Zum Erddruck auf Lawinenschutzgalerien

On the earth pressure on avalanche protection galleries.

Structural damage of avalanche protection galleries is often attributed to misjudgement of the prevailing earth pressure. In this paper we present an analytical expression for the prediction of the earth pressure on avalanche protection galleries. The main assumption is that the soil surrounding the gallery is in a Rankine stress state. Under further assumption of a frictionless contact between soil and gallery, a distinct peak in the contact pressure on the gallery can be predicted. These findings are supported by a numerical parametric study with finite elements.