Soil Mechanics: A One-Dimensional Introduction

Description

This book teaches the principles of soil mechanics to undergraduates, along with other properties of engineering materials, to which the students are exposed simultaneously. Using the critical state method of soil mechanics to study the mechanical behavior of soils requires the student to consider density alongside effective stresses, permitting the unification of deformation and strength characteristics. This unification aids the understanding of soil mechanics. This book explores a one-dimensional theme for the presentation of many of the key concepts of soil mechanics - density, stress, stiffness, strength, and fluid flow - and includes a chapter on the analysis of one-dimensional consolidation, which fits nicely with the theme of the book. It also presents some theoretical analyses of soil-structure interaction, which can be analyzed using essentially one-dimensional governing equations. Examples are given at the end of most chapters, and suggestions for laboratory exercises or demonstrations are given.

David Muir Wood has taught soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering courses at the universities of Cambridge, Glasgow, and Bristol for 33 years. He is the author of more than 100 research publications, two books - Soil Behavior and Critical State Soil Mechanics (Cambridge, 1990) and Geotechnical Modelling (2004) - and numerous book chapters. He was co-chairman of the Geotechnical computer-aided learning project.

' ... an introductory text that is well suited for the reader with a background in the geological sciences. It is clearly written, well illustrated and full of elementary examples intended for first-year civil engineers at the University of Bristol in England.' Environmental and Engineering Geoscience