Numerical modeling of three-dimensional active earth pressure acting on rigid walls

Finite element simulations were carried out to investigate three-dimensional (3D) active earth pressure forces on walls in sand. The numerical model was validated by comparison with model test results. In a parametric study the effects of deformation mode, aspect ratio, relative density and wall friction angle on the load–displacement behavior and in particular on the resultant 3D earth pressure force were investigated. A comparison with results from analytical methods showed that in most cases these methods are very conservative. The three-dimensional element slices theory proposed by Walz and Prager accords best with the numerically obtained results.