CSE20352 Soil and Rock Engineering

Tutorial 3

Chao ZHOU
 CSE20352 Soil & Rock Eng. (Site Investigation)

• By the end of the tutorial, you will be able to

• Calculate the lateral stress distribution behind a
retaining wall
• Calculate soil stress and deformation below a
foundation
 Rankine’s theory of earth pressure (1857)
This solution has the following assumptions:

• Plane strain
D
• Vertical frictionless wall 𝜎′𝑣
𝜎′ℎ
• Horizontal ground surface

• Soil is homogenous, isotropic and rigid-perfectly plastic,

following the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion
 Active earth pressure 𝐾𝑎 =
1 − sin 𝜙′
1 + sin 𝜙′
= tan2
𝜋 𝜙′
−
4 2

When water table is at the ground surface (𝐷 = 𝑧𝑤 ) and soil is uniform

𝜎𝑎′ = 𝐾𝑎 𝜎𝑣′ − 2𝑐 ′ 𝐾𝑎 𝜎𝑎′ = 𝐾𝑎 𝛾 ′ D − 2𝑐 ′ 𝐾𝑎

𝑧0

- =
Wall heigh H

𝐾𝑎 𝛾 ′ H 2𝑐 ′ 𝐾𝑎 𝐾𝑎 𝛾 ′ H
− 2𝑐 ′ 𝐾𝑎
 Passive earth pressure 1+sin 𝜙′
𝐾𝑝 = 1−sin 𝜙′ = tan2
𝜋
4
+
𝜙′
2

When water table is at the ground surface (𝐷 = 𝑧𝑤 ) and soil is uniform

𝜎′𝑝 = 𝐾𝑃 𝜎𝑣′ + 2𝑐′ 𝐾𝑝 𝜎′𝑝 = 𝐾𝑝 𝛾′𝐷 + 2𝑐′ 𝐾𝑝

Wall
heigh
H
+ =

𝐾𝑝 𝛾 ′ H 2𝑐 ′ 𝐾𝑝
𝐾𝑝 𝛾 ′ H + 2𝑐 ′ 𝐾𝑝
 Knappett and Craig (2012)

Three basic design considerations of gravity wall

▪ Adequate factor of safety against overturning

(eccentricity of the resultant < B/6) (FOS > 2 minimum)

▪ Adequate factor of safety against sliding (FOS > 1.5

minimum)

▪ Base pressure at the toe of the wall must be less than the
allowable bearing capacity of soil (FOS > 3 minimum)
 Check for overturning
▪ The factor of safety against overturning

▪ Overturning moment (horizontal active force)

𝐻′
෍ 𝑀0 = 𝑃ℎ
3

▪ Resisting moment (vertical active force, soil weight; wall

weight, ignoring passive force)

Rotation about the toe (Point C):

retaining wall and the soil above
the heel
 Check for sliding
▪ The factor of safety against sliding

▪ Resisting forces (shear forces between

base and soil; passive force)

If ’ and ca’ (properties of soil-base interface)

is unknown, we may assume (with k1 and k2
in the range from 1/2 to 2/3)

' = k1 '
2 ca' = k 2 c2'
Sliding along the base (width of B)
▪ Driving forces (active force)
 Check for bearing capacity
▪ The factor of safety against sliding

▪ The bearing capacity qu can be calculated

using the equation for shallow foundation

▪ Maximum vertical stress at the wall base

(similar to an eccentrically loaded foundation)

Moment induced by stress at base:

The corresponding lever of arm:

The eccentricity:

The maximum (toe) and minimum (heel) stresses:

Variation of the vertical pressure
transmitted by the base slab into the soil
 Example 1 Knappett and Craig (2012)

The soil conditions adjacent to a sheet pile wall are given in the following figure: a
surcharge pressure of 50 kPa being carried on the surface behind the wall. For soil 1,
a sand above the water table, c’= 0, ’=38º and =18kN/m3. For soil 2, a saturated
clay, c’= 10 kPa, ’=28º and sat=20kN/m3. Plot the distribution of active pressure
behind the wall and passive pressure in front of the wall.

Why soil on the left hand side is at passive state, and soil on the right hand side is at the active
state???
 Example 1 Knappett and Craig (2012)

For Soil 1, Ka = tan2 (45 − 38 2) = 0.24 K p = 1 Ka = 4.17

For Soil 2, Ka = tan2 (45 − 28 2) = 0.36 K p = 1 Ka = 2.78

For effective vertical stress at a given depth D, 'v = q + ' D

The effective active and passive pressure distribution are shown in the following table

In addition, there is equal pore water pressure distribution on the two sides of wall.
 Example 2
For the retaining wall shown in the figure, H1 = 3 m, H2 = 5 m, D1 = 2 m, D2 =1.5 m.
The soil unit weight above the water table is 18 kN/m3 and the saturated unit weight
below the water table is 20 kN/m3. For soil above the water table, the soil friction
angle and cohesion are 22 and 0, respectively. For soil below the water table, the
soil friction angle and cohesion are 32 and 0, respectively. The friction angle
between soil and wall base is 25 with zero cohesion.
(a) Determine Rankine active earth pressure distribution along the depth of wall
using the following two equations.
(b) Please calculate the factor of safety against the sliding.

D1 D2
 Example 2
(a) The soil friction angle is 22 and 32 above and below the ground water table.
The corresponding value of Ka is calculated as follows:

1 − sin 1 − sin 22
Above the water table: Ka = = = 0.45
1 + sin 1 + sin 22

1 − sin 1 − sin 32
Below the water table: Ka = = = 0.30
1 + sin 1 + sin 32

Rankine active earth pressures at different depths are summarized in the table:

Depth Effective vertical pressure Effective horizontal stress Pore water pressure
(m) (kPa) (kPa) (kPa)
0 0 0 0
3 (above) 3 18 = 54 0.45 54 = 24.3 0
3 (below) 3 18 = 54 0.30 54 = 16.2 0
8 3 18+5 (20-9.8) = 105 0.30 105 = 31.5 5 9.8 = 49
 Example 2
The stress distribution is as follows:

16.2 kPa
24.3 kPa

31.5 kPa 49.0 kPa

Effective lateral stress Pore water pressure

 Example 2
FR
(b) The fact of safety (FOS) against sliding is as follows: FOS =
Fd

For calculating the FR, it is assumed that the material of retaining wall is 24 kN/m3.
(Other reasonable values are also acceptable) Then the weight of retaining wall is
24 (0.5 2 8+1.5 8)=480 kN/m. So,

FR = 480 tan 25 = 224 kN / m

The value of Fd can be calculated based on the distribution of effective lateral

stress and pore water pressure:

Fd = 0.5 24 .3 3 + 0.5 (16 .2 + 31 .5) 5 + 0.5 49 5 = 278 kN / m

224
So, FOS = = 0.8
278
 Example 3
A rectangular foundation 6 3 m carries a uniform pressure q of 300 kN/m2 near the
surface of a soil mass. Point A is located at a depth of 1.5m on the center line 1.5 m
outside a long edge of the foundation, as shown in Figure 1. The water table is very
deep, and the soil unit weight is 18 kN/m3. The compression index Cc and swelling
index Cs are 0.2 and 0.05, respectively. Initial void ratio e0 of soil is 0.6.
(a) Please determine the increase in the vertical effective stress of soil at A due to foundation
load, using the Fadum design chart .
(b) Please estimate the vertical strain of the soil at A due to foundation load.
 Example 3
(a) Using the principle of superimposition, the problem is dealt with in the manner
shown in the following figure. The incremental stress due to foundation load should
be the incremental stress due to two foundations in (1) minus the incremental stress
due to two foundations in (2):

For the two foundations in (1), m = 3/1.5 = 2 and n = 4.5/1.5 = 3. Hence, Ir = 0.235.
For the two foundations in (2), m = 3/1.5 = 2 and n = 1.5/1.5 = 1. Hence, Ir = 0.200.
The increase in vertical stress due to foundation load is

z = z (1) − z ( 2) = 2 300 0.235 − 2 300 0.200 = 21 kN m2

 Example 3
(b) It is assumed that the soil is normally consolidated prior to the application of
foundation load (other reasonable assumptions are also acceptable). Given this
assumption, the initial vertical stress of the soil is equal to 18*1.5=27 kPa. The soil
vertical strain can be calculated as follows:

Cc '
+ '
0.2 27 + 21
v = log 0 av
= log = 3.1%
1 + e0 '
0 1 + 0.6 27