Large-Scale Passive Earth Pressure Load-Displacement Tests and Numerical Simulation
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 136, Issue 12
Abstract
Passive earth pressure is recorded in two different tests, using a 6.7-m long, 2.9-m wide soil container. In these tests, sand with 7% silt content is densely compacted behind a moveable test wall to a supported height of 1.68 m (5.5 ft). Lateral load is applied to the vertical reinforced concrete wall section, which displaces freely along with the adjacent backfill in the horizontal and vertical directions. The recorded passive resistance is found to increase until a peak is reached at a horizontal displacement of 2.7–3% of the supported backfill height, decreasing thereafter to a residual level. In this test configuration, a triangular failure wedge shape is observed, due to the low mobilized wall-soil friction. Backfill strength parameters are estimated based on this observed failure mechanism. From these estimates, along with triaxial and direct shear test data, theoretical predictions are compared with the measured passive resistance. Using the test data, a calibrated finite-element model is employed to produce additional load-displacement curves for a wider range of practical applications (e.g., potential bridge deck displacement during a strong earthquake). Hyperbolic model approximations of the load-displacement curves are also provided.
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Acknowledgments
Support for this research was provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF) NEES-R Grant No. NSF0420347 under the overall direction of Professor M. Saiid Saiidi of the University of Nevada at Reno (UNR). Professor Scott Ashford kindly allowed for use of the large soil container. Financial support for the first writer in the form of the UCSD Robert and Natalie Englekirk Fellowship is also gratefully acknowledged. Dr. Chris Latham, Dr. Azadeh Bozorgzadeh, and Dr. Anoosh Shamsabadi provided much help and insight during the planning stages. The success of the experimental phase would not have been possible without the help of Alex Sherman, Lonnie Rodriguez, Mike Dyson, and the entire Englekirk Structural Engineering Center staff. Dr. Arul Arulmoli of Earth Mechanics, Inc., Joe Vettel of Geocon Inc., and James Ward and Allan Santos of Leighton and Associates are all gratefully acknowledged for services donated regarding backfill material testing.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 136 • Issue 12 • December 2010
Pages: 1634 - 1643
Copyright
© 2010 ASCE.
History
Received: May 17, 2008
Accepted: May 4, 2010
Published online: Nov 15, 2010
Published in print: Dec 2010
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