Finite element analysis of drilled shafts incorporating soil variability

A computer program to analyze laterally loaded drilled drilled piers incorporating variability of the soil properties was written. The program uses one-dimensional finite elements with the soil response modeled using a non-linear incremental procedure. The probabilistic analysis is performed using a Three Point Approximation. Output from the code includes mean and standard deviation of pier deflections, soil reactions, shear forces and bending moments. The results from the four applications showed that uncertainty about the soil parameters influences the predicted response of laterally loaded drilled shafts.