Civil Engineering Association

Lateral Earth Pressure Coefficients for Anchored Sheet Pile Walls

Conventional methods used for the design of anchored sheet pile walls are based on the lateral force and moment equilibrium
of active and passive earth pressures and anchor force. Although it has been known for decades that the stress concentration occurs around
the anchor level because of the restricted wall movements, this stress concentration is not considered in determining the lateral earth pressures.
A parametric study using conventional and numerical methods was performed to investigate the behavior of single-level anchored sheet
pile walls, and the lateral earth pressures, wall bending moments, and anchor forces were analyzed. The study results indicate that the conventional
methods for the conditions considered and cases studied overestimate the wall bending moments, whereas the anchor forces are underestimated.
New lateral earth pressure coefficients that consider the stress concentration around the anchor level were developed and proposed to
be used in the design of single-level anchored sheet pile walls to provide more realistic earth pressure distributions acting on the wall and to
obtain more accurate wall designs.