Reliability analysis of the bearing capacity of a shallow foundation resting on cohesive soil

Abstract

In recent years, there have been considerable advances in the characterization of soil variability and its application in geotechnical designs. It is recognized that in using reliability-based design it is necessary to consider all sources of uncertainty in the analysis and incorporate them in the geotechnical design. It is also necessary to examine the reliability-based approach in relation to deterministic approaches. In this study, cone tip resistance (q c ) data obtained from a static cone penetration test on a stiff clay deposit are analyzed by using random field theory; and statistical parameters, such as the mean, variance, and autocorrelation function, are estimated in evaluating the reliability of the allowable bearing capacity of a strip footing founded on the above deposit.Key words: reliability-based design, soil variability, random field, variance, autocorrelation function, bearing capacity.