Active and Passive Pressure
The active state occurs when a soil mass is allowed to relax or move outward to the point of reaching the limiting strength of the soil; that is, the soil is at the failure condition in extension. Thus it is the minimum lateral soil pressure that may be exerted. Conversely, the passive state occurs when a soil mass is externally forced to the limiting strength (that is, failure) of the soil in compression. It is the maximum lateral soil pressure that may be exerted. Thus active and passive pressures define the minimum and maximum possible pressures respectively that may be exerted in a horizontal plane.
Read more about this topic: Lateral Earth Pressure
Famous quotes containing the words active, passive and/or pressure:
“This teaching is not practical in the sense in which the New Testament is. It is not always sound sense in practice. The Brahman never proposes courageously to assault evil, but patiently to starve it out. His active faculties are paralyzed by the idea of caste, of impassable limits of destiny and the tyranny of time.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“It is my conviction that in general women are more snobbish and class conscious than men and that these ignoble traits are a product of men’s attitude toward women and women’s passive acceptance of this attitude.”
—Mary Barnett Gilson (1877–?)
“Much of the pressure contemporary parents feel with respect to dressing children in designer clothes, teaching young children academics, and giving them instruction in sports derives directly from our need to use our children to impress others with our economic surplus. We find “good” rather than real reasons for letting our children go along with the crowd.”
—David Elkind (20th century)