Alexander M. Puzrin, Eduardo E. Alonso, Núria M. Pinyol ...
245 pages -
Publisher: Springer; 2010 edition (June, 2010) ...
Language: English -
ISBN-10: 9048135303 -
ISBN-13: 978-9048135301 ...
The main goal of this introductory text is to demonstrate how basic
concepts in Soil Mechanics can be used as a “forensic” tool in the
investigation of geotechnical failures. This, in turn, provides a good
opportunity to show how to use available procedures in the formulation
of useful simple models. Geotechnical failure is understood here in a
broad sense as the failure of a structure to function properly due to a
geotechnical reason. Some of the geotechnical failures selected are well
known for their impact on the geotechnical community. Others are closer
to the author’s experience. They have been organized into three main
topics: Settlement, Bearing Capacity and Excavations. They cover a
significant proportion of every day’s activity of professional
geotechnical engineers. No attempt has been made to create a
comprehensive handbook of failures. Instead, the emphasis has been given
to creative applications of simple mechanical concepts and well known
principles and solutions of Soil Mechanics. The book shows how much can
be learned from relatively simple approaches. Despite this emphasis on
simplicity, the book provides a deep insight into the cases analyzed. A
non-negligible number of new analytical closed-form solutions have also
been found. Their derivation can be followed in detail. In all the cases
described an effort was made to provide a detailed and step by step
description of the hypothesis introduced and of the analysis performed.
From the Back Cover: It is not an easy task to fascinate a student with a standard course
on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. If, however, the same
material is presented as a tool to explore a natural or a man-made
"disaster", both the motivation and the ability to absorb this material
increase dramatically. The case studies in this book could help to build
an introductory Forensic Geotechnical Engineering course, covering such
basic topics as settlements, bearing capacity and excavations.
The
failure cases considered in this book have something in common – they
can be all reasonably well explained using so called
"back-of-the-envelope" calculations, i.e., without sophisticated models
requiring finite element analysis. These simple methods based on clear
mechanical considerations are the endangered species of the computer
dominated era, though sometimes they could prevent a disaster caused by a
wrong application of computer models. In particular, the upper bound
limit analysis has repeatedly proven itself as a powerful tool allowing
for sufficiently accurate estimates of the failure loads and leaving a
lot of room for creativity.
No one is exempt from making
mistakes, but repeating well known mistakes reveals a gap in education.
One of the objectives of this book is to attempt bridging this gap, at
least partially. More failure cases covering a larger area of
geotechnical problems are included into the companion book "Geomechanics
of Failures: Advanced Topics" by the same authors.
