BEng Civil Engineering

Geotechnical Design (TC60034E)

Problems Assignment
Set 3-Lateral Earth Pressure and Retaining Structures

Issue date 29th Nov 2016

Deadline for submission 1 pm Thursday 15th Dec 2016
Weighting 33% of coursework1
Module leader: Dr Kourosh Behzadian

Task of the assignment:

You are expected to solve the following problems. This assignment can be written by MS Word or by hand. You
can have the option to use MS Excel for solving the problem but if MS Excel is used, detailed description must be
provided to illustrate the analysis/formulas used. Finally, briefly compare and discuss about the solutions
obtained in different states.

Assessment criteria:
You are required to do the given assignment as solving problems. The written assignment is evaluated based on
knowledge and understanding of the core essential elements of the module. Apply numerical and analytical
techniques to solve a range of different problems and show understanding of their application to a variety of
engineering problems. The following criteria grid is used for the assessment of the assignment.

Criteria Issues Mark

(100
marks)
Application and Clear understanding and analysis of the problem given. Application of correct 20
Understanding mathematical concepts.
(70 marks) Working and method correct and clearly demonstrated. 50
Result and Outcome: Correct result obtained. 10
Style and structure
(30 marks) Correct use of standard mathematical conventions (symbols, signs, formulae, labels 10
etc.) Working and methods clearly shown.

The use of appropriate language and expression within the work to convey ideas and 10
arguments.

Submission:
This assignment need to be submitted to the module tutor by the deadline. You should make sure that you have
put your name and student number on your assignment before handing in to the module tutor.

1
As we agreed, all three assignments have equal weight of 33% of the total coursework

1
Problem: The soil profile acting against the back of a retaining concrete wall is shown in the Fig. below. The
ground surface behind the wall slops at an angle =10 to the horizontal and carries a uniformly distributed load
of 45 kPa. Assuming that Rankine's conditions apply:
(a) determine both the theoretical lateral earth pressure distribution and the distribution that would be used
in design, and sketch the two pressure distribution diagrams (hint: for pressure distribution design,
consider equivalent pore water pressure for tension crack similar to example 7.4 in the smiths book).
From the pressure distribution that would be used in design, determine the magnitude of the total thrust
that acts on the wall. Determine the point of application of the total thrust, and express it as the distance
from the base of the wall.
(b) Assume that the unit weight of the concrete is 24.5 kN/m3 and the design bearing resistance of the soil
beneath the wall has been calculated to be 320 kPa. Ignore any passive resistance from the soil in front of
the wall. Check the safety of the proposed design against by the traditional (gross pressure) method
(assume coefficient of friction between base of wall and soil is equal to tan 35)

q=45kPa

0.6m 1.5m =10

2.5m CLAY: c' =10kN/m2

g=17.5kN/m3
' =20

SAND: c' =0
2m g=19.5kN/m3
1.2m ' =35
0.8m

1.25m 1.25m

5m

The Figure not to scale