Abstract: The traditional seismic earth pressure theory mainly studies the earth pressure when the displacement of the retaining wall reaches the limit state under seismic loading conditions. However, whether the retaining wall can reach the limit displacement state or not is often related to the displacement mode. In order to better reflect the actual engineering situation, it is necessary to study the theory of seismic non-limit earth pressures. Based on the horizontal layer element method, the improved pseudo-dynamic method of seismic non-limit active earth pressure distribution for the retaining wall under the translational displacement mode is established, which considers the variations of friction angles with the displacement of retaining walls. The analytical expressions of the resultant force and the action point of seismic active earth pressure are also proposed. The results of the seismic earth pressure distribution predicted by this method are compared with the measured data of previous model test results. The calculated earth pressure distribution curve is in good agreement with the measured distribution, which verifies the rationality of the proposed method. The research results have certain reference value for developing the theory of nonlimit earth pressure and guiding the seismic design of slope engineering.

Key words: Earthquake, Rigid Retaining Wall, Translational Movement Condition, PseudoDynamic Condition