Coulomb-type solutions for passive earth pressure with steady seepage

Abstract

Present paper deals with the computing of passive earth pressure acting on the vertical rigid retaining wall supporting the soil mass subjected to water seepage. The basic assumptions of Coulomb’s theory and the 2-dimensional steady flow function are used. Three Coulomb-type solutions for the passive earth pressures are presented for the walls provided with three different drainage systems respectively. Based on the general solutions, the variations of the critical inclination of the failure surface and the coefficient of passive earth pressure with increasing the effective friction angle of the soil mass, the soil/structure friction angle, and the water/soil unit weight ratio are discussed. Two tables with values of the coefficients of passive earth pressure for Cases 1 and 3 respectively are also presented.

Keywords

passive earth pressure, Coulomb& / #8217 / s theory, vertical rigid retaining wall, steady seepage, passive state