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Description
At-rest lateral earth pressure is the pressure applied to a retaining wall by soil with minimal wall
movement occurring.
Calculations
The horizontal pressure applied by soil on a retaining wall is proportional to the vertical stresses
in the soil. These vertical stresses can be calculated using the unit weight of the soil and depth
beneath the ground surface, which is represented by the following equation:
σv γ⋅z
When no wall movement occurs, the vertical and horizontal pressures are related to each other
using a coefficient called the at-rest earth pressure coefficient. Figure 1 illustrates the lateral
pressure with respect to depth beneath the ground surface, and is calculated as follows:
σh ko ⋅ σv
Once the lateral earth pressure is known, the force acting on the retaining wall can be calculated
as follows:
F σh ⋅ A
Since the lateral earth pressure changes with depth, the equation should be modified to account
for this change. The best way to do this is to find a force per unit width of wall, which is
calculated as follows:
1 2
F ⋅ ko ⋅ γ ⋅ H
2
σh ko ⋅ γ ⋅ z
A dz⋅ 1
H
⌠
F ⎮ ko ⋅ γ ⋅ z dz⋅ 1
⌡
0
1 2
F ⋅ ko ⋅ γ ⋅ H
2