Incorporating site variability into LRFD design of piles

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Publication Title
Incorporating site variability into LRFD design of piles

Abstract
The properties of geotechnical materials are inherently variable due to many uncertainty sources including spatial variability, measurement error, statistical error, and model bias. This study focused on evaluating the site variability from cone penetration tests (CPT), and its implementation into the Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) of pile foundations. For this purpose, data from six project sites with multi CPT tests performed at different locations were collected. The spatial variability of CPT data for each site was evaluated using the semi-variogram. The coefficient of variation due to spatial variability (COVR,spatial) was determined for each site. The total coefficient of variation (COVR,total) for each site was then estimated from COVR,spatial and the method coefficient of variation (COVR,method), which were then used to calibrate the resistance factors (ϕspatial, ϕtotal) for application to LRFD design of piles. The results of this study demonstrated the significance of incorporating site variability into LRFD design of piles. For sites with lower site variability than the design method (i.e., COVR,spatial < COVR,method), the value of the COVR,total will be decreased, and hence the resistance factors (ϕspatial or ϕtotal) will be increased (credit), and vice versa.
Authors
Murad Y. Abu-Farsakh; M. H. Rahman

Published In

18th European Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ECSMGE2024)

Theme

A - New developments on structural design

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