Finite Element Analysis of Random Soil Media

Abstract

Application of the stochastic finite element method to a probabilistic characterization of the system based on a random field model appears to be a promising method of analyzing the reliability of structural and geotechnical complex systems. Following this method, it is possible to model a structure by a limited number of accessible stochastic data and subsequently to compute the characteristics of the displacement and stress random fields in the structure by use of the first‐order second‐moment approximation to the stochastic finite element equations. This paper presents an application of the methodology for a soil profile with a random distribution of the elastic modulus. A parametric study is carried out in order to evaluate the significance of stochastic modelling of such a random system by use of the adopted methodology.