The lateral swelling of expansive soil on retaining structures investigation is very important for civil
engineer .The used soil in this research is obtained from Assiut el gadida city projects; Assiut, Egypt
.It contains SiO2, AL2O3 and Fe2O3 as main oxides.
For this research the physical and mechanical properties of soil are obtained, the purpose of the
present paper is examining the phenomenon of lateral swelling pressure developed in clay soils after
adding water to it. Also suggest useful means to predict the magnitude and distribution of those
pressures for use in retaining structure design.
The behaviour of soil is swelling after adding water then affects on retaining structure. The effect of
soil is depending on many factors as water content, depth, the type and quantity of mineral in soil
composition, the time… etc.
The results showed that the swelling pressure on retaining structure increases by increasing the
depth at soil up to depth equals 60cm and decreases beyond that. Also, the maximum swelling
pressure occurred after 48 hours measured from adding water to expansive soil.