The design of a geotechnical work should satisfy both the ultimate limit state and serviceability limit state requirements. The limit state design approach addresses various performance requirements and aims to accommodate uncertainties. Presently, serviceability limit states are still considered in some design codes using the conventional deterministic approach only. To develop reliability-based serviceability criteria for more consistent design, the probability distributions of the limiting tolerable displacements should be studied. Structure can subject to different types of displacement, which may interact with each other and the physical processes that result in serviceability problems are very complex. It is difficult to determine the tolerable limits for each of these individual...[ Read more ]

The design of a geotechnical work should satisfy both the ultimate limit state and serviceability limit state requirements. The limit state design approach addresses various performance requirements and aims to accommodate uncertainties. Presently, serviceability limit states are still considered in some design codes using the conventional deterministic approach only. To develop reliability-based serviceability criteria for more consistent design, the probability distributions of the limiting tolerable displacements should be studied. Structure can subject to different types of displacement, which may interact with each other and the physical processes that result in serviceability problems are very complex. It is difficult to determine the tolerable limits for each of these individual components when they occur alone or simultaneously. Therefore, it is worth to determine the relations between these components and their interaction effect on the limiting tolerable displacement.

In this thesis, movement records of 386 buildings, 439 bridges and 10 oil tanks are collected and complied into a database. Variability of tolerable displacements of structures is studied and a procedure to establish probability distributions of the limiting tolerable displacements is established. A method employing a fragility curve to represent the cumulative probability distribution of the limiting tolerable displacement is proposed. Using this method and the collected performance data, the probability distributions of the limiting tolerable displacement are established for buildings and bridges. A composite limiting function is suggested for the vertical and horizontal displacements. Relations between angular distortion, maximum settlement and differential settlement are also established. Allowable tolerable displacements are suggested for buildings and bridges by adopting characteristic values or applying a factor of safety to the limiting tolerable displacements.