A Practical Method for Rapid Assessment of Reliability in Deep Excavation Projects

Abstract

Many reliability analysis methods require complicated mathematical process or access to comprehensive datasets. Such shortcomings limit their application to solve the geotechnical problems. It is of advantage to develop simpler reliability analysis methods that can be employed in the design of geotechnical structures. The current study suggests a simple framework for quick reliability analysis of deep excavation projects in urban areas, which is a common geotechnical problem. To investigate the feasibility of the presented method, five case studies were considered. It is worth mentioning that the horizontal displacement at the crest of excavation was set to be the main system response. For verification purposes, the results were compared to the random set, point estimate and Monte Carlo methods results, which are also used for reliability analysis of geotechnical problems. All case studies were recognized as projects of high importance and monitored during the excavation process. The field observations confirmed that the estimated probabilities of excessive deformations were reasonable for all cases. Comparing the modeling results and field measurements suggests the feasibility of the presented method for evaluating the reliability of deep urban excavations and estimating the horizontal displacement at the crest of excavations.