GATE CE 2018 Set 1 — Question 57
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Geotechnical Engineering → Earth Pressure → Active Earth Pressure
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Question
A rigid smooth retaining wall of height m with vertical backface retains saturated clay as backfill. The saturated unit weight and undrained cohesion of the backfill are kN/m and kPa, respectively. The difference in the active lateral forces on the wall (in kN per meter length of wall, up to two decimal places), before and after the occurrence of tension cracks is ______
Correct answer
45 to 49
Solution
For saturated clay (), the coefficient of active earth pressure .
The active earth pressure at depth is given by:Given:
m
kN/m
kPaDepth of tension crack () where :Before tension cracks: The net active force () includes the negative pressure zone.After tension cracks: The negative pressure zone is ignored ( for ).At m, kPa.Difference = kN/m.
(Note: This difference is equal to the area of the negative pressure triangle: )
The active earth pressure at depth is given by:Given:
m
kN/m
kPaDepth of tension crack () where :Before tension cracks: The net active force () includes the negative pressure zone.After tension cracks: The negative pressure zone is ignored ( for ).At m, kPa.Difference = kN/m.
(Note: This difference is equal to the area of the negative pressure triangle: )
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