Abstract
A numerical method, based on the smeared shear band technique, is presented for the localized deformation analysis. In contrast to the conventional shear band analyses, the present research considered two shear bands for a localized element. The constitutive relation was formulated by coupling the two bands, and was named Coupled Shear Band Method. This method was applied to simulate experimental research on the seismic active earth pressure developed against a retaining wall supporting dry sand as backfill. The method can capture the progressive failure characteristics of the soil mass efficiently. The numerical results show that the simultaneous mobilization of the maximum angle of internal friction along the failure surface does not take place. The nature of the failure zone formation was seen to govern the distribution of the active stress. Good agreement has been achieved with the experimental observations regarding various earth pressure parameters using the method of analysis presented as compared to the analysis that assumes continuity of stress in the backfill throughout the entire deformation field.
