While many introductory texts on soil mechanics are available, most are either lacking in their explanations of soil behavior or provide far too much information without cogent organization. More significantly, few of those texts go beyond memorization of equations and numbers to provide a practical understanding of why and how soil mechanics work.
Based on the authors’ more than 25 years of teaching soil mechanics to engineering students, Soil Mechanics Fundamentals presents a comprehensive introduction to soil mechanics, with emphasis on the engineering significance of what soil is, how it behaves, and why it behaves that way. Concise, yet thorough, the text is organized incrementally, with earlier sections serving as the foundation for more advanced topics. Explaining the varied behavior of soils through mathematics, physics and chemistry, the text covers:
Engineering behavior of clays
Unified and AASHTO soil classification systems
Compaction techniques, water flow and effective stress
Stress increments in soil mass and settlement problems
Mohr’s Circle application to soil mechanics and shear strength
Lateral earth pressure and bearing capacity theories
Each chapter is accompanied by example and practicing problems that encourage readers to apply learned concepts to applications with a full understanding of soil behavior fundamentals. With this text, engineering professionals as well as students can confidently determine logical and innovative solutions to challenging situations.
Preface
The Authors
1. Introduction
2. Physical Properties of Soils
3. Clays and Their Behavior
Problems4. Soil Classification
5. Compaction
6. Flow of Water through Soils
7. Effective Stress
8. Stress Increments in Soil Mass
9. Settlements
10. Mohr’s Circle in Soil Mechanics
11. Shear Strength of Soils
12. Lateral Earth Pressure
13. Bearing Capacity
Numerical Answers to Selected Problems
Subject Index
Author Index
Unit Conversion Table
Isao Ishibashi, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, USA; Hemanta Hazarika, Kyushu University, Japan