Abstract
The upper bound technique of limit analysis is used to obtain rationally founded solutions to the active and passive limit earth pressures for a cohesionless soil retained by a rigid wall of varying roughness. These results are found to favorably agree with known solutions including those obtained by slip-line methods. The formulation is based on a treatment of the soil as a perfectly plastic medium obeying the Mohr-Coulomb yield condition. Several failure mechanisms composed of rigid bodies and radial shearing zones are studied. A new circular shearing zone for finite soil friction is also developed. Considerable solution improvement for passive pressures on rough walls is obtained. The necessary formulation for cohesive soils and surcharge loading is also given.
