Abstract:
Site investigation is crucial in character-
izing the geomaterial profile for the design of bridge
pile foundations. A site investigation plan should be
conducted to maximize geomaterial information and
minimize uncertainty. Thus, both geological and
property uncertainties should be explicitly incorpo-
rated into a site investigation plan. This leads to the
question of how to choose the corresponding optimal
number and location of boreholes in a multiphase
site investigation plan in order to reduce these uncer-
tainties. This study addresses these problems using
multinomial categorical prediction and universal
kriging on a random field with multiple simulations.
Site investigation data for this study are taken from
a bridge project in Iowa, USA, which consists of
four boreholes, each within the proximity of the pile
foundation location. Subsequent numbers of recom-
mended boreholes and their associated locations are
determined to minimize the combined uncertain-
ties. The effectiveness of this combined analysis for
determining an optimal site investigation plan (OSIP)
is validated and compared to an analysis done solely
on property uncertainty. The proposed OSIP yields
a lower prediction error, improves the prediction of
geomaterial type and property, and reduces the sub-
surface uncertainties. The incorporation of OSIP
invariably improves the design efficiency and perfor-
mance of bridge pile foundations
