Active Earth Pressure on a Cylindrical Retaining Wall with Considering the Spatial Arching Effect

For an axisymmetric cylindrical retaining wall, a calculation method of the active earth pressure that considered the spatial arching effect was proposed in this study. The results showed that in the active limit state, the inclination angle of the slip surface behind the cylindrical retaining wall was greater than that of the plane retaining wall solution of Coulomb, and the active earth pressure on the cylindrical retaining wall was smaller than that of the plane retaining wall. Furthermore, the height of the active resultant force action point on the cylindrical retaining wall was higher than that of the plane retaining wall. The active earth pressure on the cylindrical retaining wall increased with the increase of radius to height ratio (r0/H), and the height of the active resultant force action point decreased with the increase of radius to height ratio (r0/H). From the perspective of engineering application, the active earth pressure on a cylindrical retaining wall with radius to height ratio (r0/H) ≥ 5 can be calculated as a plane retaining wall. The research results were verified by the existing model tests and other methods, which could provide some references for the relevant engineering design of a cylindrical retaining structure.