Soil Mechanics
A One-Dimensional Introduction

This book teaches the principles of soil mechanics to undergraduates, along with other properties of engineering materials.

David Muir Wood (Author)

9780521517737, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 28 September 2009

252 pages, 192 b/w illus. 18 tables
25.4 x 17.8 x 1.6 cm, 0.64 kg

' … 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

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.

1. Introduction
2. Stress in soils
3. Density
4. Stiffness
5. Seepage
6. Changes in stress
7. Consolidation
8. Strength
9. Soil-structure interaction
10. Envoi, exercises
Numerical answers.

Subject Areas: Civil engineering, surveying & building [TN], Mechanics of fluids [TGMF], Mechanics of solids [TGMD], Mechanical engineering & materials [TG], Soil science, sedimentology [RBGB]