Short Note on Active Earth Pressure & Passive Earth Pressure

Active earth pressure & passive earth pressure 

i. Active earth pressure When a retaining wall holds back a mass of clean , dry sand the sand has tendency to slip laterally in order to seek its natural slope or angle of repose thus exerting a push against the wall . This kind of pressure is called active earth pressure. It is a minimum pressure and it occurs when the retaining wall is at point of failure by moving away from the retained material.

ii. Passive earth pressure The pressure which the soil develops in response to movement of retaining wall towards it is called passive earth pressure. It is the maximum pressure to which the retaining wall subjects before its failure by heaving up of the soil.