Theory of earth pressure against rigid retaining walls considering translational movement effect

Considering the movement effect of translational wall, a new method for calculating the earth pressure against rigid retaining walls was proposed. Based on the translation effect on the internal friction angle of the backfill and the outer friction angle on the soil-wall interface, the relationship between the friction angles and the wall movement was obtained. By analyzing the forces on the most unfavorable soil wedge, the formula for calculating earth pressure in the non-limit state was established. Comparison of the calculated results with the measured results from model tests show that the proposed method can provide a good prediction of the earth pressure behind rigid retaining wall under translation mode.