GATE CE 2015 Set 2 — Question 51
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Geotechnical Engineering → Earth Pressure → Active Earth Pressure
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Question
A high retaining wall having a smooth vertical back face retains a layered horizontal backfill. Top thick layer of the backfill is sand having an angle of internal friction, while the bottom layer is thick clay with cohesion, . Assume unit weight for both sand and clay as . The total active earth pressure per unit length of the wall (in kN/m) is:
Correct answer
(A) 150
Solution
The total active earth pressure is the area of the active pressure diagram.Layer 1: Sand ( to )
At :
At (in sand):
Force Layer 2: Clay ( to )
For clay, assume . .
Active pressure
At (in clay): .
At : .
Force Total Force:
At :
At (in sand):
Force Layer 2: Clay ( to )
For clay, assume . .
Active pressure
At (in clay): .
At : .
Force Total Force:
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