Three-dimensional passive earth pressures by kinematical approach

Abdul-Hamid Soubra (1) , Pierre Regenass (2)

1 GeM - Institut de Recherche en Génie Civil et Mécanique
2 ENSAIS - Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Industries de Strasbourg

The 3D passive earth pressure problem is investigated by the upper-bound method in limit analysis.Three kinematically admissible failure mechanisms referred to as M1, Mn, and Mnt are considered for thecalculation schemes. The M1 mechanism is an extension into three dimensions of the classical 2D Coulombmechanism. The Mn mechanism is a generalization of the M1 mechanism and is composed of a sequence ofrigid blocks. Finally, the Mnt mechanism is a more elaborate mechanism in which the final block of the Mnmechanism is truncated by two portions of right circular cones. The lowest upper-bound solutions given by thepresent analysis are compared with other authors’ results and presented in a form of design tables relating thegeometrical parameters, soil properties, and the 3D passive earth pressure coefficients.

Domaines: Mécanique [physics.med-ph]; Matériaux

Abdul-Hamid Soubra, Pierre Regenass. Three-dimensional passive earth pressures by kinematical approach. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 2000, 126 (11), pp.969-978. ⟨10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2000)126:11(969)⟩. ⟨hal-01007383⟩