The calculation of earth pressure on baffle between two piles considering three-dimensional soil arching effects

The reasonable calculation of the earth pressure on the inter-pile retaining plates is of vital importance to the design of anti-slide pile projects. In this paper, it is assumed that the shape of the soil arch is a parabola, and the three-dimensional soil arch effect of the backfill behind the pile is considered. A corresponding calculation model is proposed. Based on the layer method, the force analysis of the micro-element soil behind the pile is carried out, and the expression of the earth pressure on the inter-pile retaining plate is obtained. The results of parameter analysis show that the earth pressure on the retaining plate presents a distribution pattern of first increasing and then decreasing in the depth direction of the soil, with the peak position approximately at 2/3 of the height of the cantilever section; the earth pressure of the baffle increases with the increase of the clear distance between piles. Moreover, the magnitude of earth pressure shows a positive correlation with both the clear spacing between piles and the inclination angle of the backfill surface.