Abstract
Static and seismic passive earth pressure coefficients for the general case of an inclined wall and a sloping cohesionless backfill were computed by using finite-element lower-bound limit analysis based on second-order cone programming (SOCP). The comparison with the best existing upper-bound solution and the widely accepted solution obtained by the method of stress characteristics has shown that the present lower-bound solutions can provide a safe estimate of the passive earth pressures. Therefore, combining present results and upper-bound solutions can bracket the true value of passive earth pressures. In addition, design tables are presented that allow geotechnical engineers to easily use the present results in practice. (C) 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.