Seismic Active Earth Pressure in c-Φ Backfill behind Nonvertical Retaining Wall considering Logarithmic Spiral Failure Surface

Abstract

A rigid nonvertical retaining wall with horizontal backfill is subjected to a seismic load following a pseudo-static approach considering a uniform surcharge. The theoretical analysis is conducted by considering a more realistic logarithmic spiral failure surface following a limit equilibrium-based approach. Generalized formulations are established to calculate the active earth pressure expressed in terms of normalized coefficients. The effect of cohesion and internal angle of friction on the active earth pressure has also been studied and observed to decrease the active earth pressure thus reducing the dimensions of the wall. The parametric study is conducted to understand the variation of the earth pressure. The point of application of the total active thrust is also determined considering the seismic effect. The results obtained from the analysis for the active earth pressure were found to be in good agreement with the previous studies and was observed that the results of height of application of total active thrust obtained were higher in comparison to the existing literature.