In this research the effect of soil variability, and level of sampling on the value of the resistance factor, when applied directly to the estimated soil elastic modulus, has been investigated. A simulated soil field was sampled and a footing designed based on that sample to limit the settlement to a set value. The footing, with a random load applied, was then placed on the simulated soil and a finite element analysis conducted to determine the 'actual' settlement. This simulation process was repeated hundreds of times to obtain frequency distributions of the settlement. Several parameters were varied during these simulations including the degree of soil variability, the resistance factor applied to the elastic modulus within the design method, the degree of site correlation and level of sampling.; Based on these results, a method has been suggested to obtain sampling and site variability specific resistance factor values to be used in footing design. However, the real value of this research has been demonstrating the behavior of the resistance factor values as a function of the site parameters describing the soil profile. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
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