Simplified Method for Calculating Active Earth Pressure on Rigid Retaining Walls Considering the Arching Effect under Translational Mode

Abstract

Based on the limit-equilibrium concept, a new method for calculating the active earth pressure acting on a rigid retaining wall that moves horizontally away from soil mass is proposed. Using this method, the trajectory of the minor principal stress resulting from the soil arching effect in retained soil mass is considered, and the arc-shaped axis of the minor principal stress is approximated to a linear axis using the improved horizontal flat-element method. The effects of soil’s internal frictional angle, its unit weight, the wall–soil friction angle relative to the active earth pressure, and the point of application of the resultant active earth pressure are investigated. Finally, the proposed method is applied to two existing tests for rigid retaining walls with different heights. A comparison of the predicted and measured values shows that the proposed method yields satisfactory results.