Characteristic percentile of soil strength for dynamic analyses

Soil properties exhibit significant spatial variability, even within homogeneous soil layers. It has been proved, using Monte Carlo simulations of soil liquefaction, that the soil system response is strongly affected by this variability, and therefore it is important to account for it in analysis and design. Based on results of in-situ soil tests, parametric studies involving the degree of soil liquefaction and the variance of soil properties are performed. For the type of soil deposit analyzed, characteristic percentile values of soil strength are proposed for use in deterministic design, which will predict a response equivalent to that provided by the more expensive Monte Carlo simulations.