This is the second edition of this text. It has been extensively updated throughout. The following lists the changes that have been made to each of the chapters.
Chapter 1: characteristic of rock foundations. Expanded discussion on acceptable reliability levels for different types of structures in relation to the consequences of failure, as well as methods of risk analysis.
Chapter 2: structural geology. New material has been added on typical probability distributions for discontinuity lengths and spacing, and methods of collecting data on these features.
Chapter 3: rock strength and deformability. Information is included on the deformation behaviour of very weak rock that has been determined from in situ testing.
Chapter 4: investigation and in situ testing methods. The procedures for mapping geological structures have been extensively revised to conform to the procedures drawn up by the International Society of Rock Mechanics, and have now been consolidated in appendix II.
Chapter 5: bearing capacity, settlement and stress distribution. Case history data have been added, detection of karstic features and the design of foundations in these conditions have been expanded and a numerical analysis example is included.
Chapter 6: stability of foundations. A probability analysis example has been added and methods for assessing scour potential are included.
Chapter 7: foundations of gravity and embankment dams. With the increasing need to rehabilitate existing dams, a section on foundation improvement, scour potential and tie-down anchors has been added.
Chapter 8: rock socketed piers. For the design of laterally loaded rock socketed piers, new information is provided on p−y curves for very weak rocks.
Chapter 9: tension foundations. The testing procedures and acceptance criteria for tensioned anchors have been updated to conform with 1990s recommended practice.
Chapter 10: construction methods in rock. New information has been added on contracting procedures, and in particular partnering.
This is the proceedings of an international workshop on unsaturated soils held at the Universitá degli Studi di Trento in Italy between 10 and 12 April 2000. The aim of the workshop was to bring together young researchers from around Europe to present their research, discuss the problems that they have encountered and thereby further their knowledge. Great emphasis was given to the discussion of each paper and the published versions have been revised from their original form to take account of the criticisms received.
The volume is split into experimental papers and theoretical papers, with the balance being very slightly in favour of the experimental work. At the end of the book there is a section containing the postal and email addresses of each of the authors. A refreshing idea.
This is the Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Geotechnical Engineering Education and Training held in Sinaia, Romania between 12 and 14 June 2000.
The volume opens with a series of invited papers that are followed by a worldwide perspective on the main subject of the book from reporters of the individual countries concerned. Other subjects that are covered include the content of curricula, assessment in teaching, the use of IT in the teaching of geotechnical engineering and case histories. The conference was concluded with a section entitled ‘History, lifelong learning and international cooperation in geotechnical engineering teaching’. Papers are presented in English and French.
This is the Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Geotechnical, Geoenvironmental Engineering and Management in Arid Lands, held in Al-Ain in the United Arab Emirates from 4 to 7 November 2000.
Keynote lectures are presented in each of the two main theme areas together with subsections on subjects including: soil properties and behaviour, hydrodynamics, pollutant transport, the assessment of polluted sites, bio-remediation and the treatment of solid waste.
This is an ambitious book—it encompasses the interactions of both electromagnetic and elastic waves with particulate media, with special reference to soils. Its scholarship and breadth of coverage are noteworthy (few books include a notation list presenting Skempton's pore pressure parameters alongside Planck's constant) but breadth is necessarily achieved at the expense of depth in many places. Although there is not enough material on any given topic here to satisfy a subject specialist, there are well-explained, succinct descriptions of almost the full gamut of soil-wave phenomena. A possible role for this book on the office shelf could be as a source point, giving the interested general reader a quick insight into a topic under question (usually accompanied by typical data) and then directing him or her to more detailed explanations and information published in the literature.
Following an informative and scholarly journey through the history of tunnelling in chapter 1, the second chapter sets out the central thesis of the book. The author suggests that tunnelling is an adversely fragmented process and that engineers should instead adopt the integrated approaches of systems engineering, for example as is used in manufacturing where the inherent link between product design and process design is recognised and exploited.
Acknowledging that the jargon of systems engineering is not current amongst most tunnellers, the author distinguishes between the practices he criticises and the practices he recommends by referring to them as ‘design’ and ‘design’, respectively. (This choice of terminology is, perhaps, unfortunate, as it is unclear how one would convey the italicisation in spoken English.) Appropriately, no one-line, soundbite definition of design is offered to the reader but some of the keywords that are used to characterise the concept give its flavour: design is creative, holistic, integrative, interactive, iterative, cross-disciplinary systematic, ethically grounded and hierarchical. The subsequent chapters address specific aspects of tunnelling projects in the light of the concept of design. They consider: planning; site investigations; tunnel design; construction design; procurement and project management; hazards in construction and disputes. The closing chapter, which is effectively a postscript, discusses the Heathrow tunnel collapse and the lessons that can be learnt from it.
Reading the book, this reviewer became aware of how rarely one gets the opportunity to read an experienced engineer's opinions on a subject, in the published literature. One hears many opinions, but the spoken word is transient. The only written forum for an extended expression of opinions is a book [Ground Engineering's popular but brief Talking Point notwithstanding). The system of formal peer review of journal papers is, very properly, intended to weed out statements that lack full substantiation. Opinions that do somehow survive the journal review process are therefore usually watered-down, etiolated things by the time they reach their intended readership. In contrast, this book is refreshingly full of opinions. These are presented in an elegant manner and logical sequence, but nevertheless they are communicated strongly and clearly. (In particular, the chapter on Management was delightfully frank, no doubt all well deserved.) Whether other readers agree with some, none, part or all of the opinions expressed in the book, it is certain to make them think about and, perhaps, question the way in which all types of civil engineering schemes, not only tunnelling projects, are run.
The success (or otherwise) of site investigation work often depends on the quality of the work carried out during the desk study phase. The use of land surface evaluation to provide a framework for desk study work can therefore provide a powerful and cost-effective means of creating a conceptual ground model, which can be tested by means of an exploratory ground investigation.
The publication of this book therefore provides a useful addition to the site investigation practitioner, and encourages best practice. The special publication summarises the findings of the Geological Society's second working party on this subject (the findings of the first working party having been published in 1982).
The approach taken has been to provide a text heavily weighted towards case histories and examples; the introduction makes it clear that this is not intended to be an instruction book, although a section is included giving a broad overview of the techniques available. The reader will therefore have to look elsewhere for details on ‘how to’ apply the techniques presented.
The papers presented detail a wide variety of approaches from the UK and overseas, giving a good representation of the possible uses for land surface evaluation. The process envisaged within the first working party report (1982), namely of geomorphological mapping and air photograph interpretation within a framework of land classification, is still key to the process. However, it is clear from the examples given that advances in remote sensing technology, and the ability to represent spatial data electronically, have enabled significant development of land surface evaluation techniques to be made.
Managing geotechnical risk provides a welcome reference text to a field in which many geotechnical engineers are only beginning to achieve fluency. The introduction identifies geotechnical risk as the ‘risk to construction work presented by the ground conditions’, and sets out the ground rules for defining and understanding this risk. The variability of the ground, and the poor accuracy of many geotechnical calculations (pile performance calculations are cited as an example), are highlighted as key features of geotechnical risk.
The text is divided into sections aimed at a variety of readers, including the ‘client’, ‘designer’ and the ‘constructor’, although these terms have to be treated with some caution, since no procurement approach is implied by their use. In Chapter 3, the principles of risk management in general are set out, and then applied to geotechnical risk in particular. In doing so, well-established principles of systematic risk management are drawn upon, along the lines of existing best practice for health and safety, financial and other elements of construction risk.
The section defining the client's role clearly lays out the benefits of geotechnical risk management, although it remains to be seen how widely clients will be persuaded to embrace this approach, even after watching the enclosed CD-ROM video. Sections describing the designer‘s and constructor's roles contain practical advice on the risk management approach, placing the role of both ground investigation and geotechnical calculation within a risk-based framework.
The book as a whole is quite easy to navigate and ‘dip into’, although the reader may find the punctuation of the text by ‘thought-provoking’ quotations more than a little distracting. The use of key headings, and explanatory boxes in the margins, however, goes a long way to clarifying the jargon that always seems to proliferate around the subject of risk. The appendices contain some useful examples, although the list of risk software compiled from a survey in 1998 may soon appear dated. The CD-ROM is a novel aid for persuading the industry to adopt the principles of geotechnical risk management.
I would like to begin by saying that I enjoyed reading this book. The writing style, content and layout are appropriate for the intended readership and one does not find the book overly cluttered with irrelevant material or tenuous case examples. As a practical guide the author has elegantly achieved the delicate balance between a text book aimed at discussing principles, and a manual aimed at applying knowledge to analysis and seeking solutions to problems.
The book is organised into eight chapters, the first of which provides an introduction to the kind of information that can be determined from a geological map. The author deviates somewhat from purely map-based information to include other data sources such as borehole logs and seismic reflection data. This is an important addition, upon which more emphasis should have been placed. In this chapter, tectonic deformation dominates the discussions of geological structure and a greater emphasis on syn-sedimentary variations would have been useful.
Chapter 2 deals concisely with the concepts of planar surfaces. Essential geometrical solutions are presented along with the basics of stereographic projections, which are required for describing and analysing the interactions of points and lines with planar geological surfaces.
Chapter 3 is devoted to discussing structure contours and will be useful to many involved in ground engineering as a standalone reference. The author does not discuss in detail different interpolation algorithms (which are offered in most contouring software packages), but the reader is referred to a good list of publications.
Chapters 4 and 5 extend the treatment of lines, surfaces and contours to include folds and faults. Analytical methods presented in chapter 3 are gradually developed and illustrated with case examples and problems.
Chapter 6 looks at how to make the best possible interpretations of geological surfaces and specifically faults by considering the data within a conceptual model of geological history and how this should be interpreted and presented. As with the previous chapter, a set of problems is included at the end.
Chapter 7 is a thorough discussion of the function and construction of geological cross-sections. The need for internal consistency of a geological model with structure contours and discontinuities is emphasised and the important steps to achieving this are presented. This chapter includes well-chosen examples and well-developed problems.
The book closes rather than concludes with chapter 8, which very briefly discusses validating geological structural interpretations by the method of structural restoration. The chapter more than introduces the method but is not sufficient to treat it properly. Having said that, the book does not suffer from its inclusion.
Throughout the book the author bears his readership in mind by returning to discussions about the sources and effects of uncertainties and errors in data. These are not treated statistically but the reader is provided with sound knowledge to estimate possible errors and references to follow up.
The book has been written with experience and examples derived from the oil industry and the level of structural interpretation (and to some degree assumptions about available quantities of data) reflect this. However, to import such interpretation and thinking into the development of geological models in civil engineering would be no bad thing. I think this book is of immediate relevance to practising geotechnical engineers, engineering geologists and masters students of these subjects. Professor Groshong has written, above all, a very useful book.
The Contaminated Land Regime came into force on 1 April 2000, and as a result landowners, developers, builders and others increasingly find themselves involved with cleaning up land which has been contaminated by previous uses, whether or not they propose to develop on it. This guide, produced by the British Urban Regeneration Association (BURA), provides a useful starting point for those with relatively little experience in this field.
The guide contains clearly structured information which, after a useful introduction to contaminated land, logically progresses through the stages of: (a) desktop study; (b) site investigation; (c) remediation; and (d) development. The guide contains checklists, references, a glossary of terms, case studies and a contacts list. The guide does not set out to provide detailed technical information on remediation technologies. However, it does provide a useful, accessible framework for approaching contaminated land problems. As such, this book is a useful starting point in this complex field.
