EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON PASSIVE EARTH PRESSURE : Part 1 The experimental device and an example of the passive earth pressure tests by the device

Abstract

The experimental device to increase the accuracy of passive earth pressure measurement was developed, and the passive earth pressure test of the wall translating was performed. The followings are the results obtained through the test. (1) The moving wall friction angle δ_c, when the total horizontal earth pressure is at its maximum, is 0.59δ_1 in dense sand and 0.71δ_1 in loose sand (δ_1: the friction angle between sand and wall) (2) In both dense and loose sand, the horizontal earth pressure increases in proportion to the depth while the wall friction distribution shows the shape of a parabola.