ABSTRACT
The newcomer to geotechnical works will soon be aware that the science and technologies involved are full of uncertainties which may not be readily quantified. This can make it difficult to explain to clients and non-specialists precisely why ground treatment is being proposed, what the objectives are and how they are to be achieved and verified. The problem stems from the variable nature of the soil and rock on which all structures sit. The structural engineer can define dimensions, strength of construction materials and the loadings in a building to a fair degree of accuracy, but the geotechnical engineer is faced with having to unravel and evaluate the complex ‘soil-structure interaction’. The uncertainties range from knowing whether the scientific assumptions and models which can be reasonably applied to the combined structure-foundationsubsoil are right, to the largely random nature of geological features and the dispersion of soil properties by chance.
