For courses in soil mechanics or geotechnical engineering.

Practical theory, principles and applications

An Introduction to Geotechnical Engineering introduces geotechnical engineering and its applications to civil engineering practice using easy-to-understand language. It focuses on both the fundamental and applied, covering the engineering classification, behavior and properties of soils necessary for the design and construction of foundations and earth structures.

The 3rd Edition features 3 new chapters on the fundamental areas of foundation engineering.

Hallmark features of this title

• Focuses on the engineering classification, behavior, and properties of soils necessary for the design and construction of foundations and earth structures.
• Emphasis is placed on the practical and empirical knowledge of soil and rock behavior required for the design and construction of foundations, embankments and underground structures.
• Connects fundamental theory to applications to show the engineering significance of a property, why the property is needed, how it is determined or measured, and how it is used in specific design situations. Simple geotechnical designs are illustrated as applicable.
• Fully worked example problems let readers follow the solution steps and their understanding.
• Advanced topics in shear strength are included in the final chapter.

New and updated features of this title

• NEW: Chapters 10 through 12 cover 3 fundamental areas of foundation engineering: shallow foundations; lateral earth pressures and earth retaining structures; and deep foundations.
• NEW: Chapter 10 introduces bearing capacity theory, followed by its application to bearing capacity in sands and clays, and approaches to determining settlement of shallow foundations.
• NEW: Chapter 11 covers the 2 theories of lateral pressure, Rankine and Coulomb, and how these theories are used in the design of retaining structures.
• NEW: Chapter 12 describes the estimation methods for deep foundation bearing capacity, how to compute the tensile and lateral load capacity of piles, and advanced topics in deep foundations that are often the source of significant field performance issues.