THE MECHANICS OF SOILS, AN INTRODUCTION TO CRITICAL STATE SOIL MECHANICS

The book describes the mechanical behaviour of soil when it is compressed, sheared or is saturated with water. The subject is approached through the theory of critical state soil mechanics and attempts to convey a fundamental understanding of the mechanical stress-strain behaviour of soils. The subject is discussed in the following chapters: (1) an introduction to engineering soils, (2) stresses and strains in soils, (3) states of stress and strain in soils, (4) stress and strain paths and invariants, (5) laboratory testing of soils, (6) flow of water in soils, (7) compression, (8) one-dimensional consolidation, (9) shear testing, (10) the critical state line and the Roscoe surface, (11) the behaviour of overconsolidated samples: the Hvorslev surface, (12) the behaviour of sands, (13) behaviour of soils before failure, (14) routine soil tests and the critical state model, and, (15) soil parameters for design. /TRRL/