Soil Mechanics: A One-Dimensional Introduction

This introductory course on soil mechanics presents the key concepts of stress, stiffness, seepage, consolidation, and strength within a one-dimensional framework. Consideration of the mechanical behaviour of soils requires us to consider density alongside stresses, thus permitting the unification of deformation and strength characteristics. Soils are described in a way which can be integrated with concurrent teaching of the properties of other engineering materials. The book includes a model of the shearing of soil and some examples of soil-structure interaction which are capable of theoretical analysis using one-dimensional governing equations. The text contains many worked examples, and exercises are given for private study at the end of all chapters. Some suggestions for laboratory demonstrations that could accompany such an introductory course are sprinkled through the book. Book jacket.

David Muir Wood has taught soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering at the universities of Cambridge, Glasgow and Bristol since 1975 and has contributed to courses on soil mechanics in many countries around the world. He is the author of numerous research papers and book chapters. His previous books include Soil behaviour and critical state soil mechanics (1990) and Geotechnical modelling (2004). He was co-chairman of the United Kingdom GeotechniCAL computer-aided learning project.

Preface	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
Introduction	p. 1
Soil mechanics	p. 2
Range of problems/applications	p. 2
Scope of this book	p. 10
Mind maps	p. 11
Stress in soils	p. 12
Introduction	p. 12
Equilibrium	p. 12
Gravity	p. 13
Stress	p. 16
Exercises: Stress	p. 18
Vertical stress profile	p. 19
Worked examples	p. 21
Water in the ground: Introduction to hydrostatics	p. 23
Worked example: Archimedes uplift on spherical object	p. 26
Total and effective stresses	p. 28
Worked examples	p. 32
Summary	p. 37
Exercises: Profiles of total stress, effective stress, pore pressure	p. 37
Density	p. 40
Introduction	p. 40
Units	p. 40
Descriptions of packing and density	p. 41
Volumetric ratios	p. 43
Water content	p. 44
Densities	p. 44
Unit weights	p. 46
Typical values	p. 46
Measurement of packing	p. 47
Compaction	p. 50
Soil particles	p. 52
Laboratory exercise: particle size distribution and other classification tests	p. 56
Sieving	p. 56
Sedimentation	p. 57
Particle shape	p. 61
Sand: relative density	p. 61
Summary	p. 62
Exercises: Density	p. 64
Multiple choice questions	p. 64
Calculation exercises	p. 65
Stiffness	p. 67
Introduction	p. 67
Linear elasticity	p. 67
Natural and true strain	p. 70
One-dimensional testing of soils	p. 70
Hooke's Law: confined one-dimensional stiffness?	p. 72
One-dimensional (confined) stiffness of soils	p. 74
Calculation of strains	p. 78
Worked examples: Calculation of settlement	p. 79
Overconsolidation	p. 82
Worked examples: Overconsolidation	p. 84
Summary	p. 87
Exercises: Stiffness	p. 87
Seepage	p. 90
Introduction	p. 90
Total head: Bernoulli's equation	p. 90
Poiseuille's equation	p. 96
Permeability	p. 99
Darcy or Forchheimer?	p. 102
Measurement of permeability	p. 104
Permeability of layered soil	p. 106
Seepage forces	p. 108
Radial flow to vertical drain	p. 111
Radial flow to point drain	p. 112
Worked examples: Seepage	p. 113
Example: flow through soil column	p. 113
Example: effect of changing reference datum	p. 116
Example: pumping from aquifer	p. 117
Example: flow into excavation	p. 119
Summary	p. 121
Exercises: Seepage	p. 123
Change in stress	p. 127
Introduction	p. 127
Stress change and soil permeability	p. 127
Worked examples	p. 130
Example 1	p. 130
Example 2	p. 131
Example 3	p. 133
Summary	p. 134
Exercises: Change in stress	p. 136
Consolidation	p. 138
Introduction	p. 138
Describing the problem	p. 140
Parabolic isochrones	p. 142
Worked examples	p. 149
Example 1: Determination of coefficient of consolidation	p. 149
Example 2	p. 152
Example 3	p. 154
Example 4	p. 155
Consolidation: exact analysis	p. 155
Semi-infinite layer	p. 159
Finite layer	p. 161
Summary	p. 165
Exercises: Consolidation	p. 167
Strength	p. 169
Introduction	p. 169
Failure mechanisms	p. 169
Shear box and strength of soils	p. 171
Strength model	p. 173
Dilatancy	p. 174
Drained and undrained strength	p. 177
Clay: overconsolidation and undrained strength	p. 179
Pile load capacity	p. 181
Infinite slope	p. 185
Laboratory exercise: Angle of repose	p. 191
Undrained strength of clay: fall-cone test	p. 193
Simple model of shearing	p. 195
Stiffness	p. 196
Strength	p. 197
Mobilisation of strength	p. 197
Dilatancy	p. 198
Complete stress: strain relationship	p. 199
Drained and undrained response	p. 200
Model: summary	p. 203
Summary	p. 203
Exercises: Strength	p. 205
Soil-structure interaction	p. 208
Introduction	p. 208
Pile under axial loading	p. 211
Examples	p. 215
Bending of an elastic beam?	p. 216
Elastic beam on elastic foundation?	p. 220
Pile under lateral loading?	p. 224
Soil-structure interaction: next steps	p. 226
Summary	p. 227
Exercises: Soil-structure interaction	p. 227
Envoi	p. 230
Summary	p. 230
Beyond the single dimension	p. 231
Exercises: numerical answers	p. 232
Index	p. 237
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Soil Mechanics: A One-Dimensional Introduction

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