Stress-weighted spatial averaging of random fields in geotechnical risk assessment

Abstract Effects of spatial fluctuations of soil parameters are considered in a new context – considering variability of soil parameters in conjunction with non-uniform stress fields, which can locally amplify (or suppress) subsoil inhomogeneities. In this way, several design situations for the Coulomb frictional material with random tan(φ(x)) reveal a reduction of variance, which is less significant than for the standard volume averaging. When looking for an ‘effective’ random variable [tan(φ)]a – that is, a random variable, which is equivalent to the random field tan(φ(x)) – the Vanmarcke averaging by simple volume integrals is insufficient; it systematically overestimates effects of variance reduction, thus causing potentially unsafe situations. The new proposed approach is coherent, formally defined and more realistic.