Determination of Spatial Variability in d70 Grain Size Values Using High Density Site Measurements

Research to the failure mechanism piping (internal, backward erosion) in the Netherlands shows that the dikes require costly berms to meet the required safety standards. According to the Sellmeijer piping-formula, the d70 (70%-quantile of the grain size distribution by weight) is an important parameter in the resistance against piping. Therefore...

Analyzing Spatial Variability of Geologic Profiles for Four Sites in Hong Kong

This paper investigates the spatial variability characteristics of geologic profiles, including variations in thickness of marine clay deposits and rockhead levels, based on borehole data obtained from four sites in Hong Kong. The numbers of boreholes are approximately 100 in two cases, while the other two cases comprise more than 300 boreholes...

Reliability-Based Design of Spatially Variable Undrained Slopes

Spatial variability and model uncertainty are considered the major sources of geotechnical uncertainty. The primary objective of this paper is to provide slope stability investigators with a robust reliability framework that takes into consideration the combined uncertainty of spatial variability and model uncertainty. To achieve this objective,...

Advances in reliability analysis of the piping failure mechanism of flood defences in the Netherlands

Piping is one of the main failure mechanisms for flood defences. This paper gives an overview of recent developments in the reliability analysis for this mechanism in the Netherlands. These comprise new approaches in the treatment of heterogeneity of the subsoil with respect to the failure process, the inclusion of information from field...

Mining the ocean floor: Managing geological uncertainty

As land resources decrease, commodity prices increase, and technology evolves, deep sea mining is becoming a viable alternative to meet the increasing demand for minerals. Successful deep sea mining operations are built on sound identification of the resource, proper selection of equipment, a thoughtful production plan, and good project...

Effect of Spatial Variability on Maintenance and Repair Decisions for Concrete Structures

Due to the increasingly number of elder and deteriorating structures, maintenance is becoming a serious and more complex problem in most of the countries. A lot of studies have been carried out in this area for years. However, the fact that a lot of parameters show spatial random variability, which is linked with dependencies on temperature, w/c...

Effect of Spatial Variability on Buried Footings

Natural soil is one of the most variable materials as a result of physical and chemical changes. The variation in soil properties significantly affects the failure mechanism and bearing capacity of a footing. This effect is further complicated by considering the spatial correlation of the soil properties. The purpose of this study is to...