Lateral earth pressure

About: Lateral earth pressure is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 5334 publications have been published within this topic receiving 62552 citations.

Seismic response of underground utility tunnels: shaking table testing and FEM analysis

Abstract: Underground utility tunnels are widely used in urban areas throughout the world for lifeline networks due to their easy maintenance and environmental protection capabilities However, knowledge about their seismic performance is still quite limited and seismic design procedures are not included in current design codes This paper describes a series of shaking table tests the authors performed on a scaled utility tunnel model to explore its performance under earthquake excitation Details of the experimental setup are first presented focusing on aspects such as the design of the soil container, scaled structural model, sensor array arrangement and test procedure The main observations from the test program, including structural response, soil response, soil-structure interaction and earth pressure, are summarized and discussed Further, a finite element model (FEM) of the test utility tunnel is established where the nonlinear soil properties are modeled by the Drucker-Prager constitutive model; the master-slave surface mechanism is employed to simulate the soil-structure dynamic interaction; and the confining effect of the laminar shear box to soil is considered by proper boundary modeling The results from the numerical model are compared with experiment measurements in terms of displacement, acceleration and amplification factor of the structural model and the soil The comparison shows that the numerical results match the experimental measurements quite well The validated numerical model can be adopted for further analysis

Soil arching in slopes

Abstract: A METHOD OF ANALYSIS IS PRESENTED FOR EVALUATING THE ARCHING PHENOMENON IN SOIL CREATED BY RIGID PILES PLACED IN POTENTIAL SLIDES. IT IS BASED ON THE STRENGTH OF SOILS ALONG FAILURE PLANES. THE EARTH PRESSURE IS TRANSFERRED TO THE PILES BY THE SHEAR STRENGTH SIMILAR TO TERZAGHI'S HORIZONTAL TRAP DOOR. IT ILLUSTRATES THAT EXPERIMENTS CONDUCTED SUPPORT THE PREDICTED ARCHING PHENOMENON. THIS METHOD CAN BE USED AS A FIRST APPROXIMATION TO EVALUATE LOAD ACTING ON PILES PLACED FOR THE PURPOSE OF STABILIZATION OF SLIDING SLOPES. /AUTHOR/

Lateral earth pressures behind rotating walls

Abstract: Classical earth pressure theories are valid strictly for retaining walls subject to uniform free translation. Practically all retaining walls rotate, and movements of the wall could be restricted, particularly under working conditions. The lateral earth pressure on the wall often deviates from the fully active Coulomb value. There is a need for predicting the lateral earth pressure at any wall displacement behind a rotating wall. The finite element method (FEM) is capable of providing valid solutions of lateral pressures for different wall movements, but a simple alternative method has its practical value. This paper presents a simple analysis method using a modified Coulomb's solution of active pressure. The deformation pattern and the associated mobilization of shearing resistance in the soil as affected by the wall movement are considered in a simplified manner. Comparisons of calculated results with solutions from FEM and observations from model tests show that the method can provide a good prediction of lateral pressures for walls rotating about the base when proper distributions of mobilized shearing resistance and wall friction are used. For walls rotating about the top, the prediction is fair due to arching and the difference between assumed and observed rupture mechanisms.

Seismic active earth pressure behind a nonvertical retaining wall using pseudo-dynamic analysis

Abstract: This note describes a study on the seismic active earth pressure behind a nonvertical cantilever retaining wall using pseudo-dynamic analysis. A planar failure surface has been considered behind th...