Engineering Geology,29 (1990) 191-193 Elsevier SciencePublishers B.V., Amsterdam -- Printed in The Netherlands
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Book Reviews Handbook of Soil Mechanics, Vol. 3. Soil Mechanics of Earthworks, Foundations and Highway Engineering. A. K+zdi and L. R6thfiti. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1988, ISBN 0-444-98929-3, 361 pp., US $126.25, Dfl. 240.00 (hardback). This book contains six chapters, i.e., soil mechanics of earthwork, load bearing capacity and settlement of shallow foundations, bearing capacity and settlement of pile foundations, soil mechanics in road construction, improvement of the physical properties of soils, and soil dynamics. Chapter 1, which is entitled Soil Mechanics of Earthwork, primarily covers various existing methods of slope stability analysis taking into account the pore water pressure parameter, procedures for establishing the phreatic surface and construction of flow nets in embankments and earth dams, dewatering techniques, and design of filters. It includes a discussion on the factors influencing the stability of slopes, such as physical parameters, impact of nature and artificial impact, and also the effect of time with which the factor of safety of slopes can change. Chapter 2 relates to the load bearing capacity and settlement of shallow foundations: (a) determination of ultimate bearing capacity; (b) estimation of stress distribution in a soil mass under the foundation; and (c) calculation of elastic and consolidation settlements of foundations at allowable load. This chapter provides an excellent treatment of the behavior of shallow foundations under vertical, inclined, and eccentric loads and the mode of failure at ultimate load. The theoretical treatments for obtaining the bearing capacity factors as suggested by investigators such as Prandtl, Caquot, Buisman, Terzaghi, Meyerhof, Balla, Brinch-Hansen, Hu, and others have been very clearly developed and compared. The treatment of this section is probably one of the best compared to any other existing books. In future editions, the treatment can be further improved if the authors will include a section on the bearing capacity theories as related to shallow foundations on layered soil. The treatment of shallow foundations subjected to uplifting load is rather short and can be further improved by including the results of several theoretical and experimental works published during the last ten years. Several derivations, tables, and figures to estimate the distribution of stress under the foundation based on the theory of elasticity have also been presented in this chapter. By using these as the basis, the procedures for estimation of elastic and consolidation settlement has been developed. The method of presentation is simple without losing the details. Chapter 3 gives a good review of the bearing capacity and settlement of pile foundations--single and group. Relationships, and derivations for settlement of pile foundations based on the elasticity theory have been properly incorporated. Discussions related to the lateral load bearing capacity of single and group piles due to static and cyclic loading are also presented in this chapter. Chapter 4 discusses the soil mechanics principles used in road construction. Included in this chapter are the fundamental principles of soil survey for road construction, structural classification of pavements, characteristics of pneumatic
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BOOK REVIEWS
tyres, determinations of stresses and strains produced by traffic loads in the pavement and subsoil (that is, layered system) using elastic theory, pavement design principles on the basis of deflection and CBR values. An added feature of this chapter is good discussions regarding drainage, swelling and shrinkage of the subsoil, frost heave, ice segregation, and related damage to highways. The authors have done an excellent job in summarizing the existing methods of improving the strength and compaction characteristics of soils in Chapter 5. These methods include mechanical principles such as: standard compaction; blasting; vibroflotation; heavy tamping; chemical stabilization by admixtures such as cement, lime, and bitumen; precompression with and without using sand drains, and by using electro-osmosis. A brief discussion on grouting and the use of reinforced earth has been given. The reinforced earth section could be substantially improved in future editions by adding more detailed discussion on geotextiles, geomembranes, and geogrids, which are now increasingly used for construction of earth and earthretaining structures. Chapter 6 contains a brief overview of soil dynamics beginning with derivations of mass-spring-dashpot systems, rocking and non-linear vibrations. An overview of stress wave propagation through soil, liquefaction, vibrating machine foundations, and lateral active earth pressure on retaining walls due to earthquakes has also been given in this chapter. The standard Monobe-Okabe equation for active earth pressure which is found in many textbooks has been extended to account for the design of retaining walls for limited displacement conditions as has been proposed by Richards and Elms (1979). In general, the text is very well written with excellent illustrations. There is an excellent list of references at the end of each chapter, a number of which are recent and have been published during the last ten years. In Chapter 2 alone, there are 154 references on shallow foundations, and in Chapter 3, on deep foundations, there are 101 references. This will serve as a resource to many researchers in the field. This book will serve as an excellent reference book for students in the area of geotechnical engineering and consulting civil engineers. It is recommended for all engineering libraries. BRAJA M, DAS (Carbondale, Ill.)
Mine Openings. Stability and Support. Josef Aldorf and Kerel Exner. Developments in Geotechnical Engineering Vol. 40, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1986, ix + 392 pp., US$ 79.75, Dfl. 215.00 (hardback). This book is well illustrated and well-written. It covers most theoretical approaches to introduce principles and fundamentals in stability and support of mine openings. As rock problems become more complex and ground control techniques get better, numerical techniques, their applications and limitations, rock instrumentation for monitoring rock behavior, in-situ tests and their evaluation become increasingly important. This book describes modern ground control techniques. Problems are