Why Earth pressure at rest is used for basement slab wall, bridge abutment?
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Why Earth pressure at rest is used for basement slab wall, bridge abutment?
AdityaBhandakkar
If the wall is rigid and cannot be move when the pressure exerted on the wall, then the soil behind the wall is in the state of static equilibrium. This case is called rest earth pressure.
For bridges, slab walls and Abutments is soil mass or backfill with static equilibrium is required because it can bear the heavy load. Thus for safety point of view in construction pressure at rest is considered. In this case, all the pressures are being exerted uniformly on the retaining wall.
There are two types of conditions developed
For normally consolidated clay,
K= 1- sin(¢)
For overconsolidated clay
K(overconsolidated )= K(normally consolidated clay) x √OCR
OCR= OVERCONSOLIDATION RATIO
Kuldeep Singh
Earth pressure at rest is used for the design of underground structures, be abutments, etc. because it is expected that there would be no lateral displacement in the soil mass after construction is complete and during the life of the structure.
Also, if you test the earth pressure in the field around these structures, it matches very well with the calculated earth pressure at rest for normally consolidated soils.