Soil Mechanics

This book provides essential insights into recent developments in fundamental geotechnical engineering research. Special emphasis is given to a new family of constitutive soil description methods, which take into account the recent loading history and the dilatancy effects. Particular attention is also paid to the numerical implementation of multi-phase material under dynamic loads, and to geotechnical installation processes.

This book is intended primarily to serve the needs of the undergraduate civil engineering student and aims at the clear explanation, in adequate depth, of the fundamental principles of soil mechanics. The understanding of these principles is considered to be an essential foundation upon which future practical experience in soils engineering can be built. The choice of material involves an element of personal opinion but the contents of this book should cover the requirements of most undergraduate courses to honours level. It is assumed that the student has no prior knowledge of the subject but has a good understanding of basic mechanics. The book includes a comprehensive range of worked examples and problems set for solution by the student to consolidate understanding of the fundamental principles and illustrate their application in simple practical situations.

This book discusses contemporary issues related to soil mechanics and foundation engineering in earthworks, which are critical components in construction projects and often require detailed management techniques and unique solutions to address failures and implement remedial measures. The book touches upon many interesting topics in soil mechanics and modern geotechnical engineering practice such as geotechnical earthquake engineering, principals in foundation design, slope stability analysis, modeling in geomechanics, offshore geotechnics, and geotechnical engineering perspective in the preservation of historical buildings and archeological sites.

This textbook offers a superb introduction to theoretical and practical soil mechanics. Special attention is given to the risks of failure in civil engineering, and themes covered include stresses in soils, groundwater flow, consolidation, testing of soils, and stability of slopes.

Origin and Three Phase system, Particle Size Analysis, Index Properties of Soil, Soil Classification and Soil Structure.