Reliability index in geotechnics

In this paper, the reliability index β is examined for its applicability in geotechnics. A statistical finite difference scheme is proposed to evaluate partial derivatives of the limit state function, enabling the computation of the reliability index β. Through illustrative examples, it is demonstrated that the proposed procedure gives results in excellent agreement with those obtained by the Monte Carlo simulation method, and yet it involves considerable savings in computing time. Extension of the reliability index method to cover many classes of problems involving correlated variables is highlighted.