Stability assessment of highway embankments is a common practice in geotechnical engineering. Rational estimation of soil properties is essential for reliable and safe design. However, previous research has shown that high degree of uncertainty is associated with engineering properties and the behavior of the ground improvement with lime-cement columns. Current design methods for stability of lime-cement column are deterministic and the uncertainties are not treated rationally. A reliable design requires rational treatment of uncertainties. This paper addresses the need for application of partial factor design for safety and reliability assessment of lime-cement columns. The study was carried out on an example highway embankment of 6 m height. Resistance and load parameters were considered random variables. The sensitivity factors for the random variables were evaluated from the first order reliability method (FORM). Partial factors were evaluated for the random variables according to the approximate location of the design values. It was shown that the design by partial factor method fulfills both safety and reliability requirements.
NQC 2013