LA1LkAL LAk1n kLSSUkL

IN1kCDUC1ICN
Soll ls nelLher a solld nor a llquld, buL lL exhlblLs some of Lhe characLerlsLlcs of boLh. Cne of Lhe
characLerlsLlcs slmllar Lo LhaL of a llquld ls lLs Lendency Lo exerL a laLeral pressure agalnsL any
ob[ecL ln conLacL. 1hls lmporLanL properLy lnfluences Lhe deslgn of reLalnlng walls, abuLmenLs,
bulkheads, sheeL plle walls, basemenL walls and underground condulLs whlch reLaln or supporL
soll, and, as such, ls of very greaL slgnlflcance. 8eLalnlng walls are consLrucLed ln varlous flelds
of clvll englneerlng, such as hydraullcs and lrrlgaLlon sLrucLures, hlghways, rallways, Lunnels,
mlnlng and mlllLary englneerlng.
LA1LkAL LAk1n kLSSUkLS
LaLeral earLh pressure ls Lhe force exerLed by Lhe soll mass upon an earLh-reLalnlng sLrucLure,
such as a reLalnlng wall.
1here are Lwo dlsLlncL klnds of laLeral earLh pressure, Lhe naLure of each ls Lo be clearly
undersLood. llrsL, leL us conslder a reLalnlng wall whlch holds back a mass of soll. 1he soll exerLs
a push agalnsL Lhe wall by vlrLue of lLs Lendency Lo sllp laLerally and seek lLs naLural slope or
angle of repose, Lhus maklng Lhe wall Lo move sllghLly away from Lhe backfllled soll mass. 1hls
klnd of pressure ls known as Lhe 'acLlve' earLh pressure of Lhe soll. 1he soll, belng Lhe acLuaLlng
elemenL, ls consldered Lo be acLlve and hence Lhe name acLlve earLh pressure. nexL, leL us
lmaglne LhaL ln some manner Lhe reLalnlng wall ls caused Lo move Loward Lhe soll. ln such a
case Lhe reLalnlng wall or Lhe earLh-reLalnlng sLrucLure ls Lhe acLuaLlng elemenL and Lhe soll
provldes Lhe reslsLance whlch soll develops ln response Lo movemenL of Lhe sLrucLure Loward lL
ls called Lhe 'passlve earLh pressure', or more approprlaLely 'passlve earLh reslsLance' whlch
may be very much greaLer Lhan Lhe acLlve earLh pressure. 1he surface over whlch Lhe sheared-
off soll wedge Lends Lo sllde ls referred Lo as Lhe surface of 'slldlng' or 'rupLure'.
AcLlve pressures are accompanled by movemenLs dlrecLed away from Lhe soll, and passlve
reslsLances are accompanled by movemenLs Lowards Lhe soll. Loglcally, Lherefore, Lhere musL
be a slLuaLlon lnLermedlaLe beLween Lhe Lwo when Lhe reLalnlng sLrucLure ls perfecLly
sLaLlonary and does noL move ln elLher dlrecLlon. 1he pressure whlch develops ln Lhls condlLlon
ls called 'earLh pressure aL resL'. lLs value ls a llLLle larger Lhan Lhe llmlLlng value of acLlve
pressure, buL ls conslderably less Lhan Lhe maxlmum passlve reslsLance. 1hls ls lndlcaLed ln llg
very llLLle movemenL (abouL 0.3 horlzonLal sLraln) ls requlred Lo moblllse Lhe acLlve pressure,
however, relaLlvely much larger movemenL (abouL 2 of horlzonLal sLraln for dense sands and
as hlgh as 13 for loose sands) may be requlred Lo moblllse full passlve reslsLance. AbouL 30
of Lhe passlve reslsLance may be moblllsed aL a movemenL comparable Lo LhaL requlred for Lhe
acLlve case.

ke|at|on between |atera| earth pressure and movement of wa||

LAk1n kLSSUkL 1nLCkILS
1he magnlLude of Lhe laLeral earLh pressure ls evaluaLed by Lhe appllcaLlon of one or Lhe oLher
of Lhe so-called 'laLeral earLh pressure Lheorles' or slmply 'earLh pressure Lheorles'. 1he
problem of deLermlnlng Lhe laLeral pressure agalnsL reLalnlng walls ls one of Lhe oldesL ln Lhe
fleld of englneerlng. A lrench mlllLary englneer, vauban, seL forLh cerLaln rules for Lhe deslgn of
reveLmenLs ln 1687. Slnce Lhen, several lnvesLlgaLors have proposed many Lheorles of earLh
pressure afLer a loL of experlmenLal and LheoreLlcal work. Cf all Lhese Lheorles, Lhose glven by
Coulomb and 8anklne sLood Lhe LesL of Llme and are usually referred Lo as Lhe Classlcal earLh
pressure Lheorles". 1hese Lheorles are consldered rellable ln splLe of some llmlLaLlons and are
consldered baslc Lo Lhe problem. 1hese Lheorles have been developed orlglnally Lo apply Lo
coheslonless soll backflll, slnce Lhls slLuaLlon ls consldered Lo be more frequenL ln pracLlce and
slnce Lhe deslgner wlll be on Lhe safe slde by neglecLlng coheslon. LaLer researchers gave
necessary modlflcaLlons Lo Lake lnLo accounL coheslon, surcharge, submergence, and so on.
Some have evolved graphlcal procedures Lo evaluaLe Lhe LoLal LhrusL on Lhe reLalnlng sLrucLure.
AlLhough Coulomb presenLed hls Lheory nearly a cenLury earller Lo 8anklne's Lheory, 8anklne's
Lheory wlll be presenLed flrsL due Lo lLs relaLlve slmpllclLy.
kANkINL'S 1nLCk
8anklne (1837) developed hls Lheory of laLeral earLh pressure when Lhe backflll conslsLs of dry,
coheslonless soll. 1he Lheory was laLer exLended by 8esal (1910) and 8ell (1913) Lo be
appllcable Lo coheslve solls.
1he followlng are Lhe lmporLanL assumpLlons ln 8anklne's Lheory:
1he soll mass ls seml-lnflnlLe, homogeneous, dry and coheslonless.
1he ground surface ls a plane whlch may be horlzonLal or lncllned.
1he face of Lhe wall ln conLacL wlLh Lhe backflll ls verLlcal and smooLh. ln oLher words,
Lhe frlcLlon beLween Lhe wall and Lhe backflll ls neglecLed.
1he wall ylelds abouL Lhe base sufflclenLly for Lhe acLlve pressure condlLlons Lo develop,
lf lL ls Lhe passlve case LhaL ls under conslderaLlon, Lhe wall ls Laken Lo be pushed
sufflclenLly Lowards Lhe flll for Lhe passlve reslsLance Lo be fully moblllsed.

Lxpress|ons for Intens|ty of |atera| earth pressure, 1ota| |atera| thrust
and os|t|on of tota| earth pressure
Act|ve Case
AL Lhe lnsLanL of shear fallure
o
1
= o
3
Lan
2
o + 2 c Lan o
Pere, o
1
= o
v
= y z, o
3
= o
h
= p
a,
c = 0 and o = 43 + /2
y z = p
a
Lan
2
o + 0
p
a
= y z coL
2
o
p
a
= k
a
y z
k
a
= 8anklne CoefflclenL of acLlve earLh pressure
k
a
= coL
2
o = coL
2
(43 + /2)

1oLal acLlve earLh pressure per unlL lengLh of wall
a
= (1/2) (k
a
y P) (P)

Where
a
ls acLlng aL a helghL of n]3 from Lhe base
ass|ve Case
Pere, o
1
= o
h
= p
p
, o
3
= o
v
= y z, c = 0 and o = 43 + /2
p
p
= y z Lan
2
o + 0
p
p
= y z Lan
2
o
p
p
= k
p
y z
k
p
= 8anklne CoefflclenL of passlve earLh pressure
k
p
= Lan
2
o = Lan
2
(43 + /2)

1oLal passlve earLh pressure per unlL lengLh of wall
p
= (1/2) (k
p
y P) (P)

Where
p
ls acLlng aL a helghL of P/3 from Lhe base

noLe :
unlform Surcharge

Lffect of un|form surcharge on |atera| pressure

Submerged 8ackflll and SLraLlfled 8ackflll

Lffect of part|a| submergence on |atera| earth pressure

lncllned Surcharge or Sloplng 8ackflll



lncllned 8ack of Wall

LffecL of lncllned back of wall on laLeral earLh pressure


Larth ressure of Cohes|ve So||
A coheslve soll ls parLlally self-supporLlng and lL wlll, Lherefore, exerL a smaller pressure on a
reLalnlng wall Lhan a coheslonless soll wlLh Lhe same angle of frlcLlon and denslLy. Coheslon ls
known Lo lncrease Lhe passlve earLh reslsLance of a soll.
1he laLeral pressure dlsLrlbuLlon dlagram ls as shown

Act|ve pressure d|str|but|on for a cohes|ve so|| ass|ve pressure d|str|but|on for the cohes|ve so||
Pere n

= Lan
2
(43 + /2),called 'flow value'.

1he negaLlve values of acLlve pressure up Lo a depLh equal Lo half of Lhe so-called 'crlLlcal
depLh' lndlcaLe sucLlon effecL or Lenslle sLresses, however, lL ls well known LhaL solls cannoL
wlLhsLand Lenslle sLresses and hence, sucLlon ls unllkely Lo occur. lnvarlably, Lhe pressure from
Lhe surface ln Lhe Lenslon zone ls lgnored.
1he neL pressure over depLh of 2 Z
c
ls obvlously zero. 1hls lndlcaLes LhaL a coheslve soll mass
should be able Lo sLand unsupporLed up Lo Lhls depLh whlch ls known as Lhe crlLlcal depLh and ls
glven by


CCULCM8'S WLDGL 1nLCk
Charles AugusLlne Coulomb (1776), a famous lrench sclenLlsL and mlllLary englneer, was Lhe
flrsL Lo Lry Lo glve a sclenLlflc basls Lo Lhe hazy and arblLrary ldeas exlsLlng ln hls Llme regardlng
laLeral earLh pressure on walls.
Coulomb's Lheory conslders Lhe soll behlnd Lhe wall as a whole lnsLead of as an elemenL ln Lhe
soll. lf a wall supporLlng a granular soll were noL Lo be Lhere, Lhe soll wlll slump down Lo lLs
angle of repose or lnLernal frlcLlon. lL ls Lherefore reasonable Lo assume LhaL lf Lhe wall only
moved forward sllghLly a rupLure plane would develop somewhere beLween Lhe wall and Lhe
surface of repose. 1he Lrlangular mass of soll beLween Lhls plane of fallure and Lhe back of Lhe
wall ls referred Lo as Lhe 'slldlng wedge'. lL ls reasoned LhaL, lf Lhe reLalnlng wall were suddenly
removed, Lhe soll wlLhln Lhe slldlng wedge would slump downward. 1herefore, an analysls of
Lhe forces acLlng on Lhe slldlng wedge aL lnclplenL fallure wlll reveal Lhe LhrusL from Lhe laLeral
earLh pressure whlch ls necessary for Lhe wall Lo wlLhsLand ln order Lo hold Lhe soll mass ln
place. 1hls ls why Coulomb's Lheory ls also called Lhe 'Wedge Lheory', lmplylng Lhe exlsLence of
a plane rupLure surface. Powever, Coulomb recognlzed Lhe posslblllLy of Lhe exlsLence of a
curved rupLure surface, alLhough he consldered a plane surface for Lhe sake of maLhemaLlcal
slmpllclLy. ln facL, lL ls now esLabllshed LhaL Lhe assumpLlon of a plane rupLure surface
lnLroduces slgnlflcanL error ln Lhe deLermlnaLlon of passlve earLh reslsLance, a curved rupLure
surface belng nearer Lo facLs, as demonsLraLed by experlmenLs.
ln Lhe course of Llme Coulomb's Lheory underwenL some alLernaLlons and new developmenLs.
1he Lheory ls very adapLable Lo graphlcal soluLlon and Lhe effecLs of wall frlcLlon and baLLer are
auLomaLlcally allowed for. onceleL (1840), Culmann (1866), 8ebhann (1871) and Lngesser
(1880) are Lhe noLable flgures who conLrlbuLed Lo furLher developmenL of Coulomb's Lheory.
1he slgnlflcance of Coulomb's work may be recognlzed besL by Lhe facL LhaL hls ldeas on earLh
pressure sLlll prevall ln Lhelr prlnclpal polnLs wlLh a few excepLlons and are consldered valld
even Loday ln Lhe deslgn of reLalnlng walls.
Assumpt|ons
1he prlmary assumpLlons ln Coulomb's wedge Lheory are as follows:
1he backflll soll ls consldered Lo be dry, homogeneous and lsoLroplc, lL ls elasLlcally un-
deformable buL breakable, granular maLerlal, possesslng lnLernal frlcLlon buL no
coheslon.
1he rupLure surface ls assumed Lo be a plane for Lhe sake of convenlence ln analysls. lL
passes Lhrough Lhe heel of Lhe wall. lL ls noL acLually a plane, buL ls curved and Lhls ls
known Lo Coulomb.
1he slldlng wedge acLs as a rlgld body and Lhe value of Lhe earLh LhrusL ls obLalned by
conslderlng lLs equlllbrlum.
1he poslLlon and dlrecLlon of Lhe earLh LhrusL are assumed Lo be known. 1he LhrusL acLs
on Lhe back of Lhe wall aL a polnL one-Lhlrd of Lhe helghL of Lhe wall above Lhe base of
Lhe wall and makes an angle , wlLh Lhe normal Lo Lhe back face of Lhe wall. 1hls ls an
angle of frlcLlon beLween Lhe wall and backflll soll and ls usually called 'wall frlcLlon'.
1he problem of deLermlnlng Lhe earLh LhrusL ls solved, on Lhe basls of Lwo-dlmenslonal
case of 'plane sLraln'. 1hls ls Lo say LhaL, Lhe reLalnlng wall ls assumed Lo be of greaL
lengLh and all condlLlons of Lhe wall and flll remaln consLanL along Lhe lengLh of Lhe wall.
1hus, a unlL lengLh of Lhe wall perpendlcular Lo Lhe plane of Lhe paper ls consldered.
When Lhe soll wedge ls aL lnclplenL fallure or Lhe slldlng of Lhe wedge ls lmpendlng, Lhe
Lheory glves Lwo llmlLlng values of earLh pressure, Lhe leasL and Lhe greaLesL (acLlve and
passlve), compaLlble wlLh equlllbrlum.
1he addlLlonal lnherenL assumpLlons relevanL Lo Lhe Lheory are as follows:
1he soll forms a naLural slope angle, , wlLh Lhe horlzonLal, wlLhouL rupLure and slldlng.
1hls ls called Lhe angle of repose and ln Lhe case of dry coheslonless soll, lL ls noLhlng buL
Lhe angle of lnLernal frlcLlon.
lf Lhe wall ylelds and Lhe rupLure of Lhe backflll soll Lake place, a soll wedge ls Lorn off
from Lhe resL of Lhe soll mass. ln Lhe acLlve case, Lhe soll wedge slldes sldeways and
downward over Lhe rupLure surface, Lhus exerLlng a laLeral pressure on Lhe wall. ln Lhe
case of passlve earLh reslsLance, Lhe soll wedge slldes sldeways and upward on Lhe
rupLure surface due Lo Lhe forclng of Lhe wall agalnsL Lhe flll.
lor a rupLure plane wlLhln Lhe soll mass, as well as beLween Lhe back of Lhe wall and Lhe
soll, newLon's law of frlcLlon ls valld (LhaL ls Lo say, Lhe shear force developed due Lo
frlcLlon ls Lhe coefflclenL of frlcLlon Llmes Lhe normal force acLlng on Lhe plane). 1hls
angle of frlcLlon, whose LangenL ls Lhe coefflclenL of frlcLlon, ls dependenL upon Lhe
physlcal properLles of Lhe maLerlals lnvolved.
1he frlcLlon ls dlsLrlbuLed unlformly on Lhe rupLure surface.
1he back face of Lhe wall ls a plane.

Among Lhe lnflnlLely large number of rupLure surface LhaL may be passed Lhrough Lhe heel of
Lhe wall, Lhe mosL dangerous one ls LhaL for whlch Lhe acLlve earLh LhrusL ls a maxlmum (Lhe
wall musL reslsL even Lhe greaLesL value Lo be sLable).
ln Lhe case of passlve earLh reslsLance, Lhe mosL dangerous rupLure surface ls Lhe one for whlch
Lhe reslsLance ls a mlnlmum. 1he mlnlmum force necessary Lo Lear off Lhe soll wedge from Lhe
soll mass when Lhe wall ls forced agalnsL Lhe soll ls Lhus Lhe crlLerlon, slnce fallure ls sure Lo
occur aL greaLer force. noLe LhaL Lhls ls ln conLrasL Lo Lhe mlnlmum and maxlmum for acLlve and
passlve cases ln relaLlon Lo Lhe movemenL of Lhe wall away from or Lowards Lhe flll,
respecLlvely.
Also noLe LhaL Coulomb's Lheory LreaLs Lhe soll mass ln Lhe slldlng wedge ln lLs enLlreLy. 1he
assumpLlons permlL one Lo LreaL Lhe problem as a sLaLlcally deLermlnaLe one.
Coulomb's Lheory ls appllcable Lo lncllned wall faces, Lo a wall wlLh a broken face, Lo a sloplng
backflll curved backflll surface, broken backflll surface and Lo concenLraLed or dlsLrlbuLed
surcharge loads.
Cne of Lhe maln deflclencles ln Coulomb's Lheory ls LhaL, ln general, lL does noL saLlsfy Lhe sLaLlc
equlllbrlum condlLlon occurrlng ln naLure. 1he Lhree forces (welghL of Lhe slldlng wedge, earLh
pressure and soll reacLlon on Lhe rupLure surface) acLlng on Lhe slldlng wedge do noL meeL aL a
common polnL, when Lhe slldlng surface ls assumed Lo be planar. Lven Lhe wall frlcLlon was noL
orlglnally consldered buL was lnLroduced only some Llme laLer.
8egardless of Lhls deflclency and oLher assumpLlons, Lhe Lheory glves useful resulLs ln pracLlce,
however, Lhe soll consLanLs should be deLermlned as accuraLely as posslble.

Act|ve Larth ressure of Cohes|on|ess So||

AcLlve earLh pressure of coheslonless soll-Coulomb's Lheory



ass|ve Larth ressure of Cohes|on|ess So||

asslve earLh pressure of coheslonless soll-Coulomb's Lheory



kL8nANN'S GkAnICAL ML1nCD

8ebhann (1871) ls credlLed wlLh havlng presenLed Lhe crlLerlon for Lhe dlrecL locaLlon of Lhe
fallure plane assumed ln Lhe Coulomb's Lheory.
1he sLeps lnvolved ln Lhe graphlcal meLhod are as follows, wlLh reference Lo llg shown
l. LeL A8 represenL Lhe back face of Lhe wall and Au Lhe backflll surface
ll. uraw 8u lncllned aL wlLh Lhe horlzonLal from Lhe heel 8 of Lhe wall Lo meeL Lhe
backflll surface ln u.
lll. uraw 8k lncllned aL (= o - ) wlLh 8u, whlch ls Lhe -llne.
lv. 1hrough A, draw AL parallel Lo Lhe -llne Lo meeL 8u ln L. (AlLernaLlvely, draw AL aL ( +
) wlLh A8 Lo meeL 8u ln L).
v. uescrlbe a seml-clrcle on 8u as dlameLer.
vl. LrecL a perpendlcular Lo 8u aL L Lo meeL Lhe seml-clrcle ln l.
vll. WlLh 8 as cenLre and 8l as radlus draw an arc Lo meeL 8u ln C
vlll. 1hrough C, draw a parallel Lo Lhe -llne Lo meeL Au ln C.
lx. WlLh C as cenLre and CC as radlus draw an arc Lo cuL 8u ln L, [oln CL and also draw a
perpendlcular CM from C on Lo LC.
x. 8C ls Lhe requlred rupLure surface.

once|et (kebhann's) graph|ca| construct|on for act|ve thrust

CULMANN'S GkAnICAL ML1nCD

karl Culmann (1866) gave hls own graphlcal meLhod Lo evaluaLe Lhe earLh pressure from
Coulomb's Lheory. Culmann's meLhod permlLs one Lo deLermlne graphlcally Lhe magnlLude of
Lhe earLh pressure and Lo locaLe Lhe mosL dangerous rupLure surface accordlng Lo Coulomb's
wedge Lheory. 1hls meLhod has more general appllcaLlon Lhan onceleL's and ls, ln facL, a
slmpllfled verslon of Lhe more general Lrlal wedge meLhod. lL may be convenlenLly used for
ground surface of any shape, for dlfferenL Lypes of surcharge loads, and for layered backflll wlLh
dlfferenL unlL welghLs for dlfferenL layers.

Cu|mann's graph|ca| method for act|ve thrust

1he sLeps ln Lhe consLrucLlon may be seL ouL as follows:
l. uraw Lhe ground llne, -llne, and -llne, and Lhe wall face A8.
ll. Choose an arblLrary fallure plane 8C1. CalculaLe welghL of Lhe wedge A8C and ploL lL as
8-1 Lo a convenlenL scale on Lhe -llne.
lll. uraw 1 - 1 parallel Lo Lhe -llne Lhrough 1 Lo meeL 8C1 ln 1. 1 ls a polnL on Lhe
Culmann-llne.
lv. Slmllarly, Lake some more fallure planes 8C2, 8C3, ..., and repeaL Lhe sLeps (ll) and (lll) Lo
esLabllsh polnLs 2, 3, ...
v. !oln 8, 1, 2, 3, eLc., smooLhly Lo obLaln Lhe Culmann curve.
vl. uraw a LangenL L-L, Lo Lhe Culmann llne parallel Lo Lhe -llne.
vii. LeL Lhe polnL of Lhe Langency be l
vlll. uraw ll parallel Lo Lhe -llne Lo meeL Lhe -llne ln l.
lx. !oln 8l and produce lL Lo meeL Lhe ground llne ln C.
x. 8lC represenLs Lhe fallure surface and ll represenLs a Lo Lhe same scale as LhaL
chosen Lo represenL Lhe welghLs of wedges.
lf Lhe upper surface of Lhe backflll ls a plane, Lhe welghLs of wedges wlll be proporLlonal Lo Lhe
dlsLances l
1
, l
2
... (bases), slnce Lhey have a common-helghL, P1. 1hus 8-1, 8-2, eLc ..., may be
made equal or proporLlonal Lo l
1
, l
2
, eLc. 1he secLor scale may be easlly obLalned by comparlng
8l wlLh Lhe welghL of wedge A8C.
CCMAkISCN CI CCULCM8'S 1nLCk WI1n kANkINL'S 1nLCk

(l) Coulomb conslders a reLalnlng wall and Lhe backflll as a sysLem, he Lakes lnLo accounL Lhe
frlcLlon beLween Lhe wall and Lhe backflll, whlle 8anklne does noL.
(ll) 1he backflll surface may be plane or curved ln Coulomb's Lheory, buL 8anklne's allows only
for a plane surface.
(lll) ln Coulomb's Lheory, Lhe LoLal earLh LhrusL ls flrsL obLalned and lLs poslLlon and dlrecLlon of
Lhe earLh pressure are assumed Lo be known, llnear varlaLlon of pressure wlLh depLh ls LaclLly
assumed and Lhe dlrecLlon ls auLomaLlcally obLalned from Lhe concepL of wall frlcLlon. ln
8anklne's Lheory, plasLlc equlllbrlum lnslde a seml-lnflnlLe soll mass ls consldered, pressures
evaluaLed, a reLalnlng wall ls lmaglned Lo be lnLerposed laLer, and Lhe locaLlon and magnlLude
of Lhe LoLal earLh LhrusL are esLabllshed maLhemaLlcally.
(lv) Coulomb's Lheory ls more versaLlle Lhan 8anklne's ln LhaL lL can Lake lnLo accounL any shape
of Lhe backflll surface, break ln Lhe wall face or ln Lhe surface of Lhe flll, effecL of sLraLlflcaLlon of
Lhe backflll, effecL of varlous klnds of surcharge on earLh pressure, and Lhe effecLs of coheslon,
adheslon and wall frlcLlon. lL lends lLself Lo eleganL graphlcal soluLlons and glves more rellable
resulLs, especlally ln Lhe deLermlnaLlon of Lhe passlve earLh reslsLance, Lhls ls ln-splLe of Lhe facL
LhaL sLaLlc equlllbrlum condlLlon does noL appear Lo be saLlsfled ln Lhe analysls.
(v) 8anklne's Lheory ls relaLlvely slmple and hence ls more commonly used, whlle Coulomb's
Lheory ls more raLlonal and versaLlle alLhough cumbersome aL Llmes, Lherefore, Lhe use of Lhe
laLLer ls called for ln lmporLanL slLuaLlons or problems.