Abstract
Monte Carlo simulation was performed with respect to the uncertainty of soil parameters for harbour structures. Based on the concept of minimum total cost, including failure loss, the optimum safety factor was investigated for sheet pile and gravity quaywalls when circular arc slip method was used in the stability analyses.
The author showed an empirical relation to determine the optimum safety factor as given by: Fopt=0.85(1+log10n)V. Here, n and V were used to describe the importance of structures and variance of soil parameters, which were discussed from the viewpoints of damage degree and the state of the art of soil survey and test techniques.
