Determination of passive earth pressure coefficients using limit equilibrium approach coupled with the Kötter equation

A numerical method is developed to evaluate the passive earth pressure coefficients for an inclined rigid retaining wall resting against a horizontal cohesionless backfill. A composite failure surface comprises a log spiral, and its tangent is assumed in the present study. The unique failure surface is identified based on the limit equilibrium approach coupled with the Kötter equation (published in 1903). Force equilibrium conditions are used to evaluate the magnitude of the passive thrust, whereas the moment equilibrium condition is employed to determine the location of the passive thrust. The distinctive feature of the present study is that no assumption is required to be made regarding the point of application of the passive thrust, which would otherwise be an essential criterion with respect to the several limit equilibrium based investigations available in the literature. The passive earth pressure coefficients, K p γ , are evaluated for various values of soil frictional angle ϕ , wall frictional angle δ, and wall inclination angle λ, and compared with the existing results.