Spatial correlation for transformation uncertainty and its applications

This paper shows that the transformation uncertainty varies in space and can be decomposed into (a) a slowly fluctuating component contributed by the systematic bias for a local site and (b) a rapidly fluctuating component partly contributed by the measurement error. Based on a piezocone database, the slowly fluctuating component is found to have a vertical scale of fluctuation (SOF) of 17–60 m, larger than the vertical SOFs for most soil properties and characteristic dimensions for many geotechnical structures. This paper provides an empirical basis to justify the assumption that the transformation uncertainty is fully correlated in space.