Investigation into the Displacement-Dependent Lateral Earth Pressure on the Rigid Retaining Wall with Different Modes of Movement: Modeling with the Trigonometric Function

Abstract

The lateral earth pressure on a rigid retaining wall with different movement modes, of translation, rotation about the top with translation, and rotation about the base with translation, is investigated analytically in this study using a trigonometric model to describe the relation between lateral earth pressure and wall displacement. The piecewise sine function defining the passive and active earth pressures satisfies the actual major features of the lateral earth pressure–displacement curve. Validation work is carried out using the model tests results on the lateral earth pressures on the retaining wall. The simplified method generally predicts the passive and active earth pressures in good agreement with the test results; the main characteristics of lateral earth pressures under various wall modes can be reproduced. Parametric studies show that the characteristics of the lateral earth pressure are greatly influenced by the mode of wall movement, the ultimate wall displacement, and the rotation length ratio. The analytical approach can be used to estimate the displacement-dependent lateral earth pressure acting on a rigid retaining structure with sufficient accuracy and can thus be referred to in related experimental and numerical studies.