CHAPTER - 2

Soil Mechanics-II

LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE

(Review)
 2. Lateral Earth Pressure
1) Basic Concepts of Lateral Earth Pressure
2) Earth Pressure Theories
Coulomb
Rankine
3) Application of Lateral Earth Pressure to
Retaining Walls

2
 2.1.Basic Concepts of Lateral Earth pressure
2.1.1. Introduction

 Structures that are built to retain vertical or nearly vertical

earth banks or any other material are called retaining walls.

 Retaining walls may retain water also.

 The earth retained may be natural soil or fill.

 The resulting horizontal stress from the soil on the wall is called
lateral earth pressure.

3
Introduction

4
2.1.1. Introduction

5
 2.1.1. Introduction
 To determine the magnitude of the lateral earth pressure, a
geotechnical engineer must know the basic soil parameters that is:

unit weight γ,

angle of friction ϕ and

cohesion c – for the soil retained behind the wall.

 In the evaluation of the magnitude of lateral earth pressure, it is

assumed that the soil behind the wall (called backfill soil) is on the
verge of failure and obeys some failure criterion, for example, the
Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion
6
 2.1.2. Definitions of Key Terms

 At rest earth pressure coefficient (K0) is the ratio between the

lateral and vertical principal effective stresses when an earth
retaining structure is at rest (or is not allowed to move at all).

 Active earth pressure coefficient (Ka) is the ratio between the

lateral and vertical principal effective stresses when an earth
retaining structure moves away from the retained soil.

 Passive earth pressure coefficient (Kp) is the ratio between the

lateral and vertical principal effective stresses when an earth
retaining structure is forced to move against a soil mass.

7
 1. Lateral Earth Pressure At Rest

 Consider a vertical wall of height H, retaining a soil having a unit

weight of γ.

 At any depth z below the ground surface the vertical effective stress
is:
  z  u
'
z

 If the wall is not allowed to move at all either way from the soil
mass or to the soil mass (or in other words if there is no lateral
expansion or compression in the backfill soil), the lateral pressure is
called at rest earth pressure.
8
 … Lateral Earth Pressure At Rest

 You must remember that K0 applies only to effective stresses not

to total stresses.

 The magnitude of K0 depends on:

 The type of the soil,

 Its degree of compaction,

 Plasticity characteristics, and

 Degree of disturbance (Bishop, 1958).

9
 … Lateral Earth Pressure At Rest

 For truly normally consolidated soil that exhibits zero cohesion, a

value for K0 may be calculated from (Jaky, 1948):

K  1  sin 
nc
o
'

 For over-consolidated soils the value of K0 is, Meyerhof (1976):

Kooc  Konc (OCR)1/ 2  (1  sin  ' )(OCR)1/ 2

 Based on statistical analysis of several laboratory test results,

Mayne & Kulhawy (1982) proposed that:

Kooc  (1  sin  ' )(OCR)sin '

10
 … Lateral Earth Pressure At Rest

 The lateral earth pressure σ’x at a depth z is:

  K 0
'
x
'
z (2)

 Thus, the ratio of the horizontal principal effective stress to the

vertical principal effective stress is called the lateral earth
pressure coefficient at rest (Ko), that is,
3 '
Ko  '
1 (3)

 The magnitude of Ko in most soils ranges between 0.5 and 1.0,

with perhaps higher values for heavily over-consolidated clays.

11
 2. Active Lateral Earth Pressure

If the retaining wall is free on its upper edge the wall may move

away from the soil that is retained with distance " + ∆H " (i.e. the

soil pushes the wall away) this means the soil is active and the

force of this pushing is called active force and termed by " Pa".

ASTU/Soil Mechanics-II 14
 … Active Lateral Earth Pressure

Active earth pressure occurs when the wall tilts away from
the soil (a typical free standing retaining wall)1/2

Soil sliding down

pushing the wall

Failure wedge
H

45 + φ/2

15
 3. Passive Lateral Earth Pressure

For the wall shown below in the left side there exist a soil with height
less than the soil in the right and the right soil will pushes the wall
away, so the wall will be pushed into the left soil (i.e. soil compresses
the left soil)

The soil has a passive effect and the

force in this case is called passive
force and termed by " Pp".

16
 … Passive Earth Pressure
Passive earth pressure occurs when the wall is pushed into
the soil (typically a seismic load pushing the wall into the
soil or a foundation pushing into the soil.

Soil being pushed

up the slope
H
Failure wedge

45 - φ/2
17
Lateral Earth Pressure

??

??

18
 Lateral Pressure from Water

 The following figure showing that the horizontal pressure of water

against a wall is the same as vertical pressure:

19
 Active and Passive Lateral Earth Pressures
 Failure of the backfill soil occurs by two mechanisms depending
on the direction of wall displacement.

 If the displacement of the wall is away from the backfill soil the
resulting failure is called active and the lateral pressure exerted on
the wall by the backfill soil is called active lateral earth pressure or
simply active earth pressure.

 A passive failure occurs if the wall is displaced towards the backfill soil until the
limiting displacement is achieved. In this case, the wall exerts a pressure on the
backfill soil, and

 The passive resistance provided by the backfill soil against the wall displacement
20
is called passive earth pressure.
Active and Passive Lateral Earth Pressures

21
 2.2. Earth Pressure Theories
 There are two classical earth pressure theories. They are:
1. Rankine's earth pressure theory.
2. Coulomb's earth pressure theory.

 These theories propose to estimate the magnitudes of two

pressures called active earth pressure and passive earth
pressure.

22
 1. Rankine Active and Passive Earth Pressures
 Consider a vertical frictionless (smooth) wall retaining a soil mass
in both front and back of the wall as shown in Fig. Below

 If the wall remains rigid and no movement occurs, then the vertical
and horizontal (lateral) effective stresses at rest on element A, at
the back of the wall, and B, at the front of the wall are given by
Eqns. (1 and 2).

 Mohr’s circle for the at rest state is shown by circle ① in Fig. 3b.
 z'  z  u
 x'  k 0 z'
23
 Figure: a) A smooth retaining wall,
b) Mohr’s circles for at rest, active and passive states.

24
 … Rankine Active and Passive Earth Pressures
 Let us now assume a rotation about the bottom of the wall
sufficient to produce slip planes in the soil mass behind and in
front of the wall (Fig. 4).

 The rotation required, and consequently the lateral displacement or

strain, to produce slip planes in front of the wall is much larger
than that required for the back of the wall, as shown in Fig. 5.

 The soil mass at the back of the wall is assisting in producing

failure, thus it is in the active pressure state while the soil mass at
the front of the wall is resisting failure, thus in the passive
Pressure state. 25
Figure 4 : Failure planes within a soil mass near a retaining wall.
26
Figure 5: Rotation required to mobilize active and passive pressures.
27
 … Rankine Active and Passive Earth Pressures
 What happens to the lateral effective stresses on elements A and B
when the wall is rotated?

 The vertical stress will not change on either element but the
lateral effective stress on element A will be reduced while that
for element B will be increased.

 We can now plot two additional Mohr’s circles:

 to represent the stress states of element A (circle ②) &

 the other to represent the stress state of element B (circle ③).

28
 Both circles are drawn such that the decrease (element A) or
increase (element B) in lateral effective stresses is sufficient to
bring the soil to Mohr-coulomb failure state.

Figure a) A smooth retaining wall, b) Mohr’s circles for at rest, active

and passive states.
 The stress states of soil elements A and B are called the Rankine
active state and the Rankine passive state, respectively

 Each of these Rankine states is associated with a family of failure

planes.

 For the Rankine active state, the failure planes are oriented at:

'
 a  45 0  (3.6)
2
 For the Rankine passive state, the failure planes are oriented at:
 '
 p  45 0  (3.7)
2
 For the active state, the lateral effective stress σ’3 is equal to σ’a as
shown in Fig. 3b (Mohr’s circle ②).
30
 Substituting σ’a into Eqn in Chapter 1, the Rankine active lateral
effective stress is:
1  sin  ' 1  sin  '
 
' '
 2c'
1  sin  ' 1  sin  '
a z

(3.8)
  z' k a  2c' k a

Where ka is called the active earth pressure coefficient.

1  sin  ' '
ka   tan (45  )
2
(3.9)
1  sin  ' 2

For the passive state, the lateral effective stress σ’p becomes σ’1 the

major principal stress and the vertical effective stress σ’z becomes

the minor principal stress σ’3 as shown in Fig. 3b (Mohr’s circle ③).
31
 Therefore, using Eqn. (in Chapter 1, the Rankine passive lateral
effective stress is:
1  sin  ' 1  sin  '
 'p   z'  2c'
1  sin  ' 1  sin  '
(3.10)
  z' k p  2c' k p

Where kp is called the passive earth pressure coefficient

1  sin  ' '
kp   tan (45  )
2
(3.11)
1  sin  ' 2
 Based on Eqns. (11 and 13), we can easily get the following
relation for the active and passive earth pressure coefficients:

1
Kp 
Ka
32
The above Equations indicate that, for a homogeneous soil layer,

the lateral earth pressure varies linearly with depth z.

 Figure 6 shows the active and passive lateral stress distribution for
a smooth wall retaining a c-ϕ’ soil.

 Note that for a purely cohesive saturated clay with undrained shear
strength parameter of cu and ϕ’u = 0, Ka=Kp=1

 In the active state case, the soil at depth z = 0 is subjected to a

tensile stress as shown in Fig. 6 b.

 Soils do not have tensile strength, as a result tension cracks will

occur down to a depth z0, where the tensile stress becomes zero.
33
Figure 6: pressure distribution in c- ϕ’ soil: a) c- ϕ’ soil, b) active, c) passive state.

 At depth z0 (known as depth of tension crack), the stress is zero,

thus,
2c'
0   ' z 0 k a  2c' k a  z 0 
 ' ka
34
 The lateral earth force is the area of the lateral stress diagram (Fig.
6), which for the Rankine active state, is:
H
Pa   ( ' zka  2c' k a )  12 k a  ' H 2  2c' H k a (3.14)
0

 and, for the Rankine passive state, is

H
Pp   ( ' zk p 2c' k p )  12 k p  ' H 2  2c' H k p (3.15)
0

 For most retaining wall construction, a granular backfill is used

and c’ = 0, therefore, for granular soils Eqns. (16) and (17) can be
rewritten as:
Pa  12 K a ' H 2 Pp  K p ' H
1
2
2

35
 Lateral Earth Pressure due to Surcharge
 Surface stresses (due to surcharge) also impose lateral pressure on
retaining walls as illustrated in Fig. 7d.

 A uniform surface stress, qs, will transmit a uniform active lateral

earth pressure of kaqs and a uniform passive lateral earth pressure
of kpqs.

 The active and passive lateral stresses due to the granular soil (i.e.
c’=0, ϕ’ soil), and the uniform surfaces stresses are then:

36
  The corresponding active and passive lateral forces are also given
by:

Variation of active and passive lateral earth pressures, hydrostatic

pressure, and a uniform surface stress with depth. (Note: backfill soil
ASTU/Soil Mechanics-II 37
 For a c’-ϕ’ backfill, Eqns. (20) and (21) will become:

 The corresponding active and passive lateral forces are also given
by:

38
 Lateral Earth Pressure When Groundwater is Present

 If groundwater is present, you need to add the hydrostatic pressure

(pore water pressure) to the lateral earth pressure.

 For example, if the groundwater level is at a distance hw from the

base of the wall as shown in Figure, the hydrostatic pressure is,

u   w hw
 and the hydrostatic force is:

Pw   h1
2
2
w w

39
 Summary of Rankine Lateral Earth Pressure Theory
 The lateral earth pressures on retaining walls are related directly to
the vertical effective stress through two coefficients Ka and Kp.

 More wall movement (inward) is required for passive failure than

active (outward) failure.φ

 In the active state, the slip plane is oriented at (450 + ϕ’/2) to the
horizontal, and while for the passive case it is oriented at (450 -
ϕ’/2) to the horizontal. 40
 … Summary of Rankine Lateral Earth Pressure Theory
 The lateral earth pressure coefficients, developed so far are only
valid for a smooth, vertical wall supporting a soil mass with a
horizontal surface; and must be applied to effective stresses only.

 The lateral earth pressure coefficients must be applied only to

principal effective stresses

41
 Rankine Active & Passive Earth Pressure for Inclined
Granular Backfill
 If the backfill of a frictionless retaining wall is a granular soil (c =
0, ϕ’) and rises at an angle β (β ≤ϕ’) with respect to the horizontal,
the Rankine active earth pressure coefficient ka is expressed in the
form:
cos   cos 2   cos 2  '
k a  cos  (3
cos   cos 2   cos 2  '

 The Rankine active stress on the wall is:

 a'   ' zka (3.29)

 and the Rankine active lateral force is:

Pa  12 k a  ' H 2 (3.30)
42
Rankine Active Earth Pressure for Inclined Granular Backfill

 Note that, the direction of the lateral force Pa is inclined at an

angle β to the horizontal and intersects the wall at a distance of
H/3 from the base of the wall. 43
 The Rankine passive pressure coefficient kp for a wall with a
granular sloping backfill is:

cos   cos 2   cos 2  '

k p  cos  (3.31)
cos   cos   cos 
2 2 '

 The Rankine passive stress and passive lateral force are

calculated using equations similar to active stress and active
lateral force in which Ka is replaced by Kp.

44
 2. COULOMB’S EARTH PRESSURE THEORY
 The Rankine earth pressure theory:

1. assumes the retaining wall is frictionless (or smooth), and

2. considers stress states and uses such tools as the Mohr’s circle
of stress.

 Coulomb (1776) proposed a theory to determine the lateral earth

pressure on a retaining wall by assuming a granular backfill (c =
0) and a plane sliding surface.

 He did this in order to simplify somewhat the mathematically

complex problem introduced when cohesion and non plane sliding
surfaces are considered. 45
 … Coulomb’s Earth Pressure Theory
 He, however, account for the effects of friction (usually expressed
by angle δ) between the backfill and the wall.
 Besides, he considered the more general case of the sloped face of
a retaining wall, and in this respect, Coulomb’s theory is a more
general approach than the Rankine theory described earlier.
 Coulomb assumed a wedge shape collapse mechanism which is
bounded by the face of the retaining wall, a horizontal or inclined
ground surface and a linear failure plane.
 The wedge slides downwards on the failure plane in the active
state or upwards in the passive state.

46
 … Coulomb’s Earth Pressure Theory
 direction of active and passive forces when wall friction is present
is illustrated in the Figure.

 Based on Coulomb’s theory, a condition of limit equilibrium

exists through which a wedge of a soil mass behind a retaining
wall will slip along a plane inclined at an angle θ to the horizontal.

47
 … Coulomb’s Earth Pressure Theory

A retaining wall with slopping back, wall friction, and sloping soil
surface for use with Coulomb’s method for active state is illustrated
in the Figure

48
 … Coulomb’s Earth Pressure Theory
 Based on the equilibrium of the forces acting on the wedge (Fig.),
Coulomb proposed the following equation to determine the active
lateral force,

Pa  12 k ac ' H 2 (3.32)

 where kac is Coulomb’s active pressure coefficient, which is
determined by the following expression:

sin 2 (    ' )
k ac  2
(3
 sin( ' ) sin( ' ) 
sin  sin(    ) 1 
2

 sin(    ) sin(   ) 

49
 … Coulomb’s Earth Pressure Theory
 Note that the line of action of the active force Pa will act at a
distance H/3 above the base of the wall and will be inclined at
angle δ to the normal drawn to the back of the wall.

 In the actual design of retaining walls, the value of the wall

friction angle, δ, is assumed to be between ϕ’/2 to 2ϕ’/3.

 Retaining walls are generally constructed of masonry or mass

concrete.

50
Table: General range of wall friction angle for masonry
or mass concrete walls

Backfill material Range of δ in degrees

Gravel 27 – 30

Course sand 20 – 28

Fine sand 15 – 25

Stiff clay 15 – 20

Silty clay 12 – 16

51
 … Coulomb’s Earth Pressure Theory
 Coulomb’s passive earth pressure is determined similarly, except
that passive pressure inclination at the wall and direction of the
forces acting on the wedge will be as shown in Fig.

 Coulomb’s passive earth pressure is given by:

Pa  k ac ' H
1
2
2
(3.34)
 where kpc is Coulomb’s passive pressure coefficient, which is
determined by the following equation.
sin 2 (    ' )
k pc  2
 sin( ' ) sin( ' ) 
sin  sin(    ) 1 
2

 sin(    ) sin(   ) 
52
Retaining wall with slopping back, wall friction, and sloping
soil surface for use with Coulomb’s method for passive state

53
The Rankine Theory assumes:

 There is no friction between the wall and soil

 Lateral pressure is limited to vertical walls
 Failure (in the backfill) occurs as a sliding wedge along an assumed
failure plane defined by φ.
 Lateral pressure varies linearly with depth and the resultant pressure
is located one-third of the height (H) above the base of the wall.
The resultant force is parallel to the backfill surface.

54
Coulomb Theory is similar to Rankine except that:

 There is friction between the wall and soil and takes this into
account by using a soil-wall friction angle of δ.
NB: δ ranges from φ/2 to 2φ/3 and δ = 2φ/3 is commonly
used.
 Lateral pressure is not limited to vertical walls
 The resultant force is not necessarily parallel to the backfill surface
because of the soil-wall friction value δ.

55
 Forces On Retaining Walls
The forces that should be considered in the design of retaining walls
include

 Active and passive earth pressures

 Dead weight including the weight of the wall and portion of soil
mass that is considered to act on the retaining structure

 Surcharge including live loads, if any

 Water pressure, if any

 Contact pressure under the base of the structure

ASTU 56
 Stability requirements of RW
The following conditions must be satisfied for stability of wall:

 It should not overturn

 It should not slide

 It should not subside, i.e Max. pressure at the toe should

not exceed the safe bearing capacity of the soil under
working condition

57
 Example 1

Determine: Rankine active and passive force per unit length of the
wall and the location of the resultant

58
Example 1

59
 Example 2

For the retaining wall shown in Figure (a), determine the force per
unit length of the wall for Rankine’s active state. Also find the
location of the resultant.

60
 Exercise
30 kN/m2
0.5 m

SOIL 1
’ = 35o 2.0 m
4.0 m d = 17 kN/m3
GWT

SOIL 2
’ = 30o,  = 25o 2.9 m
d = 18 kN/m3,
sat = 20 kN/m3
SOIL 2

0.6 m
4.5 m

2.0 m
 … Exercise

30 kN/m2
0.5 m

SOIL 1
2.0 m P1 P3
GWT
4.0 m

SOIL 2

2.9 m
P2 P4
SOIL 2
PP P5 P6

0.6 m
4.5 m
2.0 m
 EXAMPLE q s=20 kPa 1

H1=2 m
 sat=19 kN/m 3

 ' 25
0

c’ = 0

 sat =20 kN/m3

H2=4 m
 ' 30
0

c’ = 0
Fig. E3.2

a) The active lateral earth pressure distribution with depth.

For the frictionless wall shown in Fig. , determine the following:
b) The passive lateral earth pressure distribution with depth.
c) The magnitude and location of the active and passive forces.
d) The resultant force.
e) The ratio of passive moment to active moment.
 Step 1: Calculate the active & passive pressure coefficients.

SOLUTION
Step 1: Calculate the active & passive pressure coefficients.

1  sin  '  ' 25 0

Top layer (0 – 2 m) ka   tan 2 (450  )  tan 2 (450  )  0.41
1  sin  ' 2 2

1  sin  '  ' 30 0

1
Bottom layer (2 – 6 m)
ka   tan 2 (450  )  tan 2 (450  )  ; kp  3
1  sin  ' 2 2 3
 2
Step 2: Calculate the active & passive lateral earth pressures.
Use a table or a spreadsheet.

Active z (m) u (kPa) z (kPa) 'z =z – u a = ka 'z

(kPa) (kPa)
Surcharge 0-2 – 20 20 0.41×20=8.2
2-6 – 20 20 1/3×20=6.7
Soil 0 0 0 0 0
2– 0 1×H1=19×2=38 38 0.41×38=15.6
2+ 0 1×H1=19×2=38 38 1/3×38=12.7
6 w×H2=9.8×4=39.2 1×H1+ 2×H2=38+20×4=118 78.8 1/3×78.8=26.3
Passive z (m) u (kPa) z (kPa) 'z =z – u a = kp 'z
(kPa) (kPa)
Soil 0 0 0 0 0
4 w×H2=9.8×4=39.2 2×H2=20×4=80 40.8 3×40.8=122.4

8.2
0m
1
3
0m 15.6 2- m
12.7 2+ m
Surcharge

Water
Soil
Passive 2 4
Water

Active
Soil

5 6
8 7

4m 6m
39.2 122.4 6.7 12.7 13.6 39.2
Step 3: Calculate the hydrostatic force. 3

Pw  12  w H 22  12  9.8  4 2  78.4 kN
Or
Pw  12  39.2  4  78.4 kN
Step 4: Calculate the resultant lateral forces & their locations.
Use a table or a spreadsheet for calculation. Active moments are
assumed to be negative.

…Next slide…
Active Depth Force Moment arm Moment
Area (m) (kN) from base (m) (kN・m)
1 0–2 8.2×2 = 16.4 4+1=5 -16.4×5 = -82
2 2–6 6.7×4 = 26.8 4/2 = 2 -26.8×2 = -53.6
3 0–2 0.5×15.6×2 = 15.6 4+1/3 = 4.33 -15.6×4.33 = -67.6
4 2–6 12.7×4 = 50.8 4/2 = 2 -50.8×2 = -101.6
5 2–6 0.5×13.6×4 = 27.2 4/3 -27.2×4/3 = -36.3
6 (water) 2–6 78.4 4/3 -78.4×4/3 = -104.5
S of active lateral forces = 215.2 S of active moments = -445.6

Passive Depth Force Moment arm Moment

Area (m) (kN) from base (m) (kN・m)
7 2–6 0.5×122.4×4 = 244.8 4/3 244.8×4/3 = 326.4
8 (water) 2–6 78.4 4/3 78.4×4/3 = 104.5
S of passive lateral forces = 323.2 S of passive moments = 430.9

Location of resultant lateral active force

za 
 active moments

445.6
 2.07 m
 active forces 215.2

Location of resultant lateral passive force zp  4

3 1.33m
4
Step 5: Calculate the lateral resultant force.

R  Pp  Pa  323.2  215.2  108 kN

Step 6: Calculate the ratio of moments.

Ratio of moments 
 passive moments  430.9  0.97
 active moments 445.6
※ Since the active moment is greater than the
passive moment the wall will rotate.

5
A 6-m-high retaining wall is to support a soil with unit weight 𝛾 = 17.4
kN/m3, soil friction angle 𝜙 = 26°,and cohesion 𝑐 = 14.36 kN/m2.
Determine the Rankine active force per unit length of the wall after the
tensile crack occurs, and determine the line of action of the resultant in
both cases.