Lateral Earth Pressure Caused by Action on Earth Retaining Wall in Clay Foundation Ground with Consideration of Construction Speed

When an embankment is constructed on soft clay ground, the lateral displacement generally called as lateral flow is generated in the foundation ground. It strongly affects stabilities of structures, such as foundation piles and underground pipes, in and on the foundation ground. The lateral earth pressure induced by the lateral flow is influenced by the magnitude and construction speed of embankment, the geometric conditions and geotechnical characteristics of the embankment, and the foundation ground, and so on. Accurate methods for estimating the lateral earth pressure have not ever been established because the lateral flow of a foundation ground shows very complicated behavior, which is caused by the interaction of shear deformation and volumetric deformation. In this paper, a series of model tests were carried out in order to clarify effects of construction speed of an embankment on the lateral earth pressure in a foundation ground were design. It was found that the magnitude and the distribution of the lateral earth pressure and its change with time are dependent on the construction speed of the embankment. It was found that a mechanism for the lateral earth pressure was generated by excess pore water pressure due to negative dilatancy induced by shear deformation under the different conditions of construction speeds of embankments.