Determination of the pressure of loose soil on a retaining wall with a sloping rear face

Conclusions

• 1. During filling of the trough with sand, the normal components of the resultant thrust on the inclined wall increase in proportion to the square of the increase in height of the filling.

• 2. The increments in the normal components of the resultant thrust on the inclined wall due to a uniformly distributed load are directly proportional to the increments in the pressure due to the load.

• 3. During displacements of the inclined wall, the normal components of the thrust on the upper part of the wall tend to rise, and those on the lower part tend to fall.

• 4. Experiments reveal that the normal component of the resultant thrust on the wall rises most rapidly when the surface load is directly above the inclined wall.

• 5. Under the experimental conditions, in the distribution of stresses in the fill we noted marked deviations from the pattern obtained on the assumption that the principle of independence of action of the forces applies.

• 6. The experimental values of the ratios of the horizontal and vertical stresses within the fill depend markedly on the position of the load, and reach a maximum value in the case of one-sided loading.

• 7. It is impossible to compare the experimental results with those following from the theory of a limiting stress state (due to S. S. Golushkevich): according to Golushkevich, in the experimental conditions with α=22°,20′, α=11°10′, δ=20°20, and ϕ=33°30′, the fill behind the wall “cannot reach a limiting state of stress,” and there is no solution. This shows that the theory of limiting stress states cannot give a solution even in many cases of practical importance.