Effect of Uncertainties of Improved Soil Shear Strength on the Reliability of Embankments
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 139, Issue 4
Abstract
The strength variability of soils improved by lime-cement columns is very high, and assessment of the reliability is associated with high uncertainty. Previous research on natural soils has shown that variability has a major impact on the reliability of geotechnical systems. However, concerning ground improvement with lime-cement columns, the effect of the uncertainties associated with improved strength properties on the reliability is unknown. This paper addresses the integration of reliability-based design in the design of embankments founded on soil improved by lime-cement columns by an analysis of a project conducted in Sweden. The uncertainties associated with estimating the strength property based on results from cone penetration tests and their effect on the assessed system reliability are addressed and discussed. The use of variance reduction with respect to the spatial variability of the shear strength of the columns was found to have a major influence on the assessed system reliability. Furthermore, it was found that the transformation uncertainty from measurements based on cone penetration tests has a significant impact on the assessed system reliability. System reliability cannot be improved significantly simply by performing a large number of tests.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the Development Fund of the Swedish Construction Industry and the Swedish National Road Administration Road 73 Project. In addition, special thanks are extended to Håkan Stille and Per-Evert Bengtsson for their valuable comments on the manuscript.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 139 • Issue 4 • April 2013
Pages: 619 - 632
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 18, 2011
Accepted: Jun 22, 2012
Published online: Aug 1, 2012
Published in print: Apr 1, 2013
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