Coulombs

Earth Pressure

Away From The Earth

Fill AEP

Towards backfill PEP

 More than 200 years, Coulomb (1776)

presented a theory for AEP & PEP
Assumptions :
Wall friction was taken into
account

Failure surface is
plain

Cohesion less

Coulombs active
earth pressure

RETAINING
WALL
@ Granular
soil

Surface of which is
constantly slope at
an angle with the
horizontal

W = Weight of
the soil wedge

BC is a
trial
failure
surface

F, The
resultant of
the shear &
normal
drawn to the
plane BC

Pa Active
force / unit
length of
wall,

Direction of Pa inclined at an

angle
( Angle b/w soil & wall )

P
a

Trial failure wedge to

force polygon

P
a

90

P
a

90

90

P
a

90

W
F
Force Polygon

P
a

90

90

W
F
Force Polygon

SinFangle SinWangle SinPaAngle

w
Pa
F

90

90

P
a

SinFangle SinWangle SinPaAngle

w
Pa
F

W
F
Force Polygon

Sin 90 Sin

w
Pa

Sin
Pa
xW
Sin 90


1 2
Cos Cos Sin
Pa H

2
2
Cos Sin Sin 90
/

10

15

20

25

28

0.3610

0.3448

0.333

0.3251

0.3203

0.3186

30

0.3333

0.3189

0.3085

0.3014

0.2973

0.2956

32

0.3073

0.2945

0.2853

0.2791

0.2755

0.2745

34

0.2827

0.2714

0.2633

0.2579

0.2549

0.2542

36

0.2596

0.2497

0.2426

0.2379

0.2354

0.2350

38

0.2379

0.2292

0.2230

0.219

0.2169

0.2167

40

0.2174

0.2089

0.2045

0.2011

0.1994

0.1995

42

0.1982

0.1916

0.1870

0.1841

0.1828

0.1831

Value of Ka for = 0 and = 0

 After solving
Coulombs active pressure as

1
2
Pa KaH
2
Ka = Coulombs coefficient

If

0, 0, 0

Coefficient becomes
1 sin
Ka
1 sin

Rankine
s
coefficie
nt