Abstract: Current theories of calculating non-limit passive earth pressure is mostly based on the assumption that the back of the wall is vertical, which limits the applicable range of formulae and also neglects the effect of shear stress between soil layers during derivation. In this paper, a formula for the non-limit passive earth pressure of retaining walls with inclined rigid wall under translation mode is presented in consideration of the shear stress between soil layers based on horizontal layer analysis. Compared with the theoretical results not considering shear stress, the solution of the presented formula agrees well with experimental values, thus verifying the rationality of the formula. Whether or not to consider the shear stress between soil layers does not affect the resultant force of earth pressure, but affects the distribution of earth pressure. The earth pressure in the upper part of the wall is larger than the solution without considering the shear stress, while in the lower part smaller. Both the non-limit state passive earth pressure and the average shear stress between soil layers increase with the increase of the wall displacement ratio, the internal friction angle of backfill, and the friction angle of wall and soil. As the inclination of the wall increases, the earth pressure intensity hardly changes in the upper part of the wall, but changes apparently in the lower part. The average shear stress between soil layers decreases partially on the wall and increases at the bottom of the wall. The position of the resultant force point considering simultaneously the soil arching and shear stress is higher than the solution considering only the soil arching effect, but lower than the Coulomb solution.

Key words: retaining wall, non-limit state passive earth pressure, shear stress among soil layers, horizontal layer analysis, soil arch, Coulomb solution