Engineering Design in Geotechnics

The new edition contains a thorough revision of the 1st edition's content, which has been expanded appreciably, even though the number of chapters has been reduced to make room for the new material. The reader may find the new 1st chapter of the book most useful, as it gives an insight to the extent of problems with which a geotechnical engineer has to deal on an almost routine basis. It also provides some guidance as to how some problems can be tackled and solved in practice. In this respect, the chapter includes values of physical parameters most used in design, with the view to making the reader appreciate the difficulties related to having reliable representative experimental data, manifested by the wide limits of these parameters. Chapter 3, relating to the design of shallow foundations, has been revised in depth to include a wide range of foundation types, subjected to a variety of combined loading conditions. The chapter's content allows for the analysis of some of the most unusual types of structures such as a shallow foundation with a tilted base, founded on a sloping ground surface, and subjected to an inclined eccentric load, for which the inclination angle can be in any direction of space and the eccentricity can be of a two-way type. Furthermore, a new section is added at the end to deal with the design of combined foundations. Naturally, several worked examples are provided throughout the chapter to enhance the understanding of the design process. Equally, chapter 6 (the largest in size), relating to lateral pressure problems, has been thoroughly modified, with an emphasis on Boussinesq theory on lateral pressure. A comprehensive set of tables covering different types of soils, wall geometries, ground surface inclines, and external loading conditions are provided, with a clear guide on how they are used in design. Numerous detailed worked examples, providing clearer explanations of the design process, are also added. The content of the new chapter 5, devoted to the numerical modelling of laterally loaded piles is unique in nature, since it includes not only the computational molecules and the numerical form of different boundary conditions, but also their step by step implementation, culminating in the derivation of the system of simultaneous equations and their numerical solutions. Furthermore, both active and passive lateral loading conditions of piles are covered separately, so that the reader can master the difference in behaviour of such structures under different loading conditions. All remaing chapters have also been revised, and new material has been added where appropriate; the emphasis being on providing clearer explanations and a direct link to practice. Furthermore, a paragraph stating the general context at the beginning, as well as a summary at the end have been added to each chapter. Finally, it is perhaps appropriate to remind the reader that this book is published concurrently with the 2nd edition of its sister publication Physical Behaviour in Geotechnics.