, L, is Lf + Le.
CE 115 Intro to Civil Eng: Geotechnical Engineering Lecture Notes 6
Given: The retaining wall shown above, data from previous calculations (i.e. pullout
force), reinforcement width of 0.5 ft, and a factor of safety of 1.5
Find: The reinforcement length for layer 3
Given
Horizontal spacing of reinforcement Sh := 3ft
Vertical spacing of reinforcement Sv := 4ft
Reinforcement width b := 0.5ft
Factor of safety FS := 1.5
Find: Reinforcement length of Layer 3
Distance from bottom of wall to layer 3 h 10 := 10ft
φ
Angle between wall and failure plane α := 90deg − ⎛⎜ 45deg + ⎞
⎟
⎝ 2⎠
α = 30deg
Distance from wall to failure plane Lf_10 := h 10⋅ tan ( α ) Lf_10 = 5.8ft
4400lbf ⋅ FS
Effective length of reinforcement Le_10 :=
2⋅ b ⋅ γ ⋅ 10ft ⋅ tan ⎛⎜ ⋅ φ ⎞⎟
at depths of 10 and 20 feet 2
below the ground surface ⎝3 ⎠
Le_10 = 18.1ft
Total reinforcement lenght
Lt_10 := Lf_10 + Le_10 Lt_10 = 23.9ft
CE 115 Intro to Civil Eng: Geotechnical Engineering Lecture Notes 7
CE 115 Intro to Civil Eng: Geotechnical Engineering Lab
Location: BEL 123
Objective: Design and build the most economical mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) wall.
Tasks:
1. In your assigned group, create a Mathcad worksheet to determine the required
reinforcement length for the MSE wall. This must be completed before the lab class
begins. Email yourself a copy of the Mathcad worksheet prior to class.
2. Determine the soil friction angle by building a wall without reinforcement and measuring the
angle of the failure plane behind the wall. Bring a protractor to measure the angle of the
failure plane.
Failure Plane Angle, θ = ______________
Soil Friction Angle, φ = _____________
3. Use your Mathcad worksheet from Task 1 and the friction angle from Task 2 to determine
how much reinforcement you will need to build your wall. Submit a request for the number
of 0.25 in by 11 in strips of paper you need.
Distance from Top of Wall Reinforcement Length, L
Layer No.
(inches) (inches)
1
2
3
4
5
6
4. Construct the MSE wall.
MSE Wall Design Data
Wall Height: 11 inches
Soil Unit Weight, γ: 100 lb/ft3
Surcharge Load, q: 5 lb/ft2
Factor of Safety: You choose
Reinforcement
Width, b: 0.25 inches
Horizontal Spacing, Sh: You choose. The box is 4 inches wide. Previously, only one
strip was placed at each depth. As a result, Sb was 4
inches.
Vertical Spacing, Sv: You choose
Soil Friction Angle, φ: Obtained from Task 2 (While creating the Mathcad worksheet, assume φ
= 36 degrees)
Wall Failure
Wall failure for this project is defined as 0.25 inches of outward movement/rotation of the wall
face.
