Theoretical predictions for passive earth pressure have been developed by some researchers based on the rigid plasticity theory. However, those predictions have yet to be adequately confirmed by experiments particularly for the case of a large wall oblique angle α and large wall friction angle δ. In this paper, the results of laboratory passive earth pressure model tests are compared with predictions based on the rigid plasticity theory. The purpose of this paper is to examine how far the rigid plasticity theory can be applied to passive earth pressure problems. The test results demonstrated that the observed failure zone was similar to that predicted by the characteristics method based on the rigid plasticity theory. Except for the lowest part of the passive wall, the earth pressure increased linearly with depth. For a small wall friction angle δ, passive earth pressure coefficients Kp were almost equal to the theoretical predictions, whereas in the case of a large angle δ those were smaller than the theoretical ones. Because of this difference, progressive failure is suggested. It was demonstrated in the figures of strain distribution and displacement contours of the sand before the peak load.
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