Probabilistic solutions in geotechnics [antikvár]

Preface Probability theory was first applied to geotechnics some two decades ago. This breakthrough was to be expected, given the fact that several other soil mechanics disciplines (road construction, hydraulic engineering, structural design) had already used the methods of probability theory by that time. However, the soil being a heterogeneous material, the precision of its characterization and of the prediction of its behaviour by deterministic methods was limited of necessity. The safety factor expressing the measure of uncertainty had to be introduced in order to make it possible to estimate the occurrence of individual events. Probability theory being a branch of mathematical sciences, its methodology can be applied to the resolution of practical tasks with some modifications only. The various disciplines have to adapt it to their specific purposes. The present book wishes to help those experts of the geotechnical sciences who are facing problems of this kind. I would like to express my grateful thanks to Elsevier Science Publishers and to Akadémiai Kiadó, the Publishing House of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, to the staff of the Printing House and to Mr. Bars who translated the text for their valuable work in assisting the publication of this book. Budapest, 1987 László Rétháti 13