The Nest of Students

New theories and testing techniques related with Unsaturated Soil Mechanics have proven to be valuable tools to study a broad spectrum of geo-materials which includes rocks, rock fills, frozen soils and domiciliary solid wastes. These new theories and testing techniques have permitted the analysis of several traditional problems from a new perspective (e.g., swelling or collapsible soils and compacted soils or pavements materials), and they have also shown their efficiency to study new energy-related problems like CO2 sequestration and nuclear waste disposal.

Advances in Unsaturated Soils is a collection of papers from the 1st Pan-American Conference on Unsaturated Soils organized in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, in February 2013. The volume includes 76 research papers coming for all over the world, as well as 7 keynotes papers by well known international researchers. The contributions present a variety of topics including: Advances in testing techniques * Unsaturated soil behavior * Constitutive modeling and microstructure * Numerical modeling * Geotechnical problems. Advances in Unsaturated Soils is expected to become a useful reference to academics and professionals involved in Unsaturated Soil Mechanics.

This book covers problems and their solution of a wide range of geotechnical topics. Every chapter starts with a summary of key concepts and theory, followed by worked-out examples, and ends with a short list of key references. It presents a unique collection of step by step solutions from basic to more complex problems in various topics of geotechnical engineering, including fundamental topics such as effective stress, permeability, elastic deformation, shear strength and critical state together with more applied topics such retaining structures and dams, excavation and tunnels, pavement infrastructure, unsaturated soil mechanics, marine works, ground monitoring. This book aims to provide students (undergraduates and postgraduates) and practitioners alike a reference guide on how to solve typical geotechnical problems.

Features: Guide for solving typical geotechnical problems complementing geotechnical textbooks. + Reference guide for practitioners to assist in determining solutions to complex geotechnical problems via simple methods.

The topics covered are related to the stages of analysis: 1. Input parameter selection, by reviewing the in-situ and laboratory tests used to determine dynamic soil properties as well as the methods to compile and model the dynamic soil properties from literature; 2. Input ground motion; 3. Theoretical background on the equations of motion and methods for solving them; 4. The mechanism of damping and how this is modeled in the equations of motions; 5. Detailed analysis and discussion of results of selected case studies which provide valuable information on the problem of seismic ground response analysis from both a theoretical and practical point of view.

Soil Liquefaction during Recent Large-Scale Earthquakes contains selected papers presented at the New Zealand – Japan Workshop on Soil Liquefaction during Recent Large-Scale Earthquakes (Auckland, New Zealand, 2-3 December 2013). The 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquakes in New Zealand and the 2011 off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku Earthquake in Japan have caused significant damage to many residential houses due to varying degrees of soil liquefaction over a very wide extent of urban areas unseen in past destructive earthquakes. While soil liquefaction occurred in naturally-sedimented soil formations in Christchurch, most of the areas which liquefied in Tokyo Bay area were reclaimed soil and artificial fill deposits, thus providing researchers with a wide range of soil deposits to characterize soil and site response to large-scale earthquake shaking. Although these earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan caused extensive damage to life and property, they also serve as an opportunity to understand better the response of soil and building foundations to such large-scale earthquake shaking. With the wealth of information obtained in the aftermath of both earthquakes, information-sharing and knowledge-exchange are vital in arriving at liquefaction-proof urban areas in both countries. Data regarding the observed damage to residential houses as well as the lessons learnt are essential for the rebuilding efforts in the coming years and in mitigating buildings located in regions with high liquefaction potential. As part of the MBIE-JSPS collaborative research programme, the Geomechanics Group of the University of Auckland and the Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory of the University of Tokyo co-hosted the workshop to bring together researchers to review the findings and observations from recent large-scale earthquakes related to soil liquefaction and discuss possible measures to mitigate future damage. Soil Liquefaction during Recent Large-Scale Earthquakes will be of great interest to researchers, academics, industry practitioners and other professionals involved in Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering, Foundation Engineering, Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics.