Elastic dynamic earth pressures induced by earthquakes are computed by analyzing a wall-foundation-backfill system. Both foundation and backfill are considered viscoelastic; the foundation is a semi-infinite space and the backfill, a uniform layer of constant thickness. A simple analytical solution is developed by assuming an approximate backfill-foundation interface condition and adopting the least squares method. The response functions computed indicate the large influence of the various system parameters on earth pressure, including the foundation characteristics,as well as wall geometry and mass. The transient response of the system is also studied by obtaining spectra for base shear. A large number of seismic records are analyzed to obtain average spectra and a total of three correction functions are used to take into account the foundation stiffness and density as well as wall inertia. A simple design method is proposed to estimate the maximum base shear.
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