Preface; Contents; List of Principal Symbols and Abbreviations; 1 Introduction; 1.1 Background; 1.1.1 Uncertainties in Soil Properties; 1.1.2 Probabilistic Analysis of Geotechnical Structures; 1.1.3 Reliability-Based Design of Geotechnical Structures; 1.1.4 Geotechnical Site Characterization; 1.2 Objectives; 1.2.1 Uncertainty Propagation During Geotechnical Site Characterization; 1.2.2 Bayesian Framework for Geotechnical Site Characterization; 1.2.3 Prior Knowledge and Prior Distribution; 1.2.4 Probabilistic Site Characterization Using Limited Site Observation Data

1.2.5 Probabilistic Site Characterization Using a Large Number of Site Observation Data1.2.6 Probabilistic Slope Stability Analysis Using Subset Simulation; 1.2.7 Probabilistic Failure Analysis of Slope Stability; 1.3 Layout of the Book; References; 2 Literature Review; 2.1 Geotechnical Site Characterization; 2.1.1 Desk Study and Site Reconnaissance; 2.1.2 In Situ Investigation; 2.1.3 Laboratory Testing; 2.1.4 Interpretation of Observation Data and Inferring the Site Subsurface Conditions; 2.1.5 Challenges in Geotechnical Site Characterization; 2.2 Uncertainties in Soil Properties

2.2.1 Inherent Variability2.2.1.1 Lumb's Formulation; 2.2.1.2 Random Field Theory; 2.2.1.3 Statistical Homogeneity and Data Transformation; 2.2.1.4 Correlation Function and Correlation Length; 2.2.2 Measurement Errors; 2.2.3 Statistical Uncertainty; 2.2.4 Transformation Uncertainties; 2.2.5 Uncertainty Propagation; 2.3 Bayesian Approach; 2.3.1 Bayesian Mathematical Framework; 2.3.2 Prior Distribution; 2.3.2.1 Uninformative Prior Distribution; 2.3.2.2 Informative Prior Distribution; 2.3.2.3 Confidence Level of Prior Knowledge; 2.3.3 Likelihood Function; 2.3.4 Posterior Distribution

2.3.5 Updating the Probability of an Event2.4 National Geotechnical Experimentation Site (NGES) at Texas A&M University; 2.5 Probabilistic Slope Stability Analysis; 2.5.1 First-Order Second-Moment Method (FOSM); 2.5.2 First-Order Reliability Method (FORM); 2.5.3 Direct Monte Carlo Simulation (Direct MCS); 2.5.4 Subset Simulation; 2.5.4.1 Subset Simulation Procedure; 2.5.4.2 Markov Chain Monte Carlo Simulation (MCMCS); Appendix 2.1: Several Empirical Correlations Reported by Kulhawy and Mayne (1990); References; 3 Bayesian Framework for Geotechnical Site Characterization; 3.1 Introduction

3.2 Uncertainty Propagation During Geotechnical Site Characterization3.3 Uncertainty Modeling; 3.3.1 Inherent Spatial Variability; 3.3.2 Transformation Uncertainty; 3.4 Bayesian Framework; 3.5 Probability Distribution of the Design Soil Property; 3.6 The Most Probable Number of Soil Layers; 3.6.1 Bayesian Model Class Selection Method; 3.6.2 Calculation of the Evidence; 3.6.3 Calculation of Prior Probability; 3.6.4 Calculation of Probability Density Function of Site Observation Data; 3.7 Summary and Conclusions; References