LATERAL EARTH PRESSURES EXERTED BY COMPACTED GRANULAR MATERIALS

The paper describes refined techniques for measuring lateral earth pressures, with particular attention being given to those pressures exerted by compacted granular materials. Experiments were carried out under laboratory conditions on a small (300 mm high) retaining wall, and the results are compared with those obtained behind a large (14 M high) retaining wall, which formed part of a motorway construction. Particular mention is made concerning the calibration of the measuring devices. Earth pressure coefficients for the at-rest, active and passive conditions are tabulated for three granular materials and for different states of compaction. Pressure distributions across and down the walls are investigated for varying wall movements, and under differing amounts of compaction. The laboratory and full-scale results give very reasonable agreement, and it is suggested that the more usual methods of earth pressure calculation for the structural design of bridge abutments, wing walls and retaining walls, be revised. To this end, a design method is presented which could be readily used by practising engineers. /Author/TRRL/

Language

  • English

Media Info

  • Features: Figures; References; Tables;
  • Pagination: p. 1-6
  • Serial:
    • Volume: 8

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00164104
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Source Agency: Transport and Road Research Laboratory (TRRL)
  • Files: ITRD, TRIS, ATRI
  • Created Date: Jun 14 1978 12:00AM