Study of active earth pressure against embankment retaining wall of limited backfill

The finite difference numerical model was built by FLAC3D software to investigate the active earth pressures acting on the embankment retaining wall of limited backfill. The process of the earth pressure from at-rest to active limit equilibrium conditions was discussed. The development of sliding surface, the displacement required by the active condition, the magnitude and distribution of active earth pressure were all studied. It is shown that the displacement required by the active condition increases with the increase of the slope of embankment. The critical inclination of sliding surface is less than the theoretical value that derived by Coulomb theory. When the slope of embankment is larger than 30°, the lower part of sliding surface develops along the bedrock surface, while the upper part of sliding surface develops in filling soils. When the inclination of bedrock is larger than the critical value, the Coulomb earth pressure theory will overestimate the earth pressure. © 2019, Editorial Board of Journal of Huazhong University of Science and Technology. All right reserved.