Abstract
The success of any numerical analysis of geotechnical problems greatly depends on the reliability of the input data such as the soil properties. Experimental data of soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) for partially saturated soil exhibit significant scatter, even for data belonging to soils with similar textural and structural properties. It is important to characterize the uncertainty / data scatter in the SWCC and incorporate it in the numerical analysis. The objective of this paper is twofold. First, a simple mathematical model to characterize the uncertainty in the SWCC is presented. Second, the impact of this uncertainty in analysis of a practical geotechnical problem, namely rainfall-induced landslides, is investigated.