ABSTRACT
The magnitude and distribution of the lateral pressure acting on retaining structures or foundations are important for the design of excavation bracing, retaining walls, waterfront, and near shore structures. Earth pressure is the major contributor to overall lateral pressure, and it can be divided into the three scenarios as follows: active earth pressure, passive earth pressure, and earth pressure at rest. There are two basic approaches for estimating the lateral earth pressures, namely the theoretical and empirical approaches. Theoretical approaches for estimation of lateral earth pressure include Charles Coulomb's earth pressure theory, W. J. M. Rankine's earth pressure theory Limit analysis and Elasticity theory. The chapter discusses a graphical procedure which is based on the Coulomb theory, proposed by K. Culmann. With the active earth pressures, it also can be used for four different loading conditions including uniform backfill soil, surcharge load, point load and combination of all three loads.
