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Upper bound solution to seismic active earth pressure of submerged backfill subjected to partial drainage

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Abstract

In waterfront geotechnical engineering, seismic and drainage conditions must be considered in the design of retaining structures. This paper proposes a general analytical method to evaluate the seismic active earth pressure on a retaining wall with backfill subjected to partial steady seepage flow under seismic conditions. The method comprises the following steps: i) determination of the total head, ii) upper bound solution of seismic active earth thrust, and iii) deduction for the earth pressure distribution. The determination of total head h(x,z) relies on the Fourier series expansions, and the expressions of the seismic active earth thrust and pressure are derived by using the upper bound theorem. Parametric studies reveal that insufficient drainage and earthquakes are crucial factors that cause unfavorable earth pressure. The numerical results confirm the validity of the total head distribution. Comparisons indicate that the proposed method is consistent with other relevant existing methods in terms of predicting seismic active earth pressure. The method can be applied to the seismic design of waterfront retaining walls.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Disaster Reduction in Civil Engineering, College of Civil Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China

    Zhengqiang Zeng

  2. School of Civil Engineering, Shandong Jianzhu University, Jinan, 250000, China

    Shengzhi Wu

  3. State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics and Mountain River Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, China

    Cheng Lyu

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  1. Zhengqiang Zeng
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  2. Shengzhi Wu
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  3. Cheng Lyu
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Correspondence to Cheng Lyu.

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Zeng, Z., Wu, S. & Lyu, C. Upper bound solution to seismic active earth pressure of submerged backfill subjected to partial drainage. Front. Struct. Civ. Eng. 15, 1480–1493 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11709-021-0776-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11709-021-0776-y

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