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At-Rest Lateral Earth Pressure

Description
At-rest lateral earth pressure is the pressure applied to a retaining wall by soil with minimal wall
movement occurring.

Calculations
The horizontal pressure applied by soil on a retaining wall is proportional to the vertical stresses
in the soil. These vertical stresses can be calculated using the unit weight of the soil and depth
beneath the ground surface, which is represented by the following equation:

σv γ⋅z

Where: σv = vertical pressures in soil


γ = unit weight of soil
z = depth below ground surface

When no wall movement occurs, the vertical and horizontal pressures are related to each other
using a coefficient called the at-rest earth pressure coefficient. Figure 1 illustrates the lateral
pressure with respect to depth beneath the ground surface, and is calculated as follows:

σh ko ⋅ σv

ko ( 1 − sin ( φ)) ⋅ OCRsin( φ)

Where: σh = horizontal soil pressure acting on wall


ko = at-rest earth pressure coefficient
φ = soil friction angle
OCR = overconsolidation ratio

Once the lateral earth pressure is known, the force acting on the retaining wall can be calculated
as follows:

F σh ⋅ A

Where: F = force acting on retaining wall per meter width of wall


A = area on which pressure is applied
Figure 1: At-Rest Lateral Earth Pressure Acting on a Retaining Wall

Since the lateral earth pressure changes with depth, the equation should be modified to account
for this change. The best way to do this is to find a force per unit width of wall, which is
calculated as follows:

1 2
F ⋅ ko ⋅ γ ⋅ H
2

Where: H = total height of retaining wall

This equation can be derived as follows:

σh ko ⋅ γ ⋅ z

A dz⋅ 1

H

F ⎮ ko ⋅ γ ⋅ z dz⋅ 1

0

1 2
F ⋅ ko ⋅ γ ⋅ H
2

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