Solution to active earth pressure of narrow cohesionless backfill against rigid retaining walls under translation mode

In urban construction, retaining walls are usually constructed adjacent to existing structures, and the width of the backfill is limited. In such cases, classical earth pressure theories, such as those by Coulomb or Rankine, are unsuitable. The active earth pressure acting on the retaining wall of a narrow backfill under the translation mode was explored in this study using a finite element limit analysis. The results show that due to the boundary conditions, reflective shear bands occur in the backfill when it is failing. The number of reflective shear bands is determined. Moreover, a theoretical method is proposed using the limit equilibrium method to estimate the active earth pressure acting on the retaining wall of the narrow backfill. The influence of the parameters on the failure mechanisms and the active earth pressure is also discussed.