Question

For an inclined back and surcharge, if P1, is horizontal pressure and W is weight of soil wedge, then the total pressure is given by __________

(a) P=P1+W

(b) \(P=\sqrt{P_1^2+W^2}\)

(c) P=(P1+W)^2

(d) P=P1-W

This question was posed to me in an interview for internship.

This is a very interesting question from Active Earth Pressure of Cohesive Soils topic in division Failure Envelopes & Earth Pressure of Geotechnical Engineering II

Answer 1

Correct answer is (b) \(P=\sqrt{P_1^2+W^2}\)

The best explanation: For an inclined back and surcharge, if P1, is horizontal pressure and W is weight of soil wedge, then the total pressure is given by,

\(P=\sqrt{P_1^2+W^2},\)

This is due to the fact that the total pressure P is the resultant of the horizontal pressure and the weight of the wedge.