In this research area, we focus on developing methods that show that foundation structures are safe and reliable and they work as planned. In a way, this area summarizes the results from the geotechnical investigations as well as soil behavior and geotechnical calculations, forming a common framework aiming to build more reliable and economical earth and foundation structures. The research area includes studies of uncertainties related to geotechnical engineering, how to reduce and account for them, and how safety margins should be applied in the ULS and SLS calculations to achieve reliable and economical structures for their whole life span.
Background
Construction work, like any other activity, is characterized by many uncertainties. To account for these uncertainties, a safety margin is needed to ensure that the probability of failure or any other undesired behavior is small enough. The required safety level is on a broad level defined in laws and regulations, while more specified requirements are given in standards. The achieved safety level should be adequate, account for consequences, and be even for different structures, to meet the requirements of functionality and economics. Therefore, design guidelines and the way safety is applied should be both transparent and well defined to achieve this.
Goal
For long, we have been engaged in the European standardization work. In the ongoing EPSILON project, we are studying the uncertainties related to earth and foundation engineering, among others. With the aid of reliability theories, we aim to improve the ways to apply safety and define sufficient safety levels so that true uncertainties are accounted for. The final goal is to develop a design approach that will automatically direct the design and constructions works towards better quality and economics.
Contact persons
Tim Länsivaara
Professor
tim.lansivaara [at] tuni.fi
+358 40 765 8085