Effect of Tension Crack Formation on Active Earth Pressure Encountered in Unsaturated Retaining Wall Backfills
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 147, Issue 2
Abstract
Despite the potentially significant influence of tension cracks on earth pressures, almost all of the existing methods either do not account for cracks or treat them in a simplistic manner when dealing with unsaturated soils. The main objective of this study is to quantify the influence of tension crack formation on active earth pressures (AEP) in unsaturated backfills. A limit equilibrium-based framework for the determination of the tension crack depth (TCD) and AEP in unsaturated backfills is proposed. An effective stress approach is employed along with logarithmic spiral failure geometry to assess the influence of the interdependence between normal stress distributions, suction stress, and soil tensile strength on the formation of tension cracks under steady flow conditions. The maximum TCD is explicitly determined by evaluating a normal stress distribution and associated tensile stresses mobilized along the critical failure surface in retained backfill, with or without tensile strength. A parametric study is performed on a hypothetical marginal backfill to investigate the impact of a tension crack on AEP with and without considering the soil tensile strength under different flow rates. The results indicate that the formation of tension cracks will significantly increase AEP, while considering a nonzero tensile strength as a function of the matric suction will decrease the TCD and AEP. Upon comparison, it is shown that classic earth pressure theories may significantly underestimate or overestimate TCD in unsaturated backfills. The proposed approach presents a useful tool for forensic studies of failed structures and determining the depth of cracks in existing retaining earth structures that are to be rehabilitated.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
References
Alonso, E. E., E. F. O. Iturralde, and E. E. Romero. 2007. “Dilatancy of coarse granular aggregates.” In Experimental unsaturated soil mechanics, 119–135. Berlin: Springer.
Baker, R. 1981. “Tensile strength, tension cracks, and stability of slopes.” Soils Found. 21 (2): 1–17. https://doi.org/10.3208/sandf1972.21.2_1.
Baker, R., and M. Garber. 1977. “Variational approach to slope stability.” In Vol. 2 of Proc., 9th Int. Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, 9–12. Tokyo: Japan Society for Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering.
Benmebarek, N., S. Benmebarek, R. Kastner, and A. H. Soubra. 2006. “Passive and active earth pressures in the presence of groundwater flow.” Géotechnique 56 (3): 149–158. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.2006.56.3.149.
Bolton, M. D. 1986. “Strength and dilatancy of sands.” Géotechnique 36 (1): 65–78. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.1986.36.1.65.
Bordini, M., C. Meisina, R. Valentino, N. Lu, M. Bittelli, and S. Chersich. 2015. “Hydrological factors affecting rainfall-induced shallow landslides: From the field monitoring to a simplified slope stability analysis.” Eng. Geol. 193 (Jul): 19–37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2015.04.006.
Chen, P., B. Mirus, N. Lu, and J. W. Godt. 2017. “Effect of hydraulic hysteresis on stability of infinite slopes under steady infiltration.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 143 (9): 04017041. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001724.
Chowdhury, R. N., and S. Zhang. 1991. “Tension cracks and slope failure.” In Proc., Int. Conf.: Slope Stability Engineering, Developments and Applications, 27–32. London: Thomas Telford.
Duncan, J. M., S. G. Wright, and T. L. Brandon. 2014. Soil strength and slope stability. 2nd ed. New York: Wiley.
Gao, Y., W. Song, F. Zhang, and H. Qin. 2015. “Limit analysis of slopes with cracks: Comparisons of results.” Eng. Geol. 188 (Apr): 97–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2015.01.013.
Gardner, W. R. 1958. “Some steady-state solutions of the unsaturated moisture flow equation with application to evaporation from a water table.” Soil Sci. 85 (4): 228–232. https://doi.org/10.1097/00010694-195804000-00006.
Kim, W. S., and R. H. Borden. 2013. “Numerical simulation of MSE wall behavior induced by surface-water infiltration.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 139 (12): 2110–2124. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0000927.
Koerner, R. M., and G. R. Koerner. 2013. “A data base, statistics and recommendations regarding 171 failed geosynthetic reinforced mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls.” Geotext. Geomembr. 40 (Oct): 20–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geotexmem.2013.06.001.
Kötter, F. 1903. “Die Bestimmung des Drucks an gekrümmten Gleitflächen, eine Aufgabe aus der Lehre vom Erddruck.” [In German.] In Sitzungsberichteder Akademie der Wissenschaften, 229–233. Berlin: Springer.
Li, Z. W., and X. L. Yang. 2018. “Active earth pressure for soils with tension cracks under steady unsaturated flow conditions.” Can. Geotech. J. 55 (12): 1850–1859. https://doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2017-0713.
Liang, W. B., J. H. Zhao, Y. Li, C. G. Zhang, and S. Wang. 2012. “Unified solution of Coulomb’s active earth pressure for unsaturated soils without crack.” Appl. Mech. Mater. 170–173: 755–761. https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.170-173.755.
Likos, W., N. Lu, and J. Godt. 2014. “Hysteresis and uncertainty in soil water-retention curve parameters.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 140 (4): 04013050. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001071.
Lu, N., J. Godt, and D. Wu. 2010. “A closed-form equation for effective stress in unsaturated soil.” Water Resour. Res. 46 (5): W05515. https://doi.org/10.1029/2009WR008646.
Lu, N., M. Kaya, B. D. Collins, and J. W. Godt. 2013. “Hysteresis of unsaturated hydromechanical properties of a silty soil.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 139 (3): 507–510. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0000786.
Lu, N., T. H. Kim, S. Sture, and W. J. Likos. 2009. “Tensile strength of unsaturated sand.” J. Eng. Mech. 135 (12): 1410–1419. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EM.1943-7889.0000054.
Lu, N., and W. J. Likos. 2004. Unsaturated soil mechanics. New York: Wiley.
McKelvey, J. A., M. Khabbazian, and D. J. Van Keuren. 2015. “Hydraulic performance of mechanically stabilized earth structures.” In Proc. Geosynthetics 2015. Roseville, MN: Industrial Fabrics Association International.
Michalowski, R. L. 2013. “Stability assessment of slopes with cracks using limit analysis.” Can. Geotech. J. 50 (10): 1011–1021. https://doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2012-0448.
Mualem, Y. 1976. “A new model for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated porous media.” Water Resour. Res. 12 (3): 513–522. https://doi.org/10.1029/WR012i003p00513.
Ng, C. W. W., H. Sadeghi, and F. Jafarzadeh. 2017. “Compression and shear strength characteristics of compacted loess at high suctions.” Can. Geotech. J. 54 (5): 690–699. https://doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2016-0347.
Pufahl, D., D. Fredlund, and H. Rahardjo. 1983. “Lateral earth pressures in expansive clay soils.” Can. Geotech. J. 20 (2): 228–241. https://doi.org/10.1139/t83-027.
Shahrokhabadi, S., F. Vahedifard, E. Ghazanfari, and M. Foroutan. 2019. “Earth pressure profiles in unsaturated soils under transient flow.” Eng. Geol. 260 (Oct): 105218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2019.105218.
Stockton, E., B. A. Leshchinsky, M. J. Olsen, and T. M. Evans. 2019. “Influence of both anisotropic friction and cohesion on the formation of tension cracks and stability of slopes.” Eng. Geol. 249 (Jan): 31–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2018.12.016.
Tang, L., Z. Zhao, Z. Luo, and Y. Sun. 2019. “What is the role of tensile cracks in cohesive slopes?” J. Rock Mech. Geotech. Eng. 11 (2): 314–324. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrmge.2018.09.007.
Terzaghi, K. 1943. Theoretical soil mechanics. New York: Wiley.
Utili, S. 2013. “Investigation by limit analysis on the stability of slopes with cracks.” Géotechnique 63 (2): 140–154. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.11.P.068.
Vahedifard, F., B. A. Leshchinsky, K. Mortezaei, and N. Lu. 2015. “Active earth pressures for unsaturated retaining structures.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 141 (11): 04015048. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001356.
Vahedifard, F., B. A. Leshchinsky, S. Sehat, and D. Leshchinsky. 2014. “Impact of cohesion on seismic design of geosynthetic-reinforced earth structures.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 140 (6): 04014016. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001099.
Vahedifard, F., D. Leshchinsky, and C. L. Meehan. 2013. “Displacement-based internal design of geosynthetic-reinforced earth structures subjected to seismic loading conditions.” Géotechnique 63 (6): 451–462. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.11.P.130.
Vahedifard, F., K. Mortezaei, B. A. Leshchinsky, D. Leshchinsky, and N. Lu. 2016. “Role of suction stress on service state behavior of geosynthetic-reinforced soil structures.” Transp. Geotech. 8 (Sep): 45–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trgeo.2016.02.002.
Valentine, R. J. 2013. “An assessment of the factors that contribute to the poor performance of geosynthetic-reinforced earth retaining walls.” In Proc., Int. Symp. on Design and Practice of Geosynthetic-Reinforced Soil Structures, 318–327. Lancaster, PA: DEStech.
van Genuchten, M. T. 1980. “A closed-form equation for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 44 (5): 892–898. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1980.03615995004400050002x.
Yoo, C., and H. Jung. 2006. “Case history of geosynthetic reinforced segmental retaining wall failure.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 132 (12): 1538–1548. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2006)132:12(1538).
Zeh, R. M., and K. J. Witt. 2005. “Suction-controlled tensile strength of compacted clays.” In Proc., 16th Int. Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, 2347–2350. Amsterdam, Netherlands: IOS Press.
Zhang, C., J. Zhao, Q. Zhang, and F. Xu. 2010. “Unified solutions for unsaturated soil shear strength and active earth pressure.” In Experimental and applied modeling of unsaturated soils, Geotechnical special publication No. 202, edited by L. R. Hoyos, X. Zhang, and A. J. Puppala, 218–224. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 24, 2020
Accepted: Aug 20, 2020
Published online: Dec 11, 2020
Published in print: Feb 1, 2021
Discussion open until: May 11, 2021
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.