Soil action on a retaining wall

Interactions between soils and retaining structures are complex and essential for the stability of civil engineering structures. The study of earth thrust, whether at rest, active or passive, enables us to understand and anticipate the forces exerted by the soil on structures such as retaining walls. This article explores the different states of horizontal stress, the associated calculation methods, and the effects of ground displacements. The concepts of thrust and abutment coefficients, as well as the classical Coulomb, Rankine and Boussinesq methods, are discussed in detail to provide a comprehensive understanding of these phenomena.