Inferring soil stresses from plate deflection under self-weight and surcharge: an exponential modeling approach
Abstract
This study investigates the deflection of a cantilever plate fixed at one end under the action of soil self-weight and additional surcharge loads. Based on experimental observations and theoretical calculations, an exponential expression is proposed to describe the plate’s deflection profile. Differentiation of this expression yields the corresponding stress distribution, which is compared against the conventional Coulomb-Mohr earth-pressure formulation. The results show that the exponential model provides a more accurate assessment of stresses on slopes and flexible retaining walls, highlighting its practical significance for design and evaluation. The proposed exponential approach can also serve as a foundation for dynamic and seismic extensions in future studies.