Reliability analysis of laterally loaded piles using response surface methods

Response surface methods have been applied to the reliability analysis of l aterally loaded piles. Beam elements and a series of discrete springs are u sed to model the pile-soil system. The pile head displacement and the maxim um bending moment in the piles are used as the performance criteria in this study. It is shown in the illustrative example that the CDF and PDF curves of the pile head displacement and the maximum bending moment in the pile o btained from the proposed methods are in good agreement with Monte Carlo si mulation. The failure probabilities of the pile under specified performance criteria, the probabilistic responses of the pile-soil system, and the eff ect of pile-soil parameters to the failure probability of the pile are also studied. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.