Risk Assessment in Geotechnical Engineering: The Importance of Engineering Judgement
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Published:2004
Suzanne Lacasse, Farrokh Nadim, Kaare Høeg, Odd Gregersen, 2004. "Risk Assessment in Geotechnical Engineering: The Importance of Engineering Judgement", Advances in geotechnical engineering: The Skempton conference: Proceedings of a three day conference on advances in geotechnical engineering, organised by the Institution of Civil Engineers and held at the Royal Geographical Society, London, UK, on 29–31 March 2004
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More and more frequently, geotechnical practice requires that risk be identified and quantified. Reliability analysis and risk assessment are important tools to account for uncertainties and to make informed decisions. The paper reviews concepts of safety, reliability and risk, and a framework for landslide hazard mapping is put forward. Examples are given for two of Alec Skempton's favourite topics, slope stability and dam safety. Methods to couple statistical evidence, e.g. slope instability, with computed failure probabilities, are mentioned. The paper concludes that the profession can only gain by bringing into practice more systematically than before probabilistic and risk-based methodologies.
1 Introduction
2 Models
3 Geological risks
4 An engineer's assessment of risk of slope stability
5 Probabilistic slope instability analysis
6 Probabilistic dam safety evaluation
7 The importance of engineering judgement
8 References
