Earth pressure behind a gravity retaining wall

This paper presents the results of an investigation of the static earth pressure behind a gravity wall with dry cohesionless backfill. A comparison is made between the results of finite element analyses and those of several experimental studies on wall models. The results of the investigation indicate that current design methods do not account adequately for some parameters that may influence the magnitude and distribution of the earth pressure. The study shows also that the design of earth‐retaining structures should be based on the amount of displacement permitted in the structure.