A STUDY OF RUPTURE SURFACE IN RETAINING WALLS IN COHESIONLESS SOILS

Abstract

The rupture surfaces in cohesionles-s, soils have been studied for rigid retaining wall, in an .:.,arth-pressure model. The study included the three types of wall displacements, i.e., rotation about the bottom, translation and rotation about the top in both active and passive states. Tests were performed in a tank of size 150 x 65 x 61 cm having glass plates of 1/2" thickness at sides. The wall consisted of a thick steel plate which could be given the desired displacements by means of a heavy driving screw. Pressure cells were used for mea-suring the lateral pressures. The results are compared with some of the important theories to investigate their applicability under different types of wall movement. The main conclusion drawn from the model study were; 1) All rupture surfaces were curved and they varied with the mode of wall movement. 2) In active cases, the failure wedges in loose sand were larger than the corres- ponding wedges in dense sand while in passive case it was the otherway round 3) Existing theories may, if judiciously selected, be used to determine the pass- ive pressures under all types of wal.1 movements