Influence of Limit State Function’s Form of Geotechnical Structures on Approximate Analytical Reliability Methods

Zhiyong Yang (), Chengchuan Yin, Xueyou Li, Lin Wang and Lei Zhang
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Zhiyong Yang: School of Civil Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University & Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519082, China
Chengchuan Yin: School of Civil Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University & Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519082, China
Xueyou Li: School of Civil Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University & Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519082, China
Lin Wang: School of National Safety and Emergency Management, Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai 519082, China
Lei Zhang: College of Water Resources Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 10, 1-20

Abstract: Approximate analytical methods have been frequently used in geotechnical engineering to estimate the reliability of geotechnical structures due to their efficiency and simplicity. The main spirit of these methods is using the moments of the limit state function to estimate the reliability index. However, the moments are strongly dependent on the form of the limit state function, resulting in the fact that these methods are sensitive to the form of limit state functions. This study aims to systematically explore how various equivalent forms of limit state functions affect the performance of several commonly used approximate analytical methods, including the first-order second-moment method, the first-order reliability method, and the point estimation method. The applicable conditions of these methods are illustrated through five typical geotechnical examples. The results indicate that the estimated accuracy for the first-order second-moment method and the point estimation method is affected by the form of the limit state functions. Although the form of the limit state function does not affect the accuracy of the first-order reliability method, it affects computational efficiency. The limit state functions with an equivalent logarithmic form are almost always favorable for the investigated examples and are thus recommended in practice.

Keywords: geotechnical engineering; reliability analysis; first-order reliability method; point estimation method; first-order second-moment method; form of limit state function (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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