The destructive force of earthquakes has stimulated human inquiry since ancient times, yet the scientific study of earthquakes is a surprisingly recent endeavor. Instrumental recordings of earthquakes were not made until the second half of the 19th century, and the primary mechanism for generating seismic waves was not identified until the beginning of the 20th century. From this recent start, a range of laboratory, field, and theoretical investigations have developed into a vigorous new discipline: the science of earthquakes. As a basic science, it provides a comprehensive understanding of earthquake behavior and related phenomena in the Earth and other terrestrial planets. As an applied science, it provides a knowledge base of great practical value for a global society whose infrastructure is built on the Earth's active crust. This book describes the growth and origins of earthquake science and identifies research and data collection efforts that will strengthen the scientific and social contributions of this exciting new discipline.

This book presents a recasting of Aristotle’s theory of spatial displacement of inanimate objects. Aristotle’s claim that projectiles are actively carried by the media through which they move (such as air or water) is well known and has drawn the attention of commentators from ancient to modern times. What is lacking, however, is a systematic investigation of the consequences of his suggestion that the medium always acts as the direct instrument of locomotion, be it natural or forced, while original movers (e.g. stone throwers, catapults, bowstrings) act indirectly by impressing moving force into the medium. Filling this gap and guided by discussions in Aristotle’s Physics and On the Heavens, the present volume shows that Aristotle’s active medium enables his theory - in which force is proportional to speed - to account for a large class of phenomena that Newtonian dynamics - in which force is proportional to acceleration - accounts for through the concept of inertia. By applying Aristotle’s medium dynamics to projectile flight and to collisions that involve reversal of motion, the book provides detailed examples of the efficacy and coherence that the active medium gives to Aristotle’s discussions. The book is directed primarily to historians of ancient, medieval, and early modern science, to philosophers of science and to students of Aristotle’s natural philosophy.

The principles and concepts for unsaturated soils are developed as extensions of saturated soils. Addresses problems where soils have a matric suction or where pore-water pressure is negative. Covers theory, measurement and use of the fundamental properties of unsaturated soils--permeability, shear strength and volume change. Includes a significant amount of case studies.

I feel elevated in presenting the New edition of this standard treatise.The favourable reception,which the previous edition and reprints of this book have enjoyed,is a matter of great satisfaction for me.I wish to express my sincere thanks to numerous professors and students for their valuable suggestions and recommending the patronise this standard treatise in the future also.

With continued economic development and increasing urbanization, excavations go deeper and become larger in scale, and are sometimes even carried out in difficult soils. These conditions require advanced analysis and design methods and construction technologies. Most books on general foundation engineering introduce the basic analysis and design of excavation, but do not delve into practical considerations. This book examines both theory and practice, from basic to advanced, and discusses the major methods currently in practice around the world. Each chapter also includes problems and their solutions to develop a practical, real-world understanding.

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.

Soft soils present particular challenges to engineers and an understanding of the specific characteristics of these soils is indispensable. Laboratory techniques such as numerical modelling, theoretical analysis and constitutive modelling give new insights into soft soil material behaviour, while large-scale testing in the field provides important information in areas such as slope stability and soft soil improvements. This collection of papers from the Fourth International Conference on Soft Soil Engineering, Vancouver, 2006, presents an international appraisal of current research and new advances in engineering practices, illustrating the theory with relevant case studies. Geotechnical professionals, engineers, academics and researchers working in the areas of soft ground engineering and soft soil engineering will find this a valuable book.

The aim of these recommendations is to harmonize and further develop the methods, according to which excavations are prepared, calculated and carried out. Since 1980, these have been drawn up by the working group "Excavations" at the German Geotechnical Society (Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Geotechnik DGGT) and are similar to a set of standards. They help to simplify analysis of excavation enclosures, to unify load approaches and analysis procedures, to guarantee the stability and serviceability of the excavation structure and its individual components, and to find out an economic design of the excavation structure. For this new edition, all recommendations have been reworked in accordance with EN 1997-1 (Eurocode 7) and DIN 1054-1. In addition, new recommendations on the use of the modulus of subgrade reaction method and the finite element method (FEM), as well as a new chapter on excavations in soft soils, have been added.

The premixing method involves adding a small amount of cement to the soil used in reclamation. The cement reacts with the water in the soil to produce a stronger, non-liquifying material for construction. The premixing method can therefore reduce construction time, as the counter-measure work is carried out simultaneously with the reclamation process. In addition, the resultant material has enhanced bearing capacity, and there is a reduction in earth pressure due to the increase in cohesion. This book examines the premixing method in detail and is essential reading for coastal engineers, hydrologists, or construction engineers working in soft soil areas.