Soil-Structure Interaction of an Earth Pressure Cell

Abstract

The output from an earth pressure cell (EPC) is usually related to the normal stress in soil through fluid calibration, where a known pressure is applied to the EPC and the output is recorded. However, distribution of normal stress within a soil is not uniform, and the EPC is not an ideal membrane—bending stiffness affects the response. These factors complicate the performance of the EPC. A calibration procedure for an EPC is reviewed, and it is shown that these controversial sensors can provide an accurate measure of average normal stress if calibrated in soil at a given density. In addition, a soil-structure interaction model is proposed to explain why soil calibration is necessary.