Abstract
For the calculation of internal stability, the hypothesis in conventional design is on the basis of two distinct zones, which are 'active zone' and 'passive zone'. This means that there is an abrupt discontinuous transition from active to passive states across a potential failure line. The existence of a discontinuity of this nature appears physically unreasonable, especially from kinematic considerations. A series of pull-out model tests was undertaken from a wall being rotated about the toe to find the strain istribution mobilized from near the wall face into the deep, stable zone through the centre plane. With this finding of transition zone, the objective of study is aiming at identifying the likely effect of this zone in designing method by comparing with the prevailing design method.
